St. Paul, Minnesota
Local Clay Tile Roofing in St. Paul, MN
Clay tile is a rare roof in St. Paul, and the reason is usually structural rather than aesthetic. The story and a half houses of the streetcar era carry steep pitches, shed and gable dormers and cut up valleys, all of which suit tile visually. What they often lack is rafter stock sized for a roof that weighs several times what asphalt weighs.
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Steep Roofs, Old Rafters, Heavy Tile
The first visit is a basement and attic visit. We want rafter size, spacing and span, whether the knee wall framing above the second floor is doing structural work, and how load reaches the foundation. Plenty of Summit Hill and Highland Park houses carry tile after sistering and added bearing. Some cannot, and we say so. Then there is the eave: those dormered upper floors already dam ice where heated knee wall space sits right over a narrow soffit run, so full ice and water coverage and an elevated batten system are not optional here. A house on a heritage site or in a heritage district needs Heritage Preservation review before the city issues a permit, and that is where tile profile and color get settled. Anyone weighing tile against slate roofing near Lake Phalen or on the hill should know both are heavy, and the framing answer is usually the same for either.
Clay Tile Roofing in St. Paul
Clay Tile On A Steep City Roof
Framing Checked Before Anything Is Ordered
We measure rafters, spans and bearing points in the attic and basement first. Tile that a house cannot carry is a wasted order, so the structural answer comes before the color sample.
Heritage Preservation Review Handled
On a designated heritage site or inside a heritage district, tile profile, color and eave detail go through review before the building permit issues. We prepare that submittal instead of leaving it on you.
Ice Handled At The Shallow Eave
Heated knee wall space above a narrow soffit run makes ice at the eave, and clay sheds water rather than sealing it out. Full membrane, elevated battens and a drainage path under the tile.
Clean Cuts Through Cut Up Valleys
Streetcar era roofs are full of shed and gable dormers, so a tile field is mostly edges. Valley tile, dormer cheek cuts and headwall flashing get laid out before the first course goes on.
Tile Profiles That Suit The Block
Barrel tile reads as Mediterranean and looks wrong on most of the hill. Flat clay shingle tile sits better on Tudor and older brick houses, and it is the profile we usually take to review.
Chimney And Masonry Flashing Redone
Old city houses come with brick chimneys and parapet returns that were flashed with tar decades ago. Tile leaves no room for that, so counterflashing gets cut into the mortar joint properly.
How We Approach An Old City Roof
We Bring A Ladder And A Flashlight
The estimate includes attic and basement time, not a walk around the yard. You cannot judge whether an old house will carry clay from the curb.
You See The Photos We Took
We shoot the rafters, the knee wall space and the dormer eaves and walk you through them, because most of what decides a tile roof on an old house is not visible from the yard.
Review And Permit Come First
Heritage review, then the building permit, then the tear off. Starting a tile job on a designated house out of order is how a roof sits open while paperwork catches up.
Family Run, Faith Based
We are a family run, faith based contractor out of Eden Prairie. Old St. Paul houses are the kind of work we take seriously, and our name is on the permit.
The House Below Gets Protected
City lots are tight and these houses have porch roofs, brick and old plantings underneath. Clay comes off and goes on over tarps and staging, not over your hydrangeas.
What people near St. Paul say
Fantastic guys to work with, did an excellent job of fixing our siding. You can tell it’s a high integrity company. Definitely recommend.
Carolyn MillerSiding repair The crew arrived early and spread tarps all around the house to capture every bit of debris. By 3:00 PM, my entire roof was completely finished.
Hazel JamesRoof replacement, Minneapolis, MN Orange Exteriors fixed a minor leak that involved replacing flashing and a few shingles blown off our roof. Timely, quality work. Great ideas to keep our roof going long term.
Jim ThomasStorm damage repair
Clay Tile Questions From St. Paul
What people in St. Paul ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Can a St. Paul story and a half house carry a clay tile roof?
Sometimes, and sometimes only after framing work. Rafters in these houses were sized for wood shingles or asphalt, and clay runs several times heavier. We check rafter size, spacing, span and bearing, and on many houses the fix is sistering and posts down to something solid. On others the honest answer is a lighter roof.
Do I need Heritage Preservation approval to put tile on my roof?
If your house is a designated heritage site or sits inside a local heritage district, yes. The city wants that review done before it issues the building permit, and the questions are usually about tile profile, color and how the eave and dormer edges will look. We put the submittal together with you.
Will clay tile crack through a St. Paul winter?
Good tile will not, poor tile will. Freeze and thaw destroys tile that absorbs water, so we specify tile rated for severe weathering and set it on battens with a drainage gap so water leaves instead of sitting. Most winter tile failures we see in the city start with the underlayment, not the clay.
Find Out If Your Roof Can Take Tile
Tell us the street and we will come look at the attic, the rafters and the dormer eaves, then give you a free written estimate and a straight answer about the framing.
Get Your Free Exterior Estimate
Tell us what is going on with your roof, siding, windows, or gutters. We will take a look and give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you can wait.
- Phone(612) 600-8529
- Emailadmin@orange-exteriors.com
- Office6600 City West Pkwy Suite 375, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
- HoursOpen 24 hours, Sunday to Saturday
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