Zimmerman, Minnesota
Reliable Clay Tile Roofing in Zimmerman, MN
Most of the houses in Zimmerman went up after 2000, which means steeper pitches, deep soffits and long ridge lines over three car garages. Good geometry for clay tile and bad framing for it, because trusses from that era were engineered to carry asphalt shingles and snow, not a roof that weighs several times more.
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Wind decides how this roof is fastened
An EF-1 tornado touched down near town on March 6, 2017 and tracked 8.9 miles toward Princeton, part of the earliest tornado outbreak on record in Minnesota. Tile is heavy, and people assume the weight holds it down. It does not. Every tile in the perimeter zones is mechanically fastened, the hip and ridge caps ride on a raised nailer with closures screwed rather than mortared, and the eave course is clipped. The long ridge lines on these houses make that a lot of linear feet to get right, and one lifted cap in March puts water into a vaulted ceiling. The Sand Dunes State Forest is three miles west and that land will never be platted, so the fetch stays open. If the weight question interests you, slate roofing raises every one of the same issues, and we install it too.
Clay Tile Roofing in Zimmerman
What holds a tile roof down here
Every perimeter tile fastened
Uplift concentrates at eaves, rakes and corners. In those zones each tile gets a screw or a clip into the batten instead of leaning on its own weight, which is what fails first in a straight line wind.
Ridge lines that stay closed
These houses run long ridges over the main body and the three car garage. We cap them on a raised nailer with vented closures, so the line stays sealed against blowing snow and still breathes.
Steep pitch works in your favor
The post-2000 roofs around town carry real slope, and tile drains best when it has some. Water clears the laps quickly, snow slides sooner, and the underlayment spends less of the winter wet.
Truss engineering for newer homes
A house built in 2004 is not automatically strong enough. Those trusses were designed to code minimum for a shingle roof, so tile means an engineer's reinforcement plan drawn for your exact layout.
Open exposure from the west
The Sand Dunes State Forest and the wildlife refuge keep the land west of town unplatted, so nothing is going to grow up and block the wind. Roofs here are detailed for that permanently.
Deep soffits vented under tile
Tile sits on battens with air moving beneath it, and these houses already have generous soffits. We keep the intake clear and the batten drainage open so the deck dries instead of holding meltwater.
How we approach a tile install
Structural sign off before ordering
We are licensed and insured, and we bring in the engineering rather than guessing. Nothing gets ordered until the reinforcement plan for your trusses is signed and in hand.
A fastening schedule on paper
The crew works from a written pattern for the field, the perimeter and the corners, so the roof is not fastened by whoever happens to be on that slope.
Dried in every single night
Tile goes on slower than shingles. Whatever deck is open at the end of the day gets underlayment down and sealed, because spring weather here does not wait for the crew.
String lines on long ridges
A long ridge shows every error. We run lines and check coursing off both eaves, because on a roof this visible from the road, a wandering course is the thing people notice.
We come out after wind
Storm work is a regular part of what we do. After a hard blow we will get up there and check the caps, the rake tiles and the flashings before a ceiling stain finds you.
What people near Zimmerman say
We live in Eden Prairie. Orange did an excellent job on our siding replacement and provided great customer service all the way through.
Thomas DeSutterSiding replacement, Eden Prairie, MN 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
Zimmerman tile roofing questions
What people in Zimmerman ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Will a clay tile roof stay put in a Zimmerman windstorm?
It can, if it is fastened for wind rather than set and left. An EF-1 came through near here in March 2017 and ran almost nine miles toward Princeton. On our installs the eave course is clipped, the perimeter tiles are screwed and the ridge and hip caps are mechanically held down, not bedded in mortar.
My Zimmerman house was built after 2000. Are the trusses strong enough?
Probably not as built. Trusses are engineered to the load they were sold for, and in that era that meant asphalt shingles. It is not a matter of age or quality. An engineer reviews the layout, the spacing and the spans, then specifies what has to be added. Some roofs need very little and some need a lot.
Do the long ridge lines over the garage cause trouble with tile?
They are the part we watch. A long ridge is a long seam, and every foot of it has to shed water, resist uplift and still vent the attic. We cap on a raised nailer with closures and fasteners instead of mortar, since mortar cracks after enough freeze and thaw cycles.
Talk tile before the next windy spring
We will get into your attic, measure the pitch and the ridge runs, and tell you what a clay tile roof in Zimmerman would actually involve. The estimate costs nothing.
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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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