Forest Lake, Minnesota
Careful Brava Tile Roofing in Forest Lake, MN
Late February wind runs the whole 2,200 acre length of the lake and stacks drifted snow against the lake facing elevations of the old cottage conversions in Forest Lake, and by the time it melts out of a low slope porch tie in, a cedar shake or a soft slate has already taken the damage. Brava composite tile gives those roofs the shake or slate look without the water absorption, and without asking a 1920s rafter to carry quarry weight.
Get your estimate today
Rated 5.0 from 217 Google reviews
- Licensed and insuredMinnesota exterior contractor
- 5.0 from 217 reviewsVerified on Google
- Storm and insurance workWe handle the claim with you
- Faith-based, locally ownedRefreshingly honest
What Brava Tile Solves on a Cottage Conversion
Most of the Brava conversations we have here start as a comparison, not a purchase. On the early 1900s cottages off Clear Lake that were closed in for year round living, the original look was cedar shake or slate, and the owner wants that look back without asking a framing package of added on wings and mismatched pitches to carry quarried stone. On the 1970s and later subdivisions out toward the Hardwood Creek Regional Trail, the comparison runs the other way: a builder grade asphalt roof that has already been replaced once and will be again. Brava is molded polymer tile, so the November to April cycle that splits shake and spalls the face off a soft slate has nothing to grab. If you want the depth of a real fired profile and your structure can carry it, we will price clay tile roofing beside it and let the two sit next to each other on the same written estimate.
Brava Tile Roofing in Forest Lake
What Composite Tile Changes on Your Roof
Slate Character on a 1920s Frame
A cottage conversion framed in the 1920s and added onto twice rarely pencils out for quarried slate. Brava carries a fraction of that load, so you get the profile without an engineer redesigning your rafters.
Drift Melt Soaks Into Nothing
Water soaks into soft slate and into cedar, then expands when the temperature swings across freezing twice in one March day. Composite tile absorbs effectively nothing, so that cycle passes over it.
Holds Up Where Drifts Pack In
Snow blowing the length of the 2,200 acre lake piles against lake facing elevations and sits for weeks. Brava tile stays dimensionally stable under that load instead of cupping and lifting the way shake does.
Hail That Ends at the Tile
Washington County storms that shred a builder grade asphalt field leave Class 4 rated composite tile intact. For the 1970s subdivisions built after the lake cottages, that is the difference between a claim every few years and none.
Clean Tie Ins at the Porch
The low slope porch roofs on these conversions are where meltwater backs up. We detail the transition from tile to the flatter run with membrane and metal, so the drift line is not the weak point.
A Roof You Install Once
Asphalt on a lakeside exposure here gets replaced on a schedule. Brava carries a fifty year limited warranty and holds its color through the UV coming off open water, so the next owner inherits it rather than replaces it.
How We Handle Brava Work Around Forest Lake
The Attic Tells Us What It Holds
Before anything is ordered we get into the attic on these conversions and look at rafter size, span and how the added wings were tied into the original cottage. That tells us what the deck can take and where sheathing has to be replaced.
We Price the Alternative Beside It
We are a family run shop working out of Eden Prairie, and we would rather lose a job than sell the wrong roof, so you see composite tile and whatever you are cross shopping, shake, slate or another asphalt layer, on one estimate.
Shoreland Overlay Questions Answered
Lakeshore owners assume every exterior project drags them back into the impervious coverage math. A roof replacement over the existing footprint does not, and we tell you that plainly instead of padding the scope with permits you do not need.
Crews Who Cut Composite Every Week
Tile is fastened, spaced and cut differently than asphalt, and it punishes a crew learning on your house. The same people who lay the field cut your hips and valleys, and someone answers our phone at any hour once the tear off is open.
Storm and Insurance Work Handled
If hail or a straight line wind off open water started this, we photograph and document the damage for your carrier and stand on the roof with the adjuster, then give you a free written tile scope regardless of how the claim lands.
What people near Forest Lake say
From sales to construction crew to upper management, they helped make an insurance battle a breeze. This is the best contractor interaction I have ever had.
Jim NormanRoof replacement Orange Exteriors did an excellent job with my new roofing install. Very professional, on time and hard working crew. Completed the job in one day.
Dick JohnsonRoof installation 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
Brava Tile Questions From Around the Lake
What people in Forest Lake ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Can the framing on an older Forest Lake cottage conversion actually carry a Brava tile roof?
In most cases yes, and we would rather prove it than assume it. Composite tile lands near the load of a laminated asphalt roof instead of quarried stone, so wings added to a cottage across three different decades are rarely the obstacle people expect. What we look at from inside the attic is rafter size, span and how each addition was tied into the original structure, because on a conversion this old the tie ins are where the weakness usually is.
Does a composite tile reroof affect the shoreland overlay coverage limits on a lakeshore lot?
No. The overlay caps how much of your parcel is impervious, and your roof footprint already counts toward that number whether it is shingled or tiled. A new deck, a wider driveway or an addition is where that coverage math actually matters. Swapping roofing material over the same footprint does not move it, so nothing new gets triggered.
How does Brava hold up in Forest Lake winters compared with cedar shake or real slate?
Better, because the failure mode is water. Shake drinks the meltwater from drifts packed against lake facing walls, then cups and splits along the grain. Soft slate absorbs it and spalls at the face after enough freeze thaw swings. Composite tile is molded polymer, so a drift sitting on your north slope into April is a load question, not a moisture one.
Get a Brava Scope Before the Snow Flies
Whether you are keeping a lake cottage in the family or you are finally done reroofing a subdivision house every storm season, we will walk the slopes, check the framing from the attic, and put a written composite tile scope in your hands at no cost.
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
Request your estimate
Rated 5.0 from 217 Google reviews