Jeff Doubét shares Spanish roofing recommendations for quality clay roof tiles, colors and installation techniques. Professional opinions, suggestions, info and photography by a Santa Barbara Home Designer who specializes in Spanish-style homes and landscape design. Pro insights for those who desire to achieve Santa Barbara’s best roofing style for high-end Spanish homes.
The roofing concepts shared throughout this post are accompanied with actual photographs of a custom Spanish home design under construction in beautiful Los Olivos, CA.
Pro Recommendations for Quality Spanish Roof Tiles
I created this article for Santa Barbara and Montecito, CA homeowners who have discriminating taste, and want the best in Spanish roof tiles.
I have been designing custom Santa Barbara Spanish home renovations + new builds for a couple decades now.
I have learned top products and nuanced installation techniques from local experts who sell these roofing materials, as well as the top roofers themselves. All while attending on site meetings, and observing the installations of high-end roofing projects in Santa Barbara, Montecito + the Santa Ynez Valley.
Installing a high quality Santa Barbara Spanish-style roof will require several important considerations. At the top of my list is the belief in hiring an expert roofing team who knows exactly how to lay these specialty tiles.
1) Choose a High Quality Brand for your Spanish Roofing Tiles
The next most important decision is choosing a high quality clay roof tile. The brand I recommend the most is Redland Clay Tile. In fact, Redland is the brand of clay roof tiles installed in the featured project photos on this page.
2) Choose an Appropriate Clay Roof Tile Size
For local Santa Barbara area projects, a petite clay roof tile is highly recommended. They are slightly smaller than a standard barrel roof tile.
Compare them to standard two-piece Mission roof tiles that average 8.5″ on the large end, tapering to 7″. The larger tiles typically measure 20″ in length.
3) Choose Spanish Roofing Color Appropriate for Santa BaRBARA
Clay roof tiles can be ordered in a variety of colors. There are a couple of colors and blends I recommend for projects in the Santa Barbara and Montecito, CA. area.
The Spanish roofing colors specified for this project are: Redland Clay Tile (qty ratio) 80% of 4351 Old Hacienda Sancast Blend mixed with (qty ratio) 20% of 4343 Cafe Antigua Sandcast Blend.
The technique of blending a mix of clay roof tile colors enhances the three-dimensional aesthetic of your roof. It is also a way to create the highly desired, “aged” look for a custom built home.
4) The Best Way to Start A High Quality Spanish Roof
A handcrafted first course of roof tiles should be carefully planned with your roofer.
First, the pan tiles are set with cement mortar, installed 2 or 3 inches over the edge of the eave so rain will drain off the roof tiles and into the gutter.
Short little “Booster” roof tiles (3″ in length) are added on top of pan tiles. These boosters help achieve a high quality textured at the first row. Then, a row of shorter (14.5″ length) starter roof tiles are set on top of the boosters.
In this photo you can see the cupped pan tiles as the bottom row, tied with wire to the twisted wire system. The dark gray smudges are weatherproofing over the small deck anchor brackets that attach these rows of twisted wires to the roof deck.
As an FYI, the special underlayment (material under the clay tiles) is what provides the bulk of the waterproofing for your tile roof home. The installed clay tiles are decorative and protect the underlayment.
The twisted wire attachment system for Spanish roof tiles is preferred for earthquake and high wind prone areas of the country. The heavy roof tiles are wired into place. The wires allow some movement of individual tiles- without damaging the waterproofing of the house.
5) Stagger Your Spanish Roof Tiles For a higher Perceived Home Value
Another very important part of installing high quality Santa Barbara style Spanish roofing is to stagger the roof tiles.
In this close up photo you can see more details in how two piece mission tile Spanish roofing is installed. Note the use of roof tile nippers to roughly trim clay tiles to fit. Also, the small amount of cement mortar applied to the roof tiles just placed.
THE EASY BUTTON TO VIEW ALL PROJECTS ON SITE
6) Upgrade Your Spanish Roof Tiles With Handcrafted Details
High quality Spanish clay roof tile manufacturers offer handcrafted detailing that replicate historic tiles. Shown throughout this post are Redland roof tiles specified with a sandcast texture, with a thumb-butt front edge detail.
In this photo you can see the subtle randomness to the tile color blends, and staggering of the tiles. Also, the surface texture of the Redland rustic mud wash.
In Spain and France, clay tile roofs can be hundreds of years old. Throughout Santa Barbara, I regularly see old tile roofs being carefully removed, stacked and re-installed over new underlayment materials.
7) Classic Santa Barbara Roof Details
Another traditional Santa Barbara detail in Spanish architecture is to incorporate “shadow lines” in exterior stucco (that radiate down from individual clay roof tiles). This is achieved through a multi-step process during the exterior plaster work.
Above: The first scratch coat of the exterior plaster has been applied. After it hardened, the roofing contractor was invited back to install the roof tiles along the gable ends.
This photo shows the second (brown) coat of exterior plaster after it was applied. Note how the special red stucco tape protects the roof tiles. The plaster team can apply the plaster right up to the individual roof tiles- creating the shadow lines.
Spanish-style products on Amazon, and my project overviews where they were installed.
8) More Spanish Roof Details
As I conclude suggestions on how you can implement high quality Spanish-style roof details into your own project, I thought I would share a few more images.
A week or two after the roofers installed the roof, Santa Barbara sandstone boulders and flagstone were brought in for landscaping accents.
This is a Spanish-style cupola I designed for the whole house renovation. It was built into a new gable roof added above the garage door.
Another photo of the completed roof. You can see the textures and quality the roofers were able to build into this project.
To learn more about other Santa Barbara style Spanish roofing techniques, check out the link above. There you will find many installation photos of a hybrid roofing technique using primarily lightweight S-tile intermixed with 2-piece mission roof tiles.
Well friend, this wraps another site visit with Spanish roofing experts. I hope you enjoyed learning how to infuse more Santa Barbara Style into your own Spanish home design project. LEARN MORE about other Spanish-style roofing details + techniques. And be sure to scroll and explore more helpful links and resources for designing and building your own Spanish-style home and landscape.
