Your garage roof protects your car and everything else you store in your garage. So you can’t cut corners when it comes to the quality of your garage roof tiles. To prevent any leaks that could cause damage, you should always choose the best quality materials. 

Whether you’re replacing your old roof or building a new garage from scratch, always keep in mind that you want to add value to your property; not potentially lower it by using poor quality materials. 

Garage Roof Tiles to Choose From 

With so many options available, it’s not always easy to choose the right garage roof tiles. Ideally, for aesthetic reasons, they’ll match the roof of your home. The good news here is that you can opt for many alternative materials while keeping to the original style. 

Always consider instalment costs, maintenance, and the average life expectancy of the materials as well. There’s no shortage of materials to choose from, including wood, plastic, bitumen, and solar cells. At the end of the day, you’ll need to consider your budget and personal taste. However, here are four of the most popular options available; and what you can expect when choosing each of them. 

Metal Tiles 

Metal tiles are durable, resistant to harsh weather conditions, and come in modern designs. One of the main advantages is that they’re easy to instal, which means you’ll have your roof up and running quickly at a relatively low cost. Metal tiles are also environmentally friendly, easy to clean, and have a life expectancy between 50 and 70 years. 

Concrete Tiles 

Concrete garage roof tiles cost less than metal ones and come in various shapes and sizes to match any architectural style. However, they’re less resistant, last around 25 years, and need more time to be properly installed. They’re also heavy which means that if you’re building a new garage and plan to use concrete tiles, you’ll need to make sure that the structure is stable enough to support the weight.

Clay Tiles 

Clay tiles are very resistant and look great on any structure thanks to their aesthetic qualities. They have an average life expectancy of 60 years which means that they cost significantly more than concrete garage roof tiles. Clay tiles are also heavy and require longer instalment times than metal tiles, so you’ll need to keep the same considerations about the structure of your garage in mind.

Stone Tiles 

Stone tiles are among the most expensive alternative, making them a considerable investment for covering your garage. Besides the price, another disadvantage often stems from their weight. In most cases, you’ll need a structure specially designed to support the extra load and prevent damage.        

Signs That You Need a New Garage Roof

Your garage can be worth £11,000 or more, depending on the value of your home, so it’s in your best interest to protect it against bad weather. If you’re not sure whether you need to change your garage roof or just replace a tile here and there, watch out for these red flags: 

1) Water damage. Damp patches and mould are signs of leaks, which means your roof is damaged and you should take a closer look at it. Sometimes, you can fix it by replacing one or two shingles, but if the problem persists, you’ll need to hire a roofing contractor.  

2) Missing shingles. This is one of the most obvious signs that your garage roof has reached its life expectancy and needs to be replaced.  

3) Raised shingles. If shingles are curled, water can quickly get inside your garage and ruin the contents. In extreme situations, raised shingles can even be a sign that your roof has structural issues and risks collapsing. Substituting the curled shingles will buy you time, but you should consider replacing your roof if many of them are ruined.  

4) The roof’s age. A typical roof lasts around 25 years, depending on the quality of the materials used and whether it was correctly instaled. If your garage is older than that and you don’t know of any roof tile changes, you might want to consider replacing it.

5) Moss. This is a sign that your roof is absorbing moisture, which, in time, damages the tiles and can cause structural problems. Cleaning the moss regularly can help you extend the life of your roof, but if you haven’t done any maintenance work over the years, you should verify the condition of the tiles before the moss causes further damage.    

Final Thoughts

Before making your decision, it’s best to discuss your alternatives with a roofing contractor. This way, you’ll ensure that your new garage roof tiles match the construction so that you don’t put too much pressure on the structure. A specialist can also analyse other elements that can influence the life of your roof tiles, such as the presence of trees or other structural details.

Lightweight roof tiles from Metrotile

Metrotile offer Europe’s no.1 steel roofing tile which comes with a list of benefits that makes it worth considering for every roof. To find out more about Metrotile’s range of lightweight roofing products, call today on 01249 658 514 or use our contact form for a quick response.