Tile Roof Installation Cost Calculator

Roof area
1,800 sq ft
Roofing material
Roof pitch
Stories
Your ZIP code

Showing the national average. Enter your ZIP code for local cost estimates.

Low $17,950
Typical $21,900
High $27,150

National average

Where these figures come from
  • Roofing contractors, United States: $38.56/hour, August 2026 (BLS CES CES2023816003)
  • Concrete roof tile: $420.00 per square (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
  • High-temperature underlayment and ice barrier: $30.00 per square, benchmark observed October 2026, unchanged against BLS WPU058 to the three months ending August 2026
  • Battens, eave closure, hip and ridge pieces: $110.00 per square (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)

Tile Roof Installation costs $17,950 to $27,150 for a typical 1,800 sq ft job in 2026, against a national benchmark of $21,900. Labor runs 39.6 crew hours at $38.56 an hour. Enter a ZIP code to apply that area's measured wages for this work and its regional price level.

Get in touch with a tile roof installation contractor

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What makes up the price

Labor $4,859 90 hours at $38.56/hour, 40% burden, 1.00x regional
Concrete roof tile $8,165 19.4 square at $420.00 each
High-temperature underlayment and ice barrier $567 18.9 square at $30.00 each
Battens, eave closure, hip and ridge pieces $1,980 18 square at $110.00 each
Tear-off disposal and permit $650
Contractor overhead and profit $5,677 35% applied to the work above
Typical total $21,900 $17,950 to $27,150 depending on contractor

Cost by size

National averages, before any local adjustment. Computed from the same model as the calculator above, so the two always agree.

Roof area Roofing squares Typical Range
1,000 sq ft 10 $12,550 $10,300 to $15,575
1,450 sq ft 14.5 $17,800 $14,600 to $22,075
1,800 sq ft 18 $21,900 $17,950 to $27,150
2,450 sq ft 24.5 $29,500 $24,175 to $36,575
3,050 sq ft 30.5 $36,500 $29,925 to $45,250

Can your roof hold it up?

Ask this before anything else, because the answer can cost more than the roof.

Weight per square
Architectural asphalt around 240 lb
Clay tile 600 to 900 lb
Concrete tile, standard 900 to 1,100 lb
Concrete tile, lightweight 600 to 700 lb

On this 1,800 sq ft roof that is the difference between about 2 tons of covering and about 9. You are adding roughly seven tons of permanent dead load to the top of the house.

Where that is fine, and where it is not:

Budget $400 to $1,000 for the engineer's assessment, and if reinforcement is needed — sistered rafters, additional purlins, sometimes new bearing below — $1,500 to $5,000 and up. None of that is in a roofing quote, and a roofer who says "it'll be fine" without an engineer's letter is giving you an opinion you cannot insure against.

Lightweight concrete tile exists specifically for this problem and is worth asking about. It gets the load close to a heavy asphalt or a light metal roof, at a modest premium on the tile.

The tile is not the waterproofing

This is the single most useful thing to understand about a tile roof, and it is rarely explained.

A tile roof is a rain screen. The tiles shed the great majority of the water and take all of the UV, but they are overlapping pieces with gaps, and wind-driven rain gets past them routinely and by design. What actually keeps the water out of the house is the underlayment underneath.

Which means the two components have very different lives:

Life
The tile 50 to 100 years
The underlayment 20 to 40 years

So the honest description of a tile roof is not "lasts a century". It is "the covering lasts a century and the roof under it has to be replaced once or twice in that time".

That job is called a lift and relay: the tiles are taken off and stacked, the old underlayment stripped, new underlayment laid, and the same tiles put back. It runs roughly $5 to $11 per square foot — on this roof, $9,000 to $19,800 — and almost all of it is labor, since the expensive part is being reused. In Florida it is a routine, well-understood job that roofers quote every day.

Plan for it. A tile roof is excellent value over sixty years and it is not a roof you never think about again.

What you are paying for

For an 1,800 sq ft concrete tile roof, walkable pitch, single story, at $21,900:
Concrete tile around $8,165
Battens, eave closure, hip and ridge pieces around $1,980
High-temperature underlayment and ice barrier around $565
Labor, about 90 crew hours around $4,860
Tear-off disposal and permit $650
Overhead and margin the balance

Ninety crew hours against about forty for the same roof in asphalt. Tile arrives in individual pieces that all have to be carried up and placed, the battens go down before any of it, and the hips and ridges are set and pointed by hand.

Two lines worth looking at on a quote. The tear-off on an existing tile roof is much heavier than asphalt — nine tons rather than two — so if you are replacing tile with tile, check that the disposal allowance reflects it. And the accessories line, because battens, an eave closure to keep birds and rodents out of the open tile ends, and matching hip and ridge pieces are all non-optional and all commonly missing from a cheap quote.

Concrete or clay

Concrete Clay
Cost of the tile the figure above 30 to 50% more
Weight 900 to 1,100 lb a square 600 to 900 lb
Color usually applied to the surface through the body, permanent
Fading noticeable at 15 to 20 years essentially none
Toughness less brittle, chips rather than cracks more brittle
Life 50 years and up 75 to 100

The fading is the thing to weigh. A surface-colored concrete tile looks visibly different at twenty years, and because it fades unevenly where the sun hits hardest, it does not age gracefully so much as patchily. Through-colored concrete tile is the middle option — the pigment runs through the body, so it fades far less, at a smaller premium than clay.

Clay is also lighter, which occasionally turns a structural no into a yes.

Nobody should walk on it

Tile cracks underfoot. Not always, not immediately, but reliably enough that every trip onto the roof is a cost.

The people who break tiles are rarely roofers. They are satellite installers, HVAC technicians servicing a rooftop unit, chimney sweeps, gutter cleaners, solar installers, and anyone retrieving a frisbee. A cracked tile is not a leak right away — the underlayment is still there — but it is an open path for water and UV onto the underlayment, which is the part you cannot afford to lose early.

Practical rules:

Keep spare tiles, from this batch

Ask for one to two squares of attic stock and store it somewhere dry and out of the way.

Concrete tile color is matched to a production run, and a run from five years ago cannot be reproduced; profiles also get discontinued. A handful of tiles kept from the original order is the difference between a ten-minute repair and a visible patch, or a mismatched section, for the next fifty years. It is the cheapest insurance on the whole project and almost nobody asks for it.

Climate, and where tile is the wrong answer

Tile belongs in hot climates, and it is excellent in them — it sheds heat, it is non-combustible, and the air gap under it works as a thermal break that genuinely lowers cooling load.

Where to think twice:

Solar on a tile roof

More expensive than asphalt and much more than standing seam. Tiles have to be removed where each mount lands, a flashed mount set into the deck, and the tiles cut around it — or replaced with a purpose-made flashing tile. Expect a meaningful adder on the solar quote and use an installer who does tile often, because a badly flashed tile penetration is a leak into the underlayment that nothing above it will reveal.

If solar is likely within a few years, do both at once. The mounts go in while the roof is open and the saving is substantial.

Questions worth asking

Common questions

How much does a tile roof cost?

A concrete tile roof on an 1,800 sq ft roof runs $17,950 to $27,150, with a typical job near $21,900 — about $12.15 per square foot. A 1,500 sq ft roof is around $18,400 and a 2,500 sq ft roof around $30,075. A steep pitch takes the 1,800 sq ft figure to about $27,375 and a steep two-story roof to $30,650. Clay tile runs 30 to 50% more on the tile itself. Architectural asphalt on the same roof is $7,700.

Does my roof need reinforcing for tile?

If the house was framed for asphalt, very likely it needs assessing at minimum. A square of concrete tile weighs 900 to 1,100 lb against about 240 lb for architectural asphalt, so on an 1,800 sq ft roof you are adding roughly seven tons of permanent dead load. Budget $400 to $1,000 for a structural engineer's assessment and $1,500 to $5,000 or more if reinforcement is needed — none of which is in a roofing quote. If the roof is already tile, this is not a question.

How much does a tile roof weigh?

Standard concrete tile is 900 to 1,100 lb per square — 100 square feet — and lightweight concrete tile 600 to 700. Clay tile is 600 to 900. Architectural asphalt, for comparison, is about 240 lb. So tile is four to five times the weight of the roof it usually replaces. Lightweight concrete tile exists specifically to solve the structural problem and brings the load close to a heavy asphalt roof, at a modest premium on the tile.

Is the tile what keeps the water out?

No, and this is the most useful thing to understand about a tile roof. Tile is a rain screen: it sheds most of the water and takes all of the UV, but it is made of overlapping pieces with gaps, and wind-driven rain gets past it routinely and by design. The underlayment beneath is the actual waterproofing. That matters because the tile lasts 50 to 100 years and the underlayment 20 to 40, so the roof under the tile has to be replaced once or twice in the tile's life.

What is a tile roof lift and relay?

Taking the tiles off and stacking them, stripping the old underlayment, laying new underlayment, and putting the same tiles back. It is how a tile roof is renewed when the underlayment reaches the end of its life, usually at 20 to 40 years, and it runs roughly $5 to $11 per square foot — on an 1,800 sq ft roof, $9,000 to $19,800. Almost all of it is labor, because the expensive component is reused. It is a routine job in Florida and anywhere else tile is common, and it is the expense that "lasts a century" sales copy conceals.

Concrete or clay roof tile?

Clay costs 30 to 50% more on the tile, is lighter at 600 to 900 lb a square against 900 to 1,100, holds its color permanently because the pigment runs through the body, and lasts 75 to 100 years. Concrete is cheaper, tougher — it chips rather than cracks — and heavier, and standard concrete tile has its color applied to the surface, so it fades noticeably and unevenly at 15 to 20 years. Through-colored concrete tile is the middle option: far less fading, at a smaller premium than clay.

Can you walk on a tile roof?

As little as possible. Tiles crack underfoot, and the people who break them are rarely roofers — they are satellite installers, HVAC technicians, chimney sweeps, gutter cleaners and solar installers. A cracked tile is not an immediate leak because the underlayment is still there, but it is an open path for water and UV onto the underlayment, which is the component you cannot afford to lose early. If it has to be walked, step on the lower third of a tile where the one below supports it, or over a batten, and never on hips, ridges or valleys.

Should I keep spare roof tiles?

Yes — ask for one to two squares of attic stock and store it dry and out of the way. Concrete tile color is matched to a production run and a run from five years ago cannot be reproduced, and profiles get discontinued. A handful of tiles from the original order is the difference between a ten-minute repair and a visible patch for the next fifty years. It is the cheapest insurance on the whole project and almost nobody asks for it.

How long does a tile roof last?

The tile lasts 50 years and up for concrete, 75 to 100 for clay. The roof as a system does not, because the underlayment beneath is the waterproofing and lasts 20 to 40 years — so expect one or two lift-and-relay jobs over the tile's life, at $5 to $11 per square foot each. The fasteners, the flashings and the mortar at the hips and ridges are the other limiting items. A tile roof is genuinely excellent value over sixty years, but it is not a roof you never think about again.

Is a tile roof good in cold climates?

It is a compromise, and that is why tile is uncommon across the northern tier. Concrete tile can spall where it freezes while saturated, and freeze-thaw cycling works on the fasteners and on the mortar at hips and ridges too. Where tile is used in a cold climate it needs a product rated for freeze-thaw and careful detailing, particularly at the eaves where ice dams form. In hot climates — the Southwest, Florida, much of California — tile is excellent, and the air gap under it works as a thermal break that genuinely reduces cooling load.

How should roof tiles be fastened in a hurricane zone?

Mechanically — commonly two screws per tile — or foam-adhesive set to an approved system, per the applicable code. This is both a real cost and the main failure mode of tile roofs in high wind, because a loose tile in a hurricane is a projectile. Ask specifically which approved fastening schedule is being used and get it on the quote. Do not accept mortar-only bedding on a high-wind roof, whatever the price difference.

Can you put solar panels on a tile roof?

Yes, but it costs more than on asphalt and considerably more than on standing seam metal. Tiles have to be removed where each mount lands, a flashed mount set into the deck, and the tiles cut around it or replaced with a purpose-made flashing tile. Expect a meaningful adder on the solar quote and use an installer who works on tile often, because a badly flashed tile penetration leaks onto the underlayment where nothing above it will show you. If solar is likely within a few years, do both at once while the roof is open.

Is a tile roof worth it?

In a hot climate, often yes — it is non-combustible, it cuts cooling load, it looks right on the architecture it belongs to, and the covering outlives you. The honest case against is the total cost of ownership: $21,900 to install on this roof, plus a structural assessment if the house was not framed for it, plus one or two lift-and-relay jobs at $9,000 to $19,800 over the tile's life. Compare that against the full picture rather than against the asphalt quote alone, and decide on fit rather than on payback.

Where these numbers come from

Nothing here is copied from a contractor directory. Labor is priced from what the trades are actually paid, materials from published producer prices, and both are adjusted to your area using federal cost-of-living data.