New roof?

There are 66 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 5,451 times. The latest Post (July 28, 2025 at 4:15 PM) was by Rice.

    We're considering replacing the roof of our house because the Spanish style tiles move around, break very easily and every repair we've done or had done has failed miserably. The other night, water was cascading down the walls into our bedroom yet again and it's the last straw. We've had this problem for years and I've been up on the roof so often that it's like plugging holes.

    We had a quote to replace the tiles with a tin roof which is becoming very popular here and lasts much longer, but 9million pesos is one heck of a lot.

    We're getting more quotes, obviously.

    A tin roof would be great on your house! Just be sure the roofers are all bidding the same gauge of tin, as some are so thin they don’t last, and can be easily damaged by a small falling branch.

    We like 99% of all other houses and buildings here have a tin roof. Must admit coming from the UK it was something I found strange at first as I always associated tin roofs with wooden huts/shacks rather than solidly built buildings.

    However it seems to be the favourite choice here even with modern houses. Not sure if that's because it's the cheapest method or it's through them not being very good at building tiled roofs.

    The modern material is galvanized steel, not tin, right? Tin still has a place in rustic settings, but it steel that I see in modern housing of argentina. All the nice colors to choose, trapezoidal instead of wave form, plus efficient when, as Rice mentioned, the proper gauge is used. An opportunity to inspect and repair the leaks in the subroof decking or sheathing, or whatever they call it?

    Quote from aficionado

    The modern material is galvanized steel, not tin, right? Tin still has a place in rustic settings, but it steel that I see in modern housing of argentina. All the nice colors to choose, trapezoidal instead of wave form, plus efficient when, as Rice mentioned, the proper gauge is used. An opportunity to inspect and repair the leaks in the subroof decking or sheathing, or whatever they call it?

    Yes the modern coloured panels are much nicer although the majority of new roofs still seem to use the old silver corrugated style.

    Quote from UK Man

    Yes the modern coloured panels are much nicer although the majority of new roofs still seem to use the old silver corrugated style.

    Quote from Rice

    I do love the old style corrugated tin, too, though as aficionado pointed out, it’s more appropriate for rustic buildings, log cabins, etc.

    Many of the silver corrugated here in Argentina are also galvanized steel, not tin. A professional would tell you the difference, or just walk into any of the many Corralón to ask. I have to guess that Tin is just some generic term when we see that silver waved form roofing. They are less expensive than the laminated colors though still good enough. I find it easier to walk on the laminated trapezoidal form we have on the addition vs the original side of the house. The wave form is noisy and “feels” fragile. Cleaning the gutters occasionally.

    The problem we have with the 'tin' panels is some keep popping up despite nailing them down again. We do live in an old house though. Most old houses/buildings here suffer leaky roofs. You only have to look at the ceilings in them to see the water stains.

    We live in a building so the roof belongs to the consorcio and not just to us, thank God!

    We are, however, on the last floor, so we are the direct users of the roof. Our building has the galvanized steel in wave form, grey/silver, which reminds me of shacks in the countryside, but that's just a personal opinion (yes, we do use it in Italy, but mostly for non-residential buildings like garage or storage, also for agriculture).

    In Italy, we have terracotta tiles, usually Portuguese-style, with an attic below for insulation, plus layers of expandable foams and other wool/insulating panels below.


    I found our Argentinian roof lacking of insulation (our bedroom ceiling IS the roof) and the galvanized steel is quite noisy when it rains. Perhaps there are ways to avoid this, that were clearly ignored (in the name of saving!) when they made our building.

    On a side note, we have to replace a 3x2 meters windows and the quotes are all around 4 millions pesos, and this doesn't include the cost to remove the existing one. Which, by the way, according to the sales representative that advised us, are windows for INDOOR installation and not for a balcony exposed to rain. Go figure!! Furthermore, the wait time is 60-90 days and we would have to stay window-less for 2-3 days for the removal of the old one, and the wall preparation for the new one.

    This is our roof:


    This is a typical Italian roof for houses.

    Tegole portoghesi il montaggio - AERtetto
    Quote from serafina

    We live in a building so the roof belongs to the consorcio and not just to us, thank God!

    We are, however, on the last floor, so we are the direct users of the roof. Our building has the galvanized steel in wave form, grey/silver, which reminds me of shacks in the countryside, but that's just a personal opinion (yes, we do use it in Italy, but mostly for non-residential buildings like garage or storage, also for agriculture).

    My thoughts exactly. I find the tin roofs noisy as well when it rains. Then there's also the local cats who make a hell of a racket chasing each other over the roofs. The tin also condensates which causes the odd dripping noise.

    Bad news about your window replacements, serafina . And I’m also sorry to hear that the tin roof is problematic. But from @splinter’s post, it sounds as if terra cotta tiles come with their own set of problems?

    My only experience with either type of roof was a pleasant childhood memory. Our family had a tin-roofed log cabin in the woods where we went for getaways. When it rained, we thought the sound was divine!

    Edited once, last by Rice (December 1, 2024 at 8:46 AM).

    Quote from Rice

    Bad news about your window replacements, serafina . And I’m also sorry to hear that the tin roof is problematic. But from @splinter’s post, it sounds as if terra cotta tiles come with their own set of problems?

    My only experience with either type of roof was a peasant childhood memory. Our family had a tin-roofed log cabin in the woods where we went for getaways. When it rained, we thought the sound was divine!

    Peasant, pheasant or pleasant?

    Quote from Splinter

    We had another roofer come to look at our roof on Wednesday and again, he wouldn't repair the Spanish tiles, so we're waiting for his quote for a metal roof to come through.

    If the price is right, it looks like we don't have much choice.

    We've recently had builders, tree fellers and plumbers in. The days when the work they carried out seemed to be 'cheap' are gone. In fact the vet's charges to do an operation on one of the dogs a couple of weeks ago were cheaper.

    Quote from Splinter

    I try to do most jobs at home just avoid those cowboys and have been up on the roof several times to make repairs. However, replacing the entire roof is beyond my skill set.

    :nono:

    Me too however there are certain jobs I refuse to tackle especially when it involves our elf and safety or I can't be arsed doing it.