Tile Roofing in Mesa, AZ: New Roofs, Replacements and Relays

Ask three roofers to bid a tile roof and all three will probably offer the same tile. What differs is the layer you never see again once the job is finished. We are Circle G Roofing, and we install, replace and relay clay and concrete tile roofs in Mesa on high-temperature underlayment, with the exact product written into the quote so you can compare bids line by line.

This page covers the three kinds of tile roofing project we take on, how to choose between clay and concrete, what the underlayment specification should say, how install day runs, and what the City of Mesa asks of a homeowner replacing a roof.

Three tile roofing projects, and which one your house needs

People use the words new roof for three different jobs. They differ a great deal in scope, so it is worth knowing which one you are being quoted for.

Project	What happens	When it is the right one
Relay with existing tile	Sound tile is lifted and stacked, the old underlayment is stripped, new underlayment is laid, and the original tile goes back with broken pieces replaced.	The tile and the structure are sound and only the waterproof layer has aged out. On a sound structure this is often the answer.
Tile roof replacement	The roof is stripped to the deck and rebuilt. Sound tile is kept where it can be, and broken or worn tile is replaced.	Tile is broken across several elevations, the deck has soft spots, or you want a different tile.
New tile roof installation	Concrete or clay tile goes on a new build or an existing home, over high-temperature underlayment laid to the manufacturer’s specification.	New construction, an addition, or a change from another roofing material once the structure has been checked.

We will not sell you a full new roof if the tile is sound and only the underlayment has failed. If the roof only needs a few tiles or one leak dealt with, our tile roof repair Mesa AZ page is the one to read.

The underlayment decides how long the roof lasts

The tile you choose is a look. The layer under it is the roof. Tile sheds most of the water and shades the layers below, but it is not completely waterproof. In a driving rain some water gets past it, and what stops that water is the underlayment. In our experience underlayment lasts roughly 13 to 16 years in Arizona heat before it turns brittle, so a tile roof will have its underlayment renewed once or twice in its life.

Mesa is hard on that layer. Climate normals for the East Mesa station, measured over 1991 to 2020, put the average daily high in July at 105.9 degrees Fahrenheit, and the highest reading on record there is 121. A roof deck under tile sits in that heat all afternoon for months. That is why we specify high-temperature underlayment and not the cheapest roll that passes.

What a written spec should name

• The underlayment product. By name, with its grade and how it is lapped.
• Valley treatment. What metal goes in the valleys and how the underlayment runs into them.
• Wall flashing. How the roof is flashed where it meets a headwall or a sidewall.
• Penetrations. How each pipe and vent is tied into the underlayment before tile is set.
• Fastening. How the tile is fastened, and how the hips and ridges are finished.
• Tile. Which tile is reused, which is new, and what profile and color the new tile is.

Our quotes put the exact underlayment, the flashing and the fastening detail in writing, with a fixed price. Put any other bid next to it and the difference in what you are buying becomes plain.

Clay or concrete tile

Both work in Arizona, and we install both. The choice comes down to appearance, budget and weight.

	Clay tile	Concrete tile
Color	Holds its color over the years.	Fades over time.
Style	Suits Spanish and Mediterranean houses.	Comes in more profiles and colors.
Cost	Costs more.	Costs less.
Weight	Heavy. One reference table of installed roofing weights lists clay tile at 6 to 15 pounds for each square foot of roof, depending on the tile.	Heavy. The same table lists concrete tile at 6 to 11 pounds, depending on the tile.

If you live in one of Mesa’s planned communities, the choice may already be narrowed for you. A homeowners’ association may control roof color and profile, so read your community’s design rules before you fall for a sample. Matching the tile already on the roof is usually the simplest way to stay inside them.

Tile and attic heat

Tile does not lie flat against the roof deck. It sits up on battens or on the lugs molded into its underside, which leaves a space for air to move beneath it. That gap keeps the roof from handing all of its heat straight to the attic the way a dark, flat surface does. The Tile Roofing Industry Alliance describes the same effect: the air space allows air to circulate and reduces direct heat transfer, and it reports lower attic temperatures under tile roofs than under asphalt shingles. That matters in the newer subdivisions on the east side of Mesa, which our own website describes as tile subdivisions.

Will the structure carry tile

If the house already has tile, the answer is usually yes. If you are moving from a lighter roofing material, the structure has to be checked first, because tile is far heavier. One trade reference puts standard-weight concrete tile at about 9.5 to 12 pounds for each square foot of roof, against 2.5 to 4 pounds for asphalt shingles. The Tile Roofing Industry Alliance makes the same point: where a home has never carried tile, an inspection determines whether more support is needed. We look at the framing at the inspection and tell you plainly if an engineer needs to be involved before anything is ordered.

How a tile roof goes on

1. Strip and check the deck. The old roof comes off and we check the deck for soft spots and damage. Nothing goes over a deck we would not stand on.
2. Lay the underlayment. High-temperature underlayment is laid to the spec in your quote, lapped correctly and carried into the valleys and up the walls.
3. Form the valleys and flashing. Valleys, headwall and sidewall flashing, and every pipe and vent are tied into the underlayment before a single tile is set.
4. Set the tile. Tile goes on course by course in straight lines. Hips and ridges are finished to match, and the site is cleared, with old tile hauled away.

Tile is heavy, slow and unforgiving of shortcuts. The courses have to stay straight, the valleys have to carry monsoon rain without backing up, and every penetration has to be sealed below the tile, not on top of it. Our own crew lays the roof, and we walk the finished job with you.

Scheduling around the monsoon

Arizona’s monsoon season runs from June 15 to September 30. The same East Mesa normals show about 10.76 inches of precipitation a year, falling on roughly 36 days. June is the driest month, at 0.05 inches. July, August and September then bring about 3.6 inches between them, a third of the year’s total. The National Weather Service office in Phoenix notes that thunderstorm gusts here almost always exceed 40 miles per hour.

For a roofing project that means two things. An open roof has to be made watertight at the end of every working day, which is why we never leave one open overnight. And if your underlayment is already past 15 years old, spring is the time to renew it, not the week after the first storm finds the weak spot. April, May and June are the three driest months in the East Mesa normals.

Mesa’s rules for replacing a roof

The City of Mesa’s residential construction questions page says you can replace your roof with the same roof material type or better, if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions. It adds that if your home is historic, Planning approval is required.

Three practical points follow from that.

• Same material or better. A relay or a tile for tile replacement keeps the same roofing material, which is the case the City’s wording describes. The page does not spell out when a roofing permit is needed, and changing to a different roofing material is a different question again, so put either to Development Services at 55 N. Center Street before you commit.
• Manufacturer’s instructions. The City ties its answer to them, which is one more reason the underlayment, fastening and flashing should be written into the quote.
• Historic homes. Mesa has eight locally designated historic districts: Evergreen, Flying Acres, Fraser Fields, Glenwood/Wilbur, Robson, Temple, West Second Street and West Side-Clark. Changes to designated properties go through the Certificate of Appropriateness process, so speak to the Historic Preservation Office first.

Mesa adopted the 2024 International Code Council codes, which apply to permit applications submitted on or after January 8, 2026. Rules change, so treat this as a summary of what the City has published and confirm anything that affects your project with the City itself.

Signs a tile roof is due for more than a repair

• Leaks in more than one place at the same time.
• Repairs that keep coming back.
• Underlayment more than 15 years old.
• Stains on ceilings or walls.
• Sagging or soft spots in the roof deck.
• Broken tiles across several elevations.

On a sound structure, a relay with the existing tile is often the answer to all of them. Our inspection covers the deck, the structure, the tile and what is left of the underlayment, and ends in a plain recommendation: replace, relay or repair, with photos.

What moves the cost of a tile roof

We do not quote tile roofs by phone. The figure depends on the size of the roof and how cut up it is, whether the job is a new roof or a relay, the tile you choose, and the condition of the deck once the old roof is off. After an inspection on the roof you get a fixed price in writing. The estimate is free.

To see how we work and what to ask any company bidding the job, read our tile roofers Mesa page. For where we work across the city, see tile roofing near me. Our company website, circlegroofing.com, covers our other roofing services.

Common questions