January 22, 2025 · 8 min read · Costs
How a tile roof is priced in Palm Beach County
On a tile roof, the tile is rarely the part that fails. The underlayment beneath it is the waterproofing, and when it wears out, the tile above can still be sound. That single fact drives most of the price on a tile job in Palm Beach County, because it decides whether you are paying for new underlayment under the tile you already own, or for new underlayment and new tile together.
Molsbee Roofing has installed and repaired tile roofs across the county since 1975, from Mediterranean Revival homes on the island to concrete tile neighborhoods west of State Road 7.
Detach-and-reset or full replacement: which one are you buying?
This is the largest cost decision on a tile roof.
Detach-and-reset. On clay barrel tile that is still sound, we lift the tile, replace the underlayment and reset the same tile. You pay for careful removal, staging, new underlayment and flashing, and reinstallation, but not for a new field of tile. It also keeps the look a historic district or an association expects.
Full replacement. New underlayment and new tile. It costs more, and it is the right call when the tile is spalled or brittle, when breakage during removal would be high, or when the profile is discontinued and there is not enough matching tile to cover the pieces that break.
Reusing tile never means reusing failed waterproofing. On both paths the underlayment, flashing and edge metal are new.
What else moves the number?
Tile type. Clay sits at the top of the range; concrete tile is the common choice across the county's newer neighborhoods and prices below clay. Profile matters too: barrel tile takes more pieces and more hand work at hips and ridges than a flat profile.
The underlayment system. Re-roofs in the county are built to the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition, which sets secondary water barrier requirements on re-roofs and allows more than one compliant method; we specify a self-adhered secondary water barrier over the deck. Self-adhered underlayment under tile is standard in our scopes, and it is a real share of the cost, because it is the part that keeps water out.
The deck. Older homes often have board decking, and mortar-set tile leaves old mortar and battens to clear before the deck can be inspected. Soft or gapped boards are replaced, and that is priced as a unit rate on the scope because nobody can see the whole deck until the tile is off.
Attachment and wind band. Design wind speeds run from 150 mph inland to 170 mph on the barrier islands. The higher band means more adhesive or fasteners per tile, particularly at edges, corners and ridges.
Access and roof shape. Steep pitches, multiple hips and valleys, and tight lots where tile has to be staged carefully all add labor.
Does design review affect tile pricing?
Often. On the island, a re-roof that changes the material or appearance goes before the Town of Palm Beach Architectural Commission, which looks closely at roof tile profile. In Boca Raton, the Old Floresta guideline prefers straight barrel mission tile in terracotta, and the order it follows is repair, then in-kind, then something appropriate. In both places, matching the existing profile and color can steer the job toward detach-and-reset or toward a specific, sometimes harder to source, new tile. We account for that before the price is set, not after.
How do we protect the property while the tile is off?
The roof is dried in with underlayment before tile is loaded back on, so the house is covered between stages. Crews wear protective, safe footwear on tile roofs, and removed tile is staged so it can be counted and reset. Breakage beyond what the scope allows for is shown to you in photos.
What can an inspection tell you before the tile comes off?
A free roof inspection shows cracked, slipped or missing tile, flashing condition at walls and penetrations, and signs of leaks from the attic. What it cannot show with certainty is the full condition of the underlayment and deck under every tile. That is why we lift sample tile where it is safe to do so, photograph what we find and write deck repair as a unit-priced line.
How is the written scope built?
Each tile scope we write lists:
- Detach-and-reset or new tile, with the tile type and profile named
- Underlayment and secondary water barrier
- Flashing, edge metal and ridge and hip details
- Attachment method for your wind band
- Tear-off and disposal, permit and inspections
- The unit rate for deck repair, if any is found
You get photos of the findings with it, and the price is in writing before any work starts. Our tile roofing page covers the systems we install, and the roof replacement cost guide covers the other roof types.
Why Molsbee for a tile roof?
We have roofed Palm Beach County since 1975 under Florida license CCC1327429. Tile work carries our lifetime workmanship warranty and the manufacturers' product warranties. Molsbee Roofing is a GAF Certified Contractor and an Owens Corning Preferred Contractor, and when the work is done we can provide a roof certification letter for your insurer on request.
Ask for your tile roof scope
Call (561) 318-8624 or request a free roof inspection. We will tell you whether your tile can be reset, show you the photos, and put the full scope and price in writing.
