I'm looking for someone to perform a new construction tile roof inspection on a Claymex roof in Bryan, Tx. The roofing contractor has recently finished the roof, and I'm wanting to hire a third party inspector to look it over and catch anything they might have missed. If y'all have any recommendations, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

I don't have any recommendations to offer but I suspect an informative roof inspection is going to be tough if the clay tile is already on. The waterproofing is beneath the tile and the most crucial areas are going to be your transition areas and termination flashings. An inspector is probably just going to point out aesthetic issues and things to caulk. Do you have in-progress photos? That would probably help the inspector or roofing inspector see if the installer at least appears to be flashing everything correctly.

Good luck! Hopefully you find one who is knowledgeable and willing to call out questionable details.

I agree with the post above.

Does the installing company have a portfolio of installation pictures? I usually take a few hundred just for personal reference for posterity, so I'd think there's a good chance they have some and those could serve as the inspection.

Once a roof is installed, the details that matter are no longer visible. You can look for gross errors or things like cracked tiles but otherwise, there's not much to see. The key areas for leaks in tile roofing will be valleys, chimneys, and sidewalls and depending on products used, that may or may not be visible on tile edges.

Additionally, I highly discourage having someone not affiliated with the installing company walk all over a new tile roof. The potential for breaking or cracking tiles is not zero and they may not realize it while they walk. It's one thing to walk and risk damage after a massive hailstorm when there is good reason, but here, I don't think it's a good idea. If anything goes wrong and there is evidence someone else was there, the company can use that as warranty denial, and with good reason.

I'd reach out to the installing company for photos or their blessing that it's done properly. If synthetic underlayment products were used, what kind, lead, suitable flashing, bird stop, mortar as applicable, etc was installed, then your inspection will come with the next heavy rain event.

Personally, if the company was reputable and not the cheap option, I'd rest easy, rely on their warranty if an issue pops up, and enjoy the roof.

I bought a house in 2016 with a clay tile roof. The inspector flew a drone over and took video and pictures of broken tiles. I had them replaced. Over the years, I would have new leaks pop up when it rained hard. Eventually I hired a roofer who knew what he was doing and he told me the install was wrong. He took off a section of tiles to show me that they used felt underlayment and it was torn/deteriorated in many places with rotted decking exposed. I spent roughly 35k over the course of 2 years to have them pull up every tile and use the proper underlayment and reinstall the tiles and replace decking where necessary. It was a huge headache. I'd do everything I could now to make sure that it was installed correctly, but without seeing it or having pictures of what it looks like under the tiles, there isn't much you can do.

Felt is how it used to be installed. It's not necessarily wrong. But we don't do it that way anymore. Maybe some do, I don't know. But today we have good products to prevent leaks and issues.

Tile just isn't a totally water tight product. Its beautiful. And it's hardy against many elements. There are several products we use but all of them are a self adhering "ice and water" membranes of sorts. No felt. No synthetic underlayment. Only synthetic self adhering. It's expensive to do tile that way but it won't leak.

Generally, the install comes down to price. People feel good when they spend less. Unfortunately, that happiness is often short lived.

Even if too late for in depth details
Schulte Roofing serves Bryan, TX with inspectors for clay tile roofs
Suggest you talk details before spending money?

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