Using foreign tile

It's not often you find a customer willing to pay top dollar for a roof system. It's even rarer to find a customer who asks for a roof similar to one he saw in Italy, Japan or France. But that's exactly what is happening to contractors who cater to customers with unique demands.

Increasingly, some contractors are finding customers who desire tile roof systems made with foreign tile (most imported tile comes from Western Europe, Japan and China). But procuring and installing foreign tile presents unique challenges. Professional Roofing talked to two contractors who install foreign tile and asked them about the challenges they face.

According to Frank Lawson Jr., president of The Lawson Roofing Co. Inc., San Francisco, owners often want a specific type of tile, perhaps to remind them of a certain place or vacation.

Dan Cornwell, president of CC & L Roofing Co., Portland, Ore., agrees: "Often, owners who have traveled abroad and admired the architecture they have seen during their travels will want to build or remodel a home or business to resemble a certain architectural style. Some common requests are for a Japanese garden environment, Italian villa, French country home or English cottage."

To fulfill customers' requests, contractors often are forced to seek foreign suppliers because domestic tile companies don't offer tile that would be appropriate for a Japanese tea house, for example. In addition, Cornwell says some European tile manufacturers produce custom tiles unavailable in the U.S., such as air vent tiles and flue pipe exhaust tiles, among others.

But Cornwell points out if a domestic company produces a tile similar to what a customer requests, such as a German-style tile, he will use the domestic product. And using domestic producers whenever possible is beneficial to the customer, who won't see additional price increases as a result of shipping costs and levies.

"If we domestically manufacture a style of tile similar in appearance and composition to a foreign tile, the domestic tile generally will be less expensive," Cornwell says. "That is because shipping costs generally are lower domestically. However, in some cases, moving roof tile by truck across the country can be just as expensive as moving tile by ship overseas. It all depends on location and distance."

Although Lawson and Cornwell agree the quality of foreign tile is good, there are some issues to address.

"The product packaging is a bit different than what we are used to," Lawson says. "Foreign suppliers use wood crates and straw, and most of the tile has to be drilled for the fasteners used in the U.S."

Cornwell says contractors should be careful about importing tile from third-world countries because though those tiles may be of good quality, they typically aren't made to withstand freeze-thaw cycles.

There are some code-compliance issues, as well as installation processes, that apply to foreign tile.

Cornwell says that in his area, building code officials typically approve foreign tile installations. He says many foreign tile manufacturers provide U.S. code-compliance reports or at least reports regarding international standards that may be comparable to U.S. standards.

"If you can show this information to a local official along with the history of a product and its prior climatic use, which for some European plants can date back centuries, it is likely to attain approval," Cornwell explains. "Of course, this may depend on the mood of the civil servant you deal with on a given day."

Lawson notes some challenges regarding installation of foreign tile.

"The sizes of tile are different than typical roof tiles that are domestically produced, so flashing issues are not standard," he says. "And when application instructions are available, they typically are not in English."

Despite the installation challenges and possible hurdles relating to price and procurement, foreign tile has gained the interest of a select group of homeowners and building owners. And to attract and keep such clients, roofing contractors who work with tile should become familiar with what foreign producers can provide.

Ambika Puniani Bailey is editor of Professional Roofing and NRCA's director of communications.