Underlayment, battens and layout
On a tile roof the underlayment does far more work than it does under asphalt. Tile sheds the bulk of the water, but wind driven rain gets underneath it routinely, and the underlayment is what keeps the building dry.
Specialty roofing
Tile, slate and specialty roofing in Oklahoma City
Clay, concrete, composite and synthetic tile. Natural and synthetic slate. Wood and synthetic shake. This is the work we are best known for in Oklahoma City.
A real Champion project
Drag across a tile roof, mid install and finished
This is one of ours, photographed during the install and again on completion. Tile is slow and expensive to get wrong, which is why the detail under it matters so much.
- Underlayment first. What sits under the tile decides whether the roof lasts.
- Battens and fastening. Set out before a single tile is loaded onto the roof.
- Every hip and valley. Flashed and detailed by hand, not filled with sealant.
Why us
Tile and slate roofing is our specialty
Tile and slate are expensive materials, the installation is slow, and mistakes are costly to put right. Our crews have installed it for years, so for us it is routine work.
Champion Roofing is a DaVinci Masterpiece contractor and won the DaVinci Project of the Year award twice, in 2021 for the Donald W. Reynolds Complex at Bethany Children's Health Center and again in 2023 for Gaillardia Office Park.
We were also the first company in Oklahoma to install Brava synthetic roofing. The product's founder came out to a church project to show our crew how it was done, and by the end of the job our crew was showing him.
- DaVinci Masterpiece Contractor. With Project of the Year awards in 2021 and 2023.
- First Brava installation in Oklahoma. On a church project, alongside the product's founder.
- Roofs maintained across the metro. Nichols Hills, Gaillardia, Rose Creek, Cobblestone and Heritage Hills.
- Repairs as well as installations. Including matching existing product on older roofs.
Tile and slate specialistsRepair, restoration and replacement
Materials
What we install
Six specialty material families, each with different structural and detailing requirements.
Clay tile
The traditional Mediterranean and Spanish profile. Beautiful, heavy, brittle, and entirely dependent on what sits underneath it.
Concrete tile
Similar profiles and appearance to clay with different weight and cost characteristics. Common across the metro.
Composite and synthetic tile
Lighter and considerably less brittle than natural material, which matters on structures not designed for the load. DaVinci and Brava among others.
Natural slate
The traditional material on older and higher end properties. Long lived and completely unforgiving of a rushed installation.
Synthetic slate
The appearance of slate with a fraction of the weight. Frequently the right answer on a structure that cannot carry natural stone.
Wood and synthetic shake
The traditional shake appearance, in natural cedar or in a synthetic product that cuts the maintenance and, depending on the product, carries a higher fire rating.
The method
What a correct tile installation involves
The visible part of a tile roof is the least important part of it. What decides whether it performs for decades is entirely underneath, and invisible the moment the last tile is set.
Fastening, flashing and how the crew moves
Tile has to be secured against Oklahoma wind loads without cracking the material or creating a path for water. Every hip, valley, wall junction and penetration is then flashed in metal and detailed by hand. On a complex tile roof there are a great many of these.
Repair, matching and product we trust
A lot of our specialty work is repair rather than installation, and the hard part is matching: finding product close enough to what is there that the repair does not read as a patch from the street. On a new roof, we only install product we are prepared to stand behind.
2
DaVinci Project of the Year awards
1st
Brava install in Oklahoma
22
Years roofing Oklahoma City
9
Metro cities we serve
Specialty FAQs
Tile and slate questions
What people ask before they repair or replace a tile, slate or shake roof.
Why does tile roofing take a specialist crew?
Because it is expensive and unforgiving. Tile and slate materials cost a great deal more than asphalt, the install is slower, and errors are expensive to correct.
What makes a correct tile installation different from an ordinary roof?
Almost everything that matters happens before the tile goes down. Underlayment, batten layout and fastening determine whether the roof performs, and the flashing at every hip, valley and penetration has to be detailed by hand rather than filled with sealant.
Tile is also heavy and brittle. Walking it incorrectly damages it, so how the crew moves on the roof during the install is part of the method rather than an afterthought.
What specialty materials do you install?
Clay, concrete, composite and synthetic tile. Natural slate and synthetic slate. Wood shake and synthetic shake.
We are a DaVinci Masterpiece contractor and a certified Brava contractor, and we install designer shingles such as CertainTeed Grand Manor on many of the same streets. Champion Roofing was the first company in Oklahoma to install Brava synthetic roofing.
Can you repair a tile or slate roof rather than replace it?
Frequently, yes, and it is a large part of what we do on these roofs. The difficulty is usually matching: finding a product that matches the existing roof closely enough that the repair does not read as a patch from the street.
Is synthetic tile as good as the real thing?
For a lot of applications it is the better choice, which is why it has become so common on the higher end streets around the metro. Synthetic products are lighter than clay, concrete or natural slate, which matters on structures that were not designed for the load, and they are considerably less brittle.
They are not identical to natural material and some people prefer the real thing. That is a matter of preference, not a technical argument, and we install both.
How long does a tile or slate roof take?
Usually a week or more. Tile, slate and Brava synthetic roofs take far longer than shingle because every hip, valley and penetration is detailed by hand, and weather can move the schedule.
Nothing here matches that.
Try a simpler word, search every answer on the site, or call the office.
Still have a question?
Call the office, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and we will answer it.
(405) 841-7663
Have a tile or slate roof?
We repair, restore and replace them, and the assessment costs nothing.