What numbers are you getting for what sqft? Is this new or retrofit?

New construction - for about 1,500 square feet and for a tile roof I’m getting quotes of $22k - $30k and for a concrete slab I’ll post later as I don’t have the quotes in front of me.

Can you do tile with a flat roof?

An attorney asking for free advice on the internet ?

No the tile would be for a low pitch hip roof - the other option is a concrete slab flat roof. We are weighing the pros and cons of the two options. Our architect has given us some pros and cons to think about, but we are looking for additional input to help us determine which we prefer.

One component is price - which has varied tremendously, especially with the concrete slab flat roof option.

Most of the flat roofs I've seen wind up looking bad very quickly because dirt, mold and scum builds up on them. I live in FL and would never have a flat roof. If I remember tomorrow, I'll take a picture of some of the flat roofs from my balcony

Cpartist, that’s very helpful input - really appreciate it. That you live in Florida makes it even more helpful since we live in Miami. We were thinking hurricane protection but these other issues you raise are important too.

What's done locally, normally? What are the local trades comfortable doing? Deviating too much from that is risky.

Concrete bridge decking makes bridges, parking garages and all sorts of other weatherproof structures.

Yes I’m speaking with local professionals but the advice is remarkably varied as is the prices quoted - ultimately we will need to decide whose input we trust most. Miami is seeing more and more homes with flat slab concrete roofs but it still isn’t the most common roof. Price may be a reason for that, though I’m not sure.

The roof system depends a lot on the the rest of the house. A wood framed house would not have a concrete roof. A house that is restricted in height due to zoning might have a flat roof and thin concrete floors. Many concrete roof and floor systems are precast concrete which is less expensive than cast-in-place. A flat roof usually calls for a more expensive roofing system. There are so many variables that go into house design.

Thanks Seaborman - our wall structure would support it - the precast may be the way to go if we do concrete roof - that’s a helpful distinction- I appreciate it.

Info on pricing. Countries south of our border and in the Caribbean make extensive use of concrete because it's cheap in those locales. USA concrete is much more expensive because of many factors (unions etc.).

Chiflipper - wow this is helpful thank you - some friends with homes in the Virgin Islands kept recommending concrete roofs and your information helps clear up some things we were trying to understand

Years ago we looked seriously at a concrete tile roof for a house we built. Turned out to be too expensive, but surprisingly, it did not require a big additional investment in framing. Too bad, because it would have looked great. As an aside, we called and received permission to look at a nearby house with a concrete tile roof from the husband of the couple who owned the house, who was an attorney. We were welcomed by the husband and invited to walk around and check it out. His wife followed us around the house on the inside, and totally flipped out when we started to take a picture of how they managed a particularly tough seam. She came out and started jumping up and down and crazy screaming at us to get out. She was clearly a nut job, so we immediately left. Husband followed us to our car and apologized on our way out. Wife called both the local police and the attorney general of our state, had us investigated and individually filed suit against us in their state for trespassing. Thankfully her husband was able to get the trespass charge dropped. Building a house can be so fun and memorable!

I had to read through this twice because I thought maybe I misread!! Wow! I’ve heard some interesting stories - this one is up there ;). Thanks for sharing!

Reads like Houzz has turned into a social media site.....Used be a garden site.