Spread from rooftop to rooftop by wind-driven sparks and embers, the recent fires in the Baldwin Hills and Porter Ranch areas were blamed partly on combustible roofs and ususually high winds. In many outlying or mountainous areas of Southern California, new and replacement roofs must now meet class A fire standards. Wooden roofs treated with normal fire retardants -- up to 70-percent of the homes in some So. Califonia cities -- may not meet this high standard, but there are alternatives.
A new-wave of roofing alternatives -- clay and concrete tile, fiberglass and perlite shingle, lightweight shakes and standing-seam metal roofs, and most recently metal-based tile -- have gathered momentum in the California market. Their primary advantages are greater weather and fire resistance than traditional wooden roofs, and appearances diverse enough to enhace California's eclectic architectural styles.
Gerard Roofing Technologies, based in southern California, is on the leading edge of high-tech alternatives to wooden roofs. Their lastest roof tile uses a galvanized, 26-gauge steel base, and bonded acrylic resin overglaze to combine class A fire protection with the look of hand split wood shake. Says Gerard President Mike Lefroy, "Beyond the need for the roofing industry to offer a product that enhaces home appearance while standing up to the worst weather and fire potential, is a series of construction and consumer expectations. Homeowners and businesses now demand gurantees exceeding ten or even twenty years."
Gerard's new shake roof is backed by a 40 year warrantee -- four times that of typical wooden shake and shingle roofs. Gerald's wood lookalike roof tile is more expensive than wooden roofing, but the lightweight steel shake tiles save installation costs compared to heavier, more traditional tiles. Recent suveys by the roofing industry indicate that a large percentage of homes in Califonia use traditional shake roofs, and that as much as 70-percent of these homes are in need of reroofing. "The fact that these homes need a new roof after only two decades, and that better warranties now exceed that period," notes Lefroy, "underlines the huge technological leap we've made since the choice was between shingles and shakes."