Most Valley homes have tile, and most tile roofs that leak don’t need replacing. The tile itself lasts fifty years or more — what fails is the waterproof membrane underneath it, and replacing that is a different job at a fraction of the cost. If somebody has quoted you a full tile roof replacement, that’s worth a second look before you sign anything.

Flat and low-slope roofs are a separate world. Foam and elastomeric coatings outperform every other system in this climate, and a maintained foam roof can run thirty or forty years without a tear-off. The failures we see on flat roofs are almost never the field of the roof — they’re parapet walls, scuppers, and the curbs under rooftop HVAC equipment.

Shingle is what most people picture when they think “roof,” and it’s the material Arizona is hardest on. A thirty-year shingle here performs like an eighteen-year shingle, and attic ventilation moves that number more than the shingle grade does.

Knowing which of those three you’re dealing with is most of the decision. Everything below is organized that way — by what your roof is and what’s actually wrong with it.