Many Southern California Adobe homes were built with Tecate Tile clad roofs, (a.k.a. Flat Mexican Tile).  This page is intended to collect owner’s experiences repairing or replacing their original Tecate Tile roofs.  It’s still work in progress, as we collect more information to publish.  Contact us for what we know now.

A re-roof job on an Adobe home in Valley Center, late 2018.  Mission or Barrel style is being installed, made of kiln fired clay; this is common choice for a Flat Tecate Tile replacement.  The  tile being installed is Boral clay tile, S-type, El Camino color blend.  Note the hand-mudded cement bird-stops and edge risers, a nice touch and helps for fire prevention.

Another Boral Clay tile upgrade (replacing the original flat Mexican Tecate tile) on a Jack Weir Adobe in Pauma Valley.  The owner chose Mission S-type tile, with two piece on the edge, and hand mudded bird stops, using terra-cotta mud color.  The Boral tile color is Newport blend.  Rain gutters are yet to be added, and are considered to be an important part of protecting your adobe home, by directing water away from your foundation.

Here’s a picture of an old Tecate Tile roof, taken from a drone.  Note how some of the tiles deteriorated. Moisture can impregnate these old tiles, causing them to “explode”.  Walking on a roof like this takes care; put weight only near the lower edges, where the overlapping tile rests on the tile underneath.  Better yet; lay down a sheets of plywood, with carpeting on the back, and walk on the plywood.

This picture shows why you don’t step on the mid-sections of the tiles.  They may only be mudded at the ends, with an air gap underneath.  (The webmaster is chasing down a leak into the Adobe brick wall underneath, around the vent pipe.)  These are the things you do to preserve an Adobe home.

These tiles are still available outside of Tecate, hand made, then stacked and baked over a wood fire, all under a tarp.  Mission Roofing in Escondido may have some spares too, if you contract with them for a repair.

Roofing companies and homeowners have reported that underneath a Tecate tile roof you may find the unusual; a sprayed on foam thermal barrier layer (not the normal panels), mud (actual mud, not cement), globs of tar to set the tile, and deteriorated roofing paper.  Under this may be a layer of plywood over the typical tongue and groove that you see inside the home.

Here’s a write up on the webmasters 2020 re-roof:

tecate tile roof replacement project

What was your re-roofing experience?  We would love to know.