The short answer
For most South Australian homes built before the mid-1990s, converting from concrete or terracotta tiles to Colorbond® steel is the better long-term decision. Steel is lighter, sheds water faster, needs almost no maintenance and handles our heat and wind well. Tiles still make sense for some heritage homes and for owners who prefer the look — but the old idea that tiles are 'cooler' or 'quieter' no longer holds up once modern sarking and insulation are included.
Weight and structure
A concrete tile roof weighs roughly 45–55 kg per square metre. The same area in Colorbond® steel weighs around 4–6 kg. On an average 200 m² roof that is close to nine tonnes coming off the house. Older timber frames in the Murraylands and Adelaide Hills often sag under decades of tile load; removing it lets us straighten battens, replace any tired timbers and give the house a genuinely lighter structure.
Lighter also means safer in a storm. Tiles crack and lift; a properly screwed steel roof with cyclone-rated fixings stays put.
Heat in an SA summer
Tiles absorb and store heat through the day, then release it into the roof space well into the evening. Steel heats faster but also cools quickly once the sun drops. With reflective sarking under the sheets and a light-to-mid Colorbond® colour, a steel roof will usually run cooler in the ceiling space by night than the tile roof it replaced. Colorbond®'s Thermatech® coating reflects more of the sun's heat than a standard paint of the same colour, which is why we recommend it in the Murraylands.
Rain noise
The honest answer: an un-sarked steel roof is louder in heavy rain than tiles. A sarked, insulated steel roof — which is the only way we install them — is barely different. Most of our tile-to-steel customers tell us they notice the rain for the first week and never again.
Lifespan and maintenance
Concrete tiles are often sold as lasting '50 years'. The tile body might, but the surface coating fades and goes porous after 20–30 years, ridge capping mortar cracks, and the sarking underneath (if there is any) breaks down. From then on you are paying for periodic re-pointing and bedding, replacing cracked tiles and chasing leaks.
Colorbond® steel carries a manufacturer's warranty of up to 36 years on the material, needs no re-pointing, and a clean every few years is the only maintenance. Valleys, flashings and gutters are all steel too, so the whole system ages together.
Cost
Installed, a Colorbond® roof and a new concrete tile roof land in a similar range for a straightforward home. Where steel wins is on everything around it: less structural work, faster installation (three to five days rather than a week or more), lower scaffolding and labour, and almost no maintenance spend over the next 30 years. Tile-to-steel conversions also let us upgrade insulation and sarking in the same job. See our roof replacement cost guide for the numbers.
When tiles still make sense
Heritage-listed homes where council requires like-for-like, a strong personal preference for the profile, or matching an existing tiled extension are all fair reasons. In those cases we re-bed and re-point, replace broken tiles and install new sarking so the tile roof performs as well as it can.
Is a Colorbond® roof hotter than a tile roof?
Not once it is installed with reflective sarking and a light-to-mid colour. Steel cools faster at night, so the ceiling space is usually cooler by evening than under tiles.
Will my house be noisy in the rain with a steel roof?
A sarked, insulated Colorbond® roof is only marginally louder than tiles. Most homeowners stop noticing within the first week.
Do I need council approval to switch from tiles to Colorbond® in SA?
For a standard home, usually not. Heritage-listed or character-zoned properties may need approval — we check with your council before quoting.
Free inspection & written quote.
Or call 0421 568 663 and talk to Jack directly.
