Terracotta vs concrete tiles vs metal for a beach house

Published 24 August 2026 · Updated 13 October 2026

Terracotta, concrete and metal compared

These are single products from the manufacturers’ own pages, not averages for each material, but they show the differences that matter.

Three roofs, by the manufacturers’ figures

Monier’s Marseille and Elabana product pages (modified 10 November 2025) and FAQ (updated 22 September 2026); Lysaght’s Custom Orb brochure (July 2024); BlueScope TB-1A (March 2023), Table 1, distances “measured from the high water/tide mark”, which BlueScope calls “a GUIDE ONLY”. Checked 12 October 2026.

Salt air and wind on the Beaches

Tiles don’t rust. Monier’s FAQ says “All Monier concrete and terracotta roof tiles are salt safe and will not corrode over time.” What corrodes on a tile roof near the beach is the metal around it: valleys, flashings, gutters and fixings.

With steel, the grade decides how long it lasts by the sea. BlueScope’s selection guide puts standard Colorbond more than 200 m from breaking surf or exposed marine conditions, Colorbond Ultra more than 100 m away, and Superdura stainless closer than that. Screws follow the same logic. Our guide to Colorbond, Ultra or Zincalume near the coast has BlueScope’s table and Lysaght’s screw classes, and the coastal roof material finder works it out for your distance.

Wind is the other coastal load. Monier says “The weight of concrete and terracotta roof tiles offer more resistance to high winds” than lighter materials. Steel holds down through its screws and battens, so the fixing pattern matters as much as the sheet.

Weight: swapping tiles for steel, or steel for tiles

Going from tiles to steel takes roughly 40 kg off every square metre of roof, by the figures above. That’s one reason tile-to-Colorbond is a common change on older Beaches houses, and why a frame that has sagged under tiles is often fine under steel.

Going the other way, from an old iron roof to tiles, puts about ten times the weight on a frame that was never built for it. Ask for the roof frame to be checked before choosing tiles for a house that has always had a metal roof. Tiles also need a steeper pitch: 15° with sarking on both Monier tiles above, against 5° for Custom Orb, so a low-pitched skillion or extension usually stays metal.

Looks, colour, heat and the neighbours

Terracotta keeps its colour: Monier says “Terracotta tiles, however, do not fade as the colour is baked into the tile.” Concrete tiles are cheaper but their colour “will fade and weather over time”, which is why so many concrete roofs on the Beaches get painted during a restoration. Steel comes in a fixed range of Colorbond colours.

Lighter colours reflect more summer sun, and some parts of the Northern Beaches have council controls on roof colour and reflectivity. If the house is a heritage item or in a heritage conservation area, a change of material needs council’s say first. See does a re-roof need council approval?

Tiles, steel and bush fire

Tile and steel roofs are both used on the Beaches’ bush fire prone land. What each needs depends on the bushfire attack level (BAL): the sarking, the battens, sealing at the ridge and eaves, and gutter guard all come into it, and the detail differs between metal and tile roofs. The BAL roofing requirements checker sets out what NSW and CSIRO say for metal, concrete and terracotta roofs.

What each material costs to re-roof

One Sydney contractor publishes a starting rate for each material, supplied and installed with the old roof stripped:

Published Sydney re-roofing rates by material

One Sydney contractor’s published rates, checked 1 October 2026. The page is undated and doesn’t say whether GST is included. It says the rates include “stripping the old roof, new sarking and standard flashings”, and that two-storey access, a pitch over 30° and complex roofs cost extra. By our arithmetic its typical totals work out at $187.50 to $225 per m² for Colorbond ($37,500 ÷ 200 and $45,000 ÷ 200), above its own “from” rate.

Monier’s FAQ says it is “not uncommon” for terracotta tiles “to provide more than century of service”. That’s a manufacturer’s claim, but it explains why many Beaches terracotta roofs are re-laid on new battens and sarking rather than replaced, keeping the tiles. Ask the roofer whether yours can be.

Common questions