Tile Roofs in Cheviot Hills

Cheviot Hills is a quiet residential neighborhood with a median year built of 1957. Much of the housing is older, though it has also seen change. This page lays out what the numbers say and what a tile roof budget looks like beside them.

The numbers

The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimates count about 4,056 housing units. About 57 percent predate 1960, and about 70 percent predate 1980. Owners live in about 69 percent of units. The median home value is over $2 million.

A lower pre-1980 share points to a fair amount of newer building, whether infill or rebuilt lots. A neighborhood of this sort may hold a mix of ranch houses, period revivals and recent construction, which means one roof type will not describe the whole. Tile may be found among them.

An older roof beneath a newer one

When a roof has been replaced once or twice over sixty years, the question is rarely how long the tile will last. It is whether the work beneath it was done to a standard that still holds. Fixr's January 31, 2025 guide advises that underlayment under tile be replaced every 20 to 30 years.

Concrete tile weighs 575 to 1,100 pounds per square in RoofingCalc's July 30, 2023 guide, and that source says most codes call for frame upgrades above about 600 pounds. If a house changes from a light roof to tile, the framing is a first question.

Price notes

Fixr's August 29, 2025 clay guide gives $11,046 to $22,266 for a clay roof nationally and a $20,055 average. For lifting and relaying sound tile, Fixr's underlayment guide gives $3 to $5 per sq ft. On 2,800 sq ft that comes to $8,400 to $14,000 as arithmetic on that range, not a quote. It is a calculation on national ranges and not a quote. Our cost guide adds the dates and the other sources.

Rain and cool roof rules

The neighborhood is in climate zone 9. The nearest NOAA station, U C L A, is about 4.6 kilometers away and records 17.73 inches of rain a year.

The California Energy Commission's 2022 cool roof sheet says requirements for alterations, which include re-roofs, apply in additional climate zones beyond those listed for new homes. Ask the building department which cool roof values apply to your re-roof.

Permits

The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, the building department here, accepts permit applications online according to its home page. The page names ePlanLA for projects with plans and PermitLA for simple projects on its express list, which skip plan review. Both systems need an Angeleno account. The page says nothing about roofing, so this guide makes no claim about what a re-roof needs. Many cities require a permit for a re-roof, so ask the department whether yours is on the express list.

Fire

Check the address on the state fire hazard severity zone map. The state map can be searched by address.

Reading with care

These are tract-level estimates. A neighborhood of four thousand homes holds many exceptions, and the median is only a midpoint. The record that will tell you the most about your own roof is a permit history, together with a roofer's look at the underlayment. Ask for both before you set a budget.

Mixed streets

On a street that holds an older ranch house beside a new build, the two roofs have little in common. The older one may need an assessment of its deck, its flashing and its framing. The newer one may need only a periodic check. Treat each house on its own record. If you are comparing your plans with a neighbor's, compare the roof's age and material first, and the price second.

A short list

• Learn the age of the roof and what is under it.
• Ask for tile, underlayment, flashing and permit to be priced separately.
• Ask whether the framing has been reviewed for the weight of tile.
• Compare at least two written bids on the same scope.

Check any roofer's license at the Contractors State License Board. This publication is information only. It is not a contractor and does not bid work.