Coral Gables · Miami-Dade County

Tile Roof Replacement in Coral Gables

In most of Miami-Dade, a tile re-roof is a building-code job.

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In Coral Gables it is also a design review. Section 5-505 of the city's Zoning Code sets a short list of materials for pitched roofs, with a few named areas as exceptions, and the tile you choose, with its profile and color, goes to the City Architect or the Board of Architects before the roofing permit is issued. That review runs alongside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) rules every Miami-Dade roof must meet: a product approval for each roof component, a tile system installed under the Roofing Application Standards, and a field uplift test on mortar- or adhesive-set tile before the final inspection. Here is what the city allows, what it asks to see, and how the two reviews fit together.

The tile the Zoning Code allows

Section 5-505 limits pitched roofs to a short list, and each tile type comes with conditions. Vitrified clay tile is allowed. White concrete tile is allowed, and the code even sets its finish: one part white Portland cement to three parts white silica sand, pressure-troweled onto the tile when it is made. Colored cement tile is allowed only if the color is saturated through the whole tile, not applied to the surface, and the Board of Architects approves the color in relation to the surrounding area. Glazed tile needs the same color approval and may never be painted. Barrel tile must be fire clay and 3 inches deep.

Two more rules catch owners by surprise. A detached garage or cabana must follow the same roof requirements as the house. And if your house was originally permitted with a pitched roof of some other material, the code lets you replace it in that same material, so an older roof that predates today's list is not automatically forced into tile.¹

How the Board of Architects review works

The Board of Architects is made up of at least seven local architects, and roof tiles are on the list of things it reviews. It meets every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at 427 Biltmore Way. For a typical building permit, the city says the Board gives a preliminary and a final approval before the permit is issued. The City Architect can also help applicants prepare a submittal, and the permit requirements list approval by the City Architect or the Board, depending on the job.

The Board's application sets the calendar. Everything is due by noon on the Friday before the Thursday meeting, and fees must be paid by midnight three business days before, which is the Monday. If the project cost is over $75,000, the project must be posted with a public notice at least five business days before the meeting. The applicant or the architect is expected to attend unless told otherwise. A City Architect decision can be appealed to the Board, and a Board decision to the City Commission. If your house is in an association area such as Gables Estates, Cocoplum, Snapper Creek or Deering Bay, the Board's alterations checklist also asks for the homeowners association's approval.^2,3

What the re-roof permit submittal needs

Coral Gables issues its own roofing permit, filed electronically as FBC Residential – Roofing. The city's checklist is detailed. You need a site plan, roof plan and exterior elevations at 1/4 inch to the foot, and a survey cannot stand in for the site plan. You need color photos, not black and white, of the existing roof tile, the area of work and the entire front of the house, plus the specification and color of the tile you are installing.

On a re-roof, the plan must show everything already on the roof: skylights, hatches, overflow scuppers, drains, vents and equipment. Each roof component needs a Miami-Dade NOA or a State of Florida product approval. The HVHZ roof permit application forms, Sections A to E, go in, with Sections C and D matched to the tile system. The package also includes the Owner's Affidavit of Exemption and the Owner's Notification for Roofing Considerations. We prepare this package and pull the permit.⁴

HVHZ tile rules and the city's inspection sequence

The design review decides what your roof looks like. The HVHZ chapters of the Florida Building Code decide how it stays on. Miami-Dade's design wind speed for houses is 175 mph. Tile goes only over a solid sheathed deck and is installed under RAS 118, 119 and 120; the number of fasteners or the amount of adhesive per tile is calculated under RAS 127 from the uplift values in the tile's product approval. The nails holding the underlayment to a wood deck must be 12-gauge ring-shank nails driven through tin caps 1-5/8 to 2 inches across, or approved cap nails. When tile is set in mortar or adhesive, a TAS 106 field uplift test is required after installation and before the final.

Coral Gables lists the inspections a roof job may need: mopping, uplift test, tile placing, tin caps, a final historical inspection where it applies, final Public Works and final Building.^4,5,6

If your house is historic

A designated historic house, or one inside a historic district, adds a third review. The permit requirements list Historical approval where applicable and a final historical inspection at the end. The Board of Architects application asks for a preliminary review or approval from the Historical Resources Department for properties designated historic or located in a historic district.

One more item matters on older roofs. If the roof structure itself is being removed, not just the tile, the application calls for a historical significance determination letter. If the plan includes removing roof structure, for example to replace rotten rafters, raise it before you file, because it changes the paperwork.^3,4

Questions

Can I put barrel tile on my house in Coral Gables?

Yes, if it is fire clay and 3 inches deep, which is what Section 5-505 requires. The tile and its color still go through City Architect or Board of Architects review, and every roof component needs HVHZ product approval.

Can I paint my cement tile roof a new color?

A colored cement tile roof installed under approved plans may be painted or repainted a different color, but only if the Board of Architects approves the application and the paint specification. Glazed tile may not be painted at all.

My house was built with a roof material that is not on the list. Do I have to switch to tile?

Not necessarily. Section 5-505 lets a house that was originally permitted with a pitched roof of another material be re-roofed in that same material. Bring the original permit record so the city can confirm it.

When should the tile be chosen?

Before anything is filed. The permit needs the tile specification and color, color photos of the existing tile and the front of the house, and the product approvals, and the design review works from those documents.

Sources

Facts on this page come from these public sources. Last checked September 2026.