Eagle concrete roof tile tests answer insurers’ hail damage concerns

Sources: Eagle Roofing Products, Rialto, Calif.; CP staff

Eagle Roofing has demonstrated “Class 4 Impact Resistance” for its flat and Malibu (medium profile) tiles, an achievement Vice President of Sales & Marketing John Campbell calls “paramount to our efforts to expand the market for concrete tile in the United States and Canada. “Hail is a phenomenon that drives a multi-billion dollar replacement market for asphalt shingles and other temporary roof coverings every year. Our goal is to expose architects, developers, builders and roofing contractors across the country to the performance-based superiority of concrete roof tiles.”

“We receive at least 10 calls per month from members of the insurance industry inquiring about wind and hail related concerns,” notes Eagle Director of Technical Services and Systems Tyler Allwood. “I think it is safe to say that insurance companies are tired of constantly replacing asphalt shingle roofs. Our company and industry have a story to tell that needs to be heard outside of the Sunbelt markets.”

Achieving a “Class 4 Impact Rating” along with launching new products such as Eagle Platinum Tile, whose thermal insulated coating reduces energy costs, he adds, are two of many steps the producer is taking to ensure more than passive consideration of the concrete tile industry in the northern two-thirds of the U.S. from specifiers and insurance companies. Eagle enlisted PRI Construction Materials Technologies, Tampa, Fla., to perform tests indicating tiles’ hail exposure performance—per FM 4473: Specification Test Standard for Impact Resistance Testing of Rigid Roofing Materials by Impacting with Freezer Ice Balls.