Roof bricks are not a standard roofing product. When people search for a brick roof, they usually mean one of three things: clay roof tiles (the fired clay cousin of a brick), the real bricks that cap a parapet or build a chimney, or the best roof to put on a brick house. Standard walling bricks are too heavy and too joint heavy to cover a pitched roof, so no modern code approved system roofs a house in laid brick.
What are roof bricks?
The term “roof bricks” mixes up two very different fired clay products. A brick is a solid rectangular walling unit, roughly 3.6 by 2.25 by 7.6 inches and about 4 to 5 pounds each, made to stack in load bearing walls. A clay roof tile is a thin, shaped, interlocking unit made to shed water down a slope. Both are baked clay, but only the tile is engineered to be a roof.
The confusion comes from the shared raw material and the brick-red color of many terracotta roof tiles. A tile is thin, curved or flanged, and locks into the tiles around it so water runs off. A brick is thick, flat sided, and needs mortar joints on every face, which is exactly what you do not want on a surface that has to keep rain out.
Brick vs clay roof tile vs concrete tile
A walling brick, a clay roof tile, and a concrete roof tile look related but perform very differently on a roof. The table below compares typical figures. Weights are per roofing square (100 square feet of covered roof) and absorption rates are approximate and vary by manufacturer.
| Material | Weight per square (100 sq ft) | Water absorption | Primary use | Typical lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walling brick (laid solid) | 1,500+ lbs | 8% to 20% | Walls, parapets, chimneys | Not a roof covering |
| Clay roof tile | 600 to 1,100 lbs | About 6% | Pitched roof covering | 50 to 100+ years |
| Concrete roof tile | 900 to 1,200 lbs | About 13% | Pitched roof covering | 30 to 50 years |
Concrete tile weighs roughly 40 percent more than clay and soaks up about twice the water, which is why heavy concrete tile can hold moisture and grow moss faster in wet climates. Neither tile behaves like a brick, and a laid brick surface would weigh far more than any tile roof a typical frame is built to carry.
Can you roof a house with actual bricks?
No, you cannot roof a pitched house with laid bricks. Bricks are a walling material, not a roof covering, and four separate problems rule them out on a slope:
- Weight. A solid brick surface weighs well over 1,500 pounds per 100 square feet, more than double a clay tile roof, and standard roof framing is not designed to carry it.
- Joints leak. Every brick needs mortar on all sides. On a slope, each of those joints is a seam that water can find, unlike tiles that overlap and shed water down the face.
- No interlock. Roof tiles are shaped to lap and lock together so rain never reaches the deck. Flat bricks have no lap, so water sits in the joints.
- Support. Brickwork needs a solid load bearing base, not a shingle deck or batten. There is nothing on a normal pitched roof for bricks to bond to.
The product you actually want for a fired clay roof is a clay tile. See our clay tile roof installation guide for how the real thing goes down over battens and underlayment.
Where real bricks actually go on a roof
Bricks do appear on and around roofs, just never as the field covering. They show up at the edges and penetrations where masonry meets the weather:
- Parapet walls and copings. Flat and low slope roofs often end in a brick parapet capped with coping. Under the IBC and IRC, that coping must be noncombustible and weatherproof, with a width not less than the thickness of the parapet wall.
- Chimneys. A brick chimney passes through the roof plane and is sealed to the covering with step and counter flashing, not by the bricks themselves.
- Ballast on flat roofs. Loose bricks or concrete pavers are sometimes laid on a flat membrane to hold it down against wind uplift, or as a walkway.
Brick used as coping is often chosen for looks. Because a brick cap has more joints than a single stone or metal coping, it gives water more paths into the wall below, so many specifiers now use precast concrete, stone, or aluminum coping instead.
Do genuine brick roofs exist?
Yes, but as thin tile vaults, not as laid walling brick. The timbrel vault, also called the Catalan vault or tile vault, builds a self supporting curved roof from thin flat tiles bedded in fast setting mortar in two or three layers. The result is a structural ceramic shell that spans without formwork, closer to a masonry arch than to a shingle roof.
The Spanish builder Rafael Guastavino patented his version, the Tile Arch System, in the United States in 1885. Guastavino tile roofs and ceilings survive in the Boston Public Library, the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Terminal, the Registry Room at Ellis Island, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Traditional brick barrel vaults and Nubian vaults use the same idea of curved fired clay carrying its own load. These are real fired clay roofs, but the unit is a thin tile working in compression, not a heavy brick laid flat.
Best roof for a brick house
Many people who search “brick roof” actually want the best roof for a brick house. Brick and masonry walls can usually carry more weight than a timber framed wall, which opens the door to heavier, longer lived coverings. The table below matches common materials to a brick exterior.
| Roofing material | Fit with brick | Relative weight |
|---|---|---|
| Natural slate | Classic pairing on traditional and historic brick homes | Very heavy |
| Clay tile | Warm, matches red and buff brick, very long life | Heavy |
| Standing seam metal | Clean modern contrast, light, long life | Light |
| Architectural asphalt shingle | Lowest cost, wide color range, works on any wall | Light |
Heavier options like slate and clay tile can add real weight, so a structural check of the roof framing is often worth doing before you commit, especially on an older home. For the wider picture of what covers homes across the country, see our report on what US roofs are actually made of.
Frequently asked questions
Is a brick roof a real thing?
Not as a field roof covering. You cannot cover a normal pitched roof in laid walling bricks because of the weight, the leaking mortar joints, and the lack of overlap. Genuine fired clay roofs use clay roof tiles, or in historic buildings, thin tile vaults such as the Guastavino system. When people say brick roof, they almost always mean clay tile or a brick house.
What is the difference between a brick and a clay roof tile?
Both are fired clay, but a brick is a thick solid walling unit around 4 to 5 pounds, made to stack with mortar in load bearing walls. A clay roof tile is thin, shaped, and interlocking, made to lap over its neighbors and shed water down a slope. The tile is engineered to keep rain out; the brick is not.
Can you put bricks on a roof?
You should not lay bricks as a roof covering, but loose bricks or concrete pavers are sometimes placed on a flat membrane roof as ballast to resist wind uplift or as a walkway. Bricks also form parapets, copings, and chimneys at the roof edge. In all these cases the waterproofing is done by the membrane or flashing, not by the bricks.
What are brick colored roof tiles called?
Brick red roof tiles are usually terracotta or natural clay tiles, named for the reddish brown color of fired clay. The shade comes from iron in the clay body, not from paint, so it lasts the life of the tile. Concrete tiles can be pigmented to a similar brick red, though the color sits closer to the surface and can fade sooner.
Why do people put bricks on a flat roof?
On a flat roof, loose bricks or concrete pavers act as ballast. A single ply membrane such as EPDM can be laid loose rather than glued down, then weighed against wind uplift with a layer of stone, pavers, or bricks. The ballast also shields the membrane from sun. It is a hold down and protection layer, not a waterproofing layer.
What is the best roof for a brick house?
Brick and masonry walls can often carry heavier roofs, so slate and clay tile are classic, long lived pairings for traditional brick homes. Standing seam metal gives a lighter, modern contrast, and architectural asphalt shingles are the lowest cost option that suits any wall. On older homes, check the roof framing before choosing a heavy slate or tile covering.
Reviewed by The Roofing Brief Team. Last reviewed July 2026.