Clay tiles are colorfast which means their tints improve rather than fade over time.
Minimum slope for clay tile roof.
The irc recommends a minimum pitch of 2 5 12 for these materials.
Other clay tile roofs such as ours here on the other side of your wall in mexico depend on the clay tiles themselves to collect and shed water off of the roof.
All tiles have a minimum roof pitch which is always stated in the manufacturers technical information.
Clay and concrete roof tiles can only be installed on roof slopes of 2 1 2 12 or greater.
The international residential code irc specifies a minimum 4 12 pitch 4 inches of vertical rise for every 12 inches of horizontal run for a clay or concrete tile roof except that a pitch as low as 2 1 2 12 is allowed when two layers of underlayment are applied.
In that case the underlayment is principally cushioning the underside of the tiles and giving a bit of extra leak insurance.
Ratios from that minimum up to 4 12 which are considered low pitch require double underlayment.
This means for every 12 horizontal units the roof must rise a minimum of two and one half vertical units.
This minimum pitch is important if tiles are laid below the recommended minimum pitch there is an increased chance of water getting through which can damage the underlay and battens over a prolonged period.
Clay and concrete tile minimum roof slope roof pitch r905 3 2.