Roofing & roof renewal in the Alpilles
Alpilles Rénovation lays, repairs and renovates tuile canal and tuile romane roofs throughout the Alpilles range, from Maussane-les-Alpilles. Whether it is a leak, broken tiles, a full renewal or metalwork, we climb onto the roof, identify the cause, and reply within 48 h to arrange the visit. The detailed quotation, free and with no obligation, follows the survey.
What we offer
Full roof renewal
Stripping the old covering, underlay, new battens, re-laying in tuile canal or tuile romane. The fine old tiles are sorted and reused on the visible face.
Leak repair
Finding the real cause (a shifted tile, a cracked flashing, a tired valley), then a local repair and a check of the whole area.
Metalwork
Gutters, box gutters, downpipes, valleys, flashings and chimney junctions, in zinc or aluminium.
New roof covering
On an extension or an added storey, coordinated with the timber roof structure.
Roof insulation
Sarking or between-rafter insulation while the roof is being renewed, for more comfort in summer as in winter.
Emergency after a gale
Rapid sheeting and making watertight, ahead of the permanent repair.
When does a roof need renewing?
A roof is renewed when repair no longer suffices: porous tiles breaking one after another, sagging battens, water coming back in after every patch. A well-laid tuile canal covering lasts several decades; past that point, renewal often costs less than the accumulated call-outs.
A few signs do not lie. Tiles slip with every spell of mistral, damp patches spread across the ceiling, thick moss holds water, a ridge comes loose. During the survey we separate what is maintenance (a moss removal, a few tiles to replace) from what signals the end of a roof's life. And we tell you honestly: if your roof can wait five years, you will hear it from us.
One case comes up often enough to deserve its own explanation: the roof that only leaks in high wind, on a single slope, and stays dry for the rest of the year. We set that mechanism out in detail in our guide to roof leaks in high wind.
As for timing, a renewal takes from a few days to two weeks depending on the area and the state of the timber structure; the precise schedule is set out in the quotation.
What does it cost to renew a tuile canal roof?
The area, the state of the substrate and the share of reusable tiles account for most of the price. The national ranges for 2026 are set out in our price guide to tuile canal renovation. Your own roof, though, is not costed from the street. It takes a visit and a survey, then the quotation, free and with no obligation.
Then comes the question of funding, and the answer is clear: energy renovation grants fund insulation only, never a re-roofing job. The only lever on this kind of work is the 10 % TVA rate, which we apply directly on the quote. Our guide to financial support and TVA for a roof sets out what is funded, what is not, and what the 1 September 2026 reform changed.
Our method
Visit and survey on the roof
We inspect the covering, the metalwork and the state of the load-bearing timbers; we look for the cause, not the symptom.
Detailed quotation
Costed item by item: stripping, materials, labour, waste removal. No jargon, no surprises.
On site
Site protected, stripping, underlay, new battens, covering and then metalwork; the site stays clean and the waste is taken away.
Handover together
We check the work with you before the scaffolding comes down.
Provençal roofs: the tuile canal above all
Here roofs are covered in tuile canal or tuile romane, laid on gentle pitches, with génoise at the verge and mortared ridges. A curved tile has to be bedded, ventilated and lapped to precise rules, otherwise the mistral gets underneath and rain creeps back up under the covering. Exposure is anything but incidental: our mistral barometer counts at least 81 days a year with gusts of 58 km/h or more at the stations either side of the area.
We work on these roofs every day, including reusing weathered tiles so that your roof keeps the look of the old buildings of the Alpilles. As our study on the age of the buildings across the 30 communes shows, a large share of this stock predates 1971. Never a flat tile from the North on a Provençal mas.
In pictures
Our advice on the subject
Cost of renovating a tuile canal roof
Re-laying or full renewal: national price ranges for 2026, what makes them vary and the part VAT plays.
Roof leak: what to do
Water coming in? The right things to do from the ground, without ever climbing onto the roof, before we arrive.
Grants & VAT for your roofing work
What is subsidised (insulation) and what is not (roofing, timber structures), the 10 % VAT rate, the local schemes in departments 13 and 84, and the scams to avoid.
Tile types: tuile canal, interlocking, flat
The three tile families and their NF DTU, the pitch each one demands, terracotta or concrete, the vent tile and the mechanical ventilation outlet, and what can be changed during a renovation.
Mechanical ventilation outlet through the roof
What a badly made mechanical ventilation outlet does to a roof structure, from discharge banned into the roof space to an uninsulated duct and an undersized vent tile, and the marks that should raise the alarm.
Insulating an unconverted loft
Two crossed layers, which way the kraft facing goes, an OSB floor that does not crush the wool, and the five mistakes we most often find from the roof.
Inspect your roof without climbing on it
From the ground and from the attic: the ten-minute walk-around, the photo record, the check after a mistral episode and the five signs that justify a call.
Roof leak in high wind
Wind does not break the roof, it disarms it: what the mistral lifts, the entry points it opens and why the leak only appears with the next rain.
Where we work
Based in Maussane-les-Alpilles, we work throughout the Alpilles range (roofer in Maussane-les-Alpilles, roofer in Le Paradou, roofer in Fontvieille, roofer in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence) and, further north, in the Vaucluse around Avignon: Avignon, Cavaillon and L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Browse our service area, from the Alpilles to the Vaucluse.
A roof or timber structure project?
Free quotation, no obligation, answered within 48 h. We climb onto the roof and really look; our roofing and timber work is covered for ten years by our garantie décennale.