This is an odd HOA requirement. Can't say I've ever run across anything similar, i.e., asphalt shingle roof with a concrete, slate, tile or stone ridge line. And of course, most houses have multiple ridge lines. I'd suggest something that resembles the color of the rest of your roofing as closely as possible. I don't know that there will be much difference in the price of materials and installation for any of these materials, given the relative small amount needed for covering a ridge line. It will be interesting to see what your contractor says. I wonder what they would say if you had a flat roof? Where is your site and do you know why this requirement has been adopted? Good luck on your project.

I'm not going to comment on the differences between the two options, we never even considered a pan and it was never an issue with our contractor. In addition to having to build it in, you have to allow a couple of days for the concrete to cure, so I'm sure it takes longer. It makes sense that he wants to take the method of least resistence "and get it done to be done with it" because time is money and the quicker he can finish your job, the quicker he can move on to the next. But that doesn't mean that you should be asked to compromise what you'd prefer to do just because it will benefit your contractor. Get additional quotes and stick to what you either vision or can afford to do. Also, when my GC was tiling our master bath, I ran into a similar situation with our niche. Bill told me something that really put things into perspective and changed my whole approach to the project. He said, "He who holds the golden egg is the boss" In other words, it's your project, you're paying the bill, so you make the call. If it's not a job he wants to do, find someone else you feel comfortable with who will.

This is the longer story with details contributed by husband. What started this odyssey was the need for a paint job. But first there was rot in the rafter tails to be fixed. It is a 33 year old home with spike/ferrule gutter installation directly into the rafter tails (no fascia and no soffits). A recent rare ice storm followed by high winds introduced our house to a big fir branch that clipped one gutter. Not a big problem, but put them all together with our concrete tile roof and it is looking like a "begetter" project: rot repair -> broken roof --> new roof --> new gutter. (The last one may be necessary anyway; it wasn't installed very well.) The heavy 17-inch long tile is mounted with a lip that simply hooks over a horizontal wood slat. The spacing between slats is such that there is about a 10-inch gap (estimate) in the middle of the tile that is unsupported. Step on it and it cracks. DH probably won't take that step, but as y'all observed repair folks won't be that careful. I like the idea of scaffolding, but it is one of those tri-level houses with a "broken" roof line. To get to the second floor rafter tails not around the perimeter of the house, the scaffolding would have to span from front to back of the house over the top of the peaked first floor roofing. Even then, more than half of the tails would be too far below the scaffold to work on. We sure don't want to replace the roof just to get something more walkable. Maybe we could get by without a gutter on the upper level "interior side". (Not sure about that, though.) We can safely take the gutter down, but some of those rafter tails still need repair. Maybe I can send the DH to carpentry school for that? Anyway, I was very excited to own a home with a 50 year/lifetime concrete tile roof. No more. It is impossible to stay off the roof. Even without rot, there is upper level painting to be done and the tile grows moss even better than cedar shakes. It looks very spiffy, but think twice before installing such a roof. Thanks for the suggestions so far and please keep them coming.

HU, you are probably not aware that cement backer board like Durock is not waterproof. I know that I did not know this before reading this forum. You have to put waterproofing all the way up the walls using even Durock. I bet you also did not know that grout is not waterproof. Grout, as in what goes between the tiles in the shower! This is why even walls must be waterproofed. When you go to rebuild the shower, I would like to suggest something. A lot of people get condensation above the shower, on the walls. When the shower tile ends at 6 ft or 7ft, there are usually painted walls above the shower. I have a pet peeve about this because every shower I have had that had the walls end before the ceiling had molding on that paint where it met the tile. I know that if your exhaust fan is good, this is not supposed to happen, but I just never get used to turning on the fan (and in winter, using it makes the bathroom cold). I was probably 30 before I had a house with an exhaust fan. I solved this problem in my remodel by getting an exhaust fan from Panasonic that senses the humidity and turns on. So consider getting a less expensive tile that you can afford to take to the ceiling. It is just one more place that you don't have to clean in the long run!