Help choosing roof tiles - some prone to moss?

[MimsyPimsy]

I'm hoping for some roof tile help. I am choosing roof tiles for our semi from the Marley range, as recommended by our roofer.
//www.marleyeternit.co.uk/Roofing/Concrete-Tiles/Ludlow-Major-Interlocking-Tile.aspx

The best match to our attached neighbour is Antique Brown. However, the roofer has said that is a pitted style and we will get a moss problem. I'm therefore teetering towards Smooth Brown, although I don't like the tile as much.

Does anyone know whether this is true regarding the moss problem. Any input would be appreciated, as I've never re-roofed before, and feel a bit out of my depth. Also, our neighbour is planning on re-roofing himself in a couple of years, so perhaps matching is less crucial. Thank you!

[LeaLeander]

Just wanted to jump in OP and note that while you may not want moss from an aesthetic point of view (and that is fine) -- moss is not destructive. It has no roots, it cannot hurt your rooftop.

For some reason builders (and people who sell new roofing materials) like to imply that it is destructive and that costly remediation with toxic pesticides must take place but per moss experts that is not so. In fact a moss roof is pretty good for the environment -- I am actively encouraging it on my house, shed and greenhouse roofs.

Here's another explanation I found on the web: Moss has no roots, nor does moss feed off of surfaces (therefore it's not capable of destroying the limestone binding agent). Moss absorbs nutrients in a variety of ways, mostly by uptake from what's in the air or rainwater. Moreover, moss won't readily colonize areas that aren't acidic or neutral... limestone has an alkaline pH around 8.0, making any limestone binding agents inhospitable hosts for moss growth. The urban myth of moss negatively affecting roofs is likely associated with moss growth over abandoned structures. Moss isn't causing the decay... moss simply takes hold where surfaces remain undisturbed.

Just food for thought.

[MimsyPimsy]

Thank you for replying. Aesthetically, I love moss too. I was just worried about it growing and washing off into the guttering, and then having to clear the gutters regularly. I think the uneven surface of the Antique Brown enables the moss to gather and grow, until heavy rain, and it washes down. But I don't know how much of a problem that will be. The roofer was really negative about this!

[LeaLeander]

Not to generalize but I find that builders of just about any specialty (carpenter, roofer etc.) are not the most environmentally aware people. A house next door to me was torn down and a larger one put in its place, two years ago, and all the neighbors' hearts broke when the builder chopped down a 50-foot pine and a 60-year-old pear tree that were landmark features of the property. Just because he wanted to; neither tree interfered with the design of the house or the access of the heavy equipment the builder used.

I don't think moss would fall off and clump in a way that would clog guttering. Was just looking at the moss on the shed of a family cottage last week and it's pretty thick now, and I have never seen a clump of moss in the flower beds or anywhere else on the nearby ground. I have cultivated quite a bit of moss at my home and it can be torn apart but would not spontaneously fall off unless it were perhaps bone dry, and in that case it would be unlikely to clog anything. It would just frizzle and fall apart.

Just my two cents but I would not let moss deter me. I do like that smooth grey color however, and you are right, antique brown is far more attractive than smooth brown.