After 30 years in roofing, Brian Zajicek had grown frustrated watching the same cycle repeat: homeowners replacing three roofs in five years, insurers paying out claim after claim, and asphalt shingles that looked fine after hailstorms but crumbled months later under freeze-thaw stress.

“Homeowners are tired of it,” said Zajicek, founder of Rasa Roof Tiles in Denver.  

Concrete tile lasts decades longer—but it’s too heavy and costly for most homes. That dilemma sparked his breakthrough: a way to bring concrete’s durability to shingles that roofers could install as easily as asphalt.

Fifteen years ago, Zajicek said he was staring down at a restaurant lunch tray and had a wild thought: What if this could hold concrete—and be nailed to a roof? Zajicek saw potential where others saw crazy. The idea stuck, sparking a vision to fuse concrete’s staying power with asphalt’s easy installation.

Today, at 53, Zajicek has bet everything on that vision—quitting his job, tapping into his 401(k), and developing what he believes is the roofing industry’s first true “concrete shingle,” built to last like tile but install like an asphalt shingle.

Zajicek's patent-pending design centers around what he calls an "endoskeleton" – a specially engineered backing that allows concrete to be embedded and nailed like a traditional shingle. The result is a three-tab shingle where everything exposed to the elements is concrete, but roofers can install it just like asphalt shingles.

"When I tell people it's a concrete, nailable shingle, they all think they're gonna nail through the concrete," Zajicek said. "But they're nailing through the endoskeleton, and that's what my patent is on – this endoskeleton that I'm embedding the concrete into."

The design includes a crucial headlap feature that creates a two-layer protection system that defines a shingle. Unlike concrete tiles that rely on underlayment for waterproofing, Zajicek's concrete shingles provide their own water barrier.

Colorado sees significant hail damage annually, and Zajicek designed his product specifically for these conditions. His concrete shingles will weigh approximately 750 pounds per square – heavier than asphalt but lighter than traditional concrete tiles.

"The majority of hail we get in Colorado is quarter-size or less. That will never damage my product – it just won't come down with enough velocity," Zajicek said. "And baseball and softball size, I think I'm gonna take those on pretty good too, because it's a concrete face."

The product is designed to pass FM 4473, the test standard used to evaluate the impact resistance of rigid roofing materials, like wood shakes, slate, and metal roofing, against hail. This contrasts with the UL 2218 test used for asphalt shingles, which drops steel balls onto products and measures dents.

Zajicek believes market conditions are finally right for his innovation. When he started in roofing in 1996, three-tab shingles cost $16 per square and dimensionals were $20. Today's higher prices have created space for premium alternatives, and contractors are more open to new technologies.

"I feel like there's only a limited amount of people willing to spend that upper echelon of money for their product. When you see how high asphalt shingles have gotten, now there's a slew of synthetic products out there that people are buying," he said.

Insurance companies are also driving change, as they are tired of paying for repeated roof replacements on the same properties. Zajicek predicts they'll eventually require hard-surface materials in hail-prone areas.

Zajicek recently received his first production batch of 1,000 pieces and plans to roof his own garage as the initial test case. After sending samples for wind and hail testing at Haag Engineering, he'll launch with a soft rollout to Denver-area contractors who are already asking for sample boards.

The entrepreneur is seeking corporate partners or investors to help scale production, particularly to manufacture his patented endoskeleton components more efficiently. His current single mold can produce one piece per minute, but larger molds could dramatically increase output and reduce costs.

One of Zajicek's key insights comes from his field experience: concrete tile installation typically takes four to five days, even with large crews, requiring specialty knowledge and careful weight distribution. His concrete shingles can be installed by any crew familiar with asphalt shingles in the same timeframe.

"If they know asphalt shingles, they're going to know my product," he said. "You don't need a specialty crew – it's just another roof that the guys do."

With his patent-pending final approval and testing scheduled for September, Zajicek is targeting a full market launch in early 2026. He's already fielding interest from roofing contractors eager to offer clients a hail-resistant option that doesn't require structural modifications.

"I really feel like I've invented a real hailproof shingle," Zajicek said.