North of Los Angeles, hidden and nestled in the Placerita Canyon Mountains, Rancho Deluxe Movie Ranch is nothing short of picturesque. At its peak, the ranch offers sweeping unparalleled 360-degree views overlooking the city of Santa Clarita, neighboring Agua Dulce, and even the Malibu Coast to the west, which is visible on clear days. Though shielded at a considerable distance from the noise of Los Angeles and Hollywood, what happens here is shown on TV and in movies all over the world.

The 200-acre Rancho Deluxe Movie Ranch is a premier movie ranch location with a wide variety of natural exteriors and fully functional interior sets. The ranch is used primarily as a studio filming location for feature films, television series, reality shows, photo shoots and commercials. Near the main entrance sits a huge 10,000-square-foot 1800s style barn, originally envisioned by Rancho Deluxe owner Steve Arklin.

“I was trying to accomplish a couple of things in building the barn,” Arklin said. “One was to have some offices so we could work onsite at the ranch without having to run across town like so many do. And while doing that, I figured, why not build another filming venue?”

During construction, Arklin brought in Graziano Roofing to install the barn’s roof. Founded in 1982 by Steve’s friend Joe Graziano Sr., Graziano Roofing is also based in Santa Clarita, Calif.

“Steve wanted to build a sound stage for larger productions,” says Graziano. “It’s a very tall, steep building. In the 1800s, a wood barn like this would have had a wood shingle or shake roof on it and we simply can’t use those products today because of fires.”

Graziano ended up recommending Boral Roofing’s CedarLite 600 for the project. A Class A fire rated concrete tile modeled after traditional heavy hand-split cedar shakes, the tile was ideal for the barn.

“I had visited a resort in Montecito, California and described its roof to Joe,” said Arklin. “It looked like wood shingles, but it was actually concrete and lightweight and looked exactly like the era we were going for, which was 1890. It was exactly what we wanted for the barn, it was as fire safe as you can get, and Joe knew all about it.”

Graziano has been installing Boral Roofing products for decades. Because of the contractor’s exceptional tile roofing project portfolio, Boral Roofing (formerly known as MonierLifetile) suggested in the late 1980s that Graziano Roofing establish satellite operations in Texas, which at the time was experiencing a regional influx in residential tile roofing demand. Graziano Roofing took the advice, opening in Texas in 1988, and today the company continues to operate out of both locations.

“There are other options out there, but I like Boral’s tile for its durability and authenticity,” said Graziano. “Additionally, it’s very textured and the coloring is unique. If you want a rusted wood shake look, this really is the best there is.”

Installation of the barn roof was a bit challenging due to the size of the structure and pitch of the roof, but ultimately it was nothing the team at Graziano Roofing couldn’t handle.

“Of course, we made sure to comply with all of OSHA’s rules,” said Graziano. “Everyone was harnessed and tied off. We had to use high lifts and high reach machines to get the materials up there, and we had our crew harnessed and walking a 10 and 12 and using the 1 by 3 spaced elevated battens to walk on.”

Boral’s CedarLite tile was installed as a vented system, raised off of Boral’s Elevated Batten System® with Boral’s Eave Riser, which also prevents birds, vermin and embers from entering the system. The Boral® Ply 40 SBS modified fiberglass reinforced underlayment base sheet was also utilized. Since the tiles are not in direct contact with the underlayment, heat transfer is limited, and the life of the Boral® Ply 40 is extended. Graziano points out that “the vented system ultimately makes it a cool roof application that meets California’s Title 24 requirements, something you can now achieve without using specific tile colors.”

The exterior of the structure and roof system accomplishes the authentic 1890-style western barn look that Arklin was striving for.

“Steve raves about the roof,” said Graziano. “He simply loves it.”

Arklin, along with his son Ryan, traveled throughout numerous states looking for an antique western-style oak Brunswick bar to install as part of the barn’s interior filming stage. They ended up finding, restoring and installing a beauty they discovered in an antique store in Georgia.