Tile Roof Repair in Littleton

Is It the Tiles, or What’s Under Them?

Tile sheds most of the water, but it isn’t a sealed surface on its own. Wind-driven rain gets past it, and the underlayment underneath is what keeps that water out of your house. The tile industry’s trade group calls the underlayment the secondary water barrier, and the tile is what protects it from the sun.

That’s why a cracked tile matters even if nothing leaks yet: it lets water and sunlight reach the underlayment and wears it out. The Tile Roofing Industry Alliance recommends having broken tiles replaced as soon as possible.

It’s also why a leak on a tile roof isn’t always a tile problem. The tile itself can last 50 years or more. The underlayment usually doesn’t, and NRCA notes that on long-lasting roofs like clay tile, the underlayment may need replacing while the tile still has decades left.

What You Can Check From the Ground

• Cracked, chipped or broken tiles, especially after hail or a windstorm. Look closely at the lower corners where tiles overlap.
• Tiles that have slipped down or out of line with the rest of the row.
• Pieces of tile in the gutters or on the ground.
• A stain on a ceiling under a tile roof. That can point to worn underlayment or flashing, not just a broken tile.
• And stay off the roof. Tile cracks under the wrong step, and most manufacturers don’t warrant breakage from foot traffic. Even cleaning gutters or hanging lights is better done from a ladder.

Why How Someone Walks on Your Roof Matters

Every step on a tile roof is a chance to crack another tile. The industry’s guidance is to step on the bottom three inches of each tile, where it rests on the tile below, keep your feet parallel to the ridge, and stay off the hips and valleys, where the cut tiles are hardest to replace.

So ask anyone who’ll be on your roof how they walk on tile. A repair that breaks five tiles to fix two isn’t a repair.

Can Your Tile Be Matched?

Most concrete and clay tiles on the market are still made, but some aren’t. The Tile Roofing Industry Alliance publishes a guide to discontinued profiles because so many homeowners and contractors are trying to identify older tiles.

If yours is out of production, the industry’s storm-repair guidance describes a "harvest and repair" method: reusing matching tiles from the same roof for the damaged area. Either way, a replacement tile should be checked against your roof in daylight before it goes on.

How a Tile Repair Is Done

• The broken tile comes out in pieces, so the tiles around it aren’t disturbed.
• Old fasteners are cleared, and the underlayment underneath is checked and sealed where the old nail holes were.
• The new tile goes in and is fastened or bonded with tile adhesive, depending on how your roof was installed.
• If the underlayment is worn out, new tile shouldn’t go over it. The tile industry says not to install new or reused tiles over compromised underlayment, however old the roof is.

When the Underlayment Is the Problem: Lift and Relay

If your tiles are sound but the underlayment has worn out, the tile doesn’t have to go. In a lift and relay, the tiles are taken off and set aside, new underlayment goes down, and the same tiles go back on. Eagle Roofing, a tile manufacturer, notes this can be a good option when it’s only the underlayment that needs replacing.

If both the tile and the underlayment are at the end of their life, that’s a replacement. In Littleton, a tile replacement needs a permit before work starts, posted where it can be seen from the street, the same as shingles.

Hail and Tile

Tile holds up to hail better than most roofing; the tile industry says concrete and clay tile can resist hailstones larger than a golf ball. Big storms still crack and chip tiles, and a cracked tile leaves the underlayment open to sun and water. After a storm, our hail inspection covers tile the same way it covers shingles, and the photos show you exactly which tiles broke.

If an insurer suggests broken tile corners are a manufacturing defect, the tile industry’s trade group has a technical brief saying breakage at the overlap is typically caused by other factors, not a defect.

Same terms as our roofing: an exact written price before work starts, and no money up front.

Sources

• Tile Roofing Industry Alliance, Roof Maintenance Guide (PDF): walking on tile, replacing broken tiles promptly and how it is done, using a ladder for gutters and lights
• Tile Roofing Industry Alliance, Post Storm Event: Considerations for Repairing Damaged Concrete and Clay Roofing Tiles (PDF): underlayment as the secondary water barrier; no new or harvested tiles over compromised underlayment; the harvest and repair method
• Tile Roofing Industry Alliance, Technical Briefs: discontinued tiles guide (2026); hail damage is not a manufacturer's defect; flashing at tile penetrations
• Tile Roofing Industry Alliance, FAQs: tile lifespan of 50 years or more; hail resistance
• NRCA, Underlayments for Steep-Slope Roof Systems (PDF): underlayment may need replacing while tile has decades of service left
• Eagle Roofing Products, Underlayment Maintenance: lift and re-lay when only the underlayment needs replacing
• Eagle Roofing Products, How to Properly Walk on a Tile Roof: step on the bottom three inches; breakage from foot traffic usually not warranted
• City of Littleton Policy #24-001, Roof Covering Installation and Inspection Requirements (PDF): permit required before a shingle, metal or tile replacement, posted visible from the street