Clay and concrete tile roofs cover the Spanish Revival and Mediterranean homes across Los Angeles County, and they can easily last fifty years or more. However, the waterproof underlayment beneath the tile wears out long before the tile does. Our team specializes in comprehensive tile roofing in Los Angeles, CA—diagnosing leaks, replacing aged underlayment, and executing precision repairs that protect property value.
Here is the thing that surprises most tile roof owners: the tile is not what keeps the water out. The tile sheds the bulk of the rain and takes the sun, but the actual waterproof layer is the underlayment, the felt or membrane laid on the deck beneath the tile. Tile can last half a century. Underlayment lasts twenty to thirty years. So a tile roof that starts leaking almost always has good tile sitting on worn-out felt.
This is why a tile roof can look fine from the street but keep leaking. The homeowner sees intact tile and assumes the roof is sound, while the water is slipping past the failed underlayment underneath. Understanding this changes how a repair is approached. Sometimes the fix is a few tiles. Sometimes it means lifting a section of tile, replacing the felt beneath, and setting the same tile back down. We explain which one your roof needs after we look. For more on the layer that does the quiet work, see our piece on roof underlayment.
If you have an active leak, our leak detection traces it to the source, and a written roof inspection tells you how much life the underlayment has left before it becomes a problem.
Tile roofs are tough, but a few issues come up over and over on the homes we work on across the county.
Foot traffic, falling branches, and age crack tile. A single broken tile exposes the underlayment to direct water and sun.
Tiles slide out of position over time or after wind, leaving gaps. We reset them and secure the courses around them.
The big one. Once the felt beneath the tile wears out, the roof leaks even with perfect tile on top. This is the most common cause we find.
The mortar along ridges and hips cracks and falls out, loosening the cap tiles and opening a path for water at the peak.
Many mid-century ranch and Spanish-influenced homes built across Los Angeles during the 1950s and 1960s still carry their original clay or concrete tile assemblies. While the outer clay tiles remain remarkably resilient, the structural and waterproof components underneath inevitably reach end-of-life.
Original 1950s–1960s installations used single or double layers of standard asphalt-saturated organic felt. Decades of intense Southern California heat bake this felt, causing it to become brittle, crack, and turn to powder under thermal expansion cycles.
When tiles shift or allow condensation buildup, trapped moisture slowly rots horizontal wood battens and unvented sub-fascia boards. Once battens rot, tiles slip downward, creating cascading leak entry points.
Original galvanized sheet metal valleys and chimney pans corrode from the inside out after 40+ years of debris accumulation, directing stormwater straight into attic rafters.
Historic unreinforced mortar along hips, ridges, and gables breaks apart under thermal movement, allowing storm winds and driven rain to penetrate beneath ridge caps.
Navigating Los Angeles County and City building codes requires strict adherence to energy conservation and wildland fire protection standards:
Under Title 24 Part 6 California Energy Code (Climate Zones 9 and 16), tile roof replacements and major repairs must satisfy minimum Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) ratings. We install Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) certified reflective concrete and clay tile systems, paired with high-performance radiant barrier and SBS-modified self-adhering underlayments to cut attic heat by up to 30°F.
For canyon and hillside homes bordering brush corridors (such as the Santa Monica Mountains and Verdugo foothills), roofing systems must carry a Class A fire rating. We install non-combustible clay and concrete tile systems fitted with galvanized bird-stop eave closures to block airborne ember intrusion during wildfire events.
We lift the affected tiles, reset the ones that slipped, and swap cracked pieces for matching tile so the repair blends in.
Roof repair →For a worn section, we lift the tile, replace the felt beneath, and set the same tile back. The tile is saved, the roof is watertight again.
Underlayment →When the underlayment has failed across the roof, we take the tile off, lay all new felt, and reinstall. This is the tile version of a replacement.
Roof replacement →Family owned and based on Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks. At Orian Roofing & Construction, we have worked the tile roofs across the hills and the flats of this county, and we walk them the way tile needs to be walked, carefully.
One thing that sets a good tile repair apart is the match. Tile comes in countless profiles, colors, and finishes, and manufacturers discontinue lines over the years. A careless repair leaves a bright patch of new tile that stands out on an older roof. We source tile to match your existing roof by profile and color as closely as the market allows, and when a home has an unusual or discontinued tile, we look for salvage or relocate original tile from a hidden area to a visible one so the front of the house stays consistent.
Walking a tile roof is its own skill too. Tile cracks under careless footsteps, so a repair done by someone who does not know how to move on tile can create the next round of broken pieces. Our crews step where the tile is supported and protect the courses around the work. That care is part of why a tile repair should go to a roofer who works on tile regularly, not a general handyman. Keeping up with roof maintenance also helps, since catching a cracked tile early keeps the underlayment dry.
We repair, restore, and reroof tile systems for homeowners throughout the San Fernando Valley, the foothills, and the greater Los Angeles basin from our shop on Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks. Key service areas include:
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Tell us what your tile roof is doing. We come out, check the tile and the underlayment beneath it, and give you a written estimate.