Clay and concrete tile roofs cover the Spanish and Mediterranean homes all over Los Angeles County, and they can last fifty years or more. The catch is the underlayment beneath the tile, which wears out long before the tile does. Orian Construction & Roofing repairs, resets, and replaces tile roofs, and we know that the real work is usually under the surface.
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.
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. 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 and reroof tile for homeowners across the county from our shop on Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, with plenty of tile work in the hillside neighborhoods where Spanish style homes are common:
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.