Tile Roof Replacement

Concrete tiles lose their surface coating and become porous, so they soak up water and grow moss and lichen. Terracotta tiles can crack, flake and become brittle. On both, the mortar that beds and points the ridge capping cracks and falls out, and the ridge tiles start to move.

Tiles also slip or break where people have walked on the roof or where branches have fallen on it.

A tiled roof is due for replacement when cracked, broken or slipped tiles are spread across it and replacing them individually no longer keeps it dry. Loose ridge capping, rusted valley irons and stains on the ceiling after rain are other signs.

A tiled roof can be replaced with new tiles or with metal sheeting. Metal is lighter than tiles, so it puts less load on the frame.

Changing from tiles to metal means the tile battens are taken off and battens spaced for metal sheet are fixed in their place. New flashings are made to suit the new roof at walls, chimneys and valleys.

Moss and lichen hold moisture against the tiles and can block the water course between them. On an ageing tile, that speeds up the breakdown of the surface.

A valley is the channel where roof slopes meet. On a tiled roof it is lined with a metal valley iron, and the tiles on each side are cut to sit over it. Valley irons rust and collect leaves, and a blocked valley sends water under the tiles.

Where a tiled roof meets a wall or chimney, a flashing runs under the tiles and up the face of the masonry. These flashings are renewed when the roof is replaced.