Orange County Tile Roof Repair

South County Roofing is your local, licensed, and bonded roofer that is a tile roof repair and leak detection expert.  We have been finding and fixing leaks on home roofed with tile for 30 years now! We are the roof repair only roofer in Orange County.  If you have a concrete or Spanish tile roof in need of maintenance, roof tune up, leaking roof repairs, of broken roofing tiles replacement then give the tile roof repair specialist a call today!

Orange County Tile Roof Repair Specialist

It is because tile roofs are a lot more complicated of a roof install as compared to the normal shingle roof.  Unlike shingle roofs you need extensive training to install each type of tile roof such as: cement tile, slate tile, and clay tile.  All of these types of tile roofs have different installation methods and measurements that must be strictly followed or the roof wont look right or even worse your roof will leak next time it rain.

These are just some of the reasons your tile roof will require a skilled technician to make sure your repairs are properly done.

Tile Roof Repair or Replace?

The first thing you need to make sure is if your tile roof can be successfully repaired for the long-term.  We can assist you with the determination of the condition of the tile, flashings, and if the tile is properly fastened.  If a tile roof repair is appropriate for your roof then you don’t have to spend a lot of money replacing your roof.

It may be possible to make an assessment on if a tile roof repair is recommended based on the age of the roof and a thorough visual roof inspection.

The visual inspection must be made by walking the entire roof top and checking all accessible areas.  In the event of a roof leak, we will need to remove the roofing tiles above the interior damage and make the determination damage to the underlayment is localized or systemic.

The Right Roofer for Your Tile Roof Repair

South County Roofing specializes in tile roof repair and maintenance of both Spanish Clay Tile and concrete tile roofing.  Our roofing skills and services for tile roofing include:

• We train our roofer how to walk on all types of tile roofs.
• We can easily identify the type of tile you have and know where to find replacement tiles if necessary.
• We always carry all the different type of fasteners we may need on our repair trucks.
• Our roofers are trained on what sealants to use where and where not to use certain sealants.
• We never use synthetic roofing felts to match your asphalt-based roofing felt.
• We use Ice and Water Shield in high water traffic areas such as around skylights, chimneys, valley sections, and tin runs.
• We routinely perform Roof leak detection on tile roofs to find hard to detect leak sources.
• Professional roof Inspections for new homeowners to make sure their roof is thoroughly checked before buying the home.
• Annual Roof Tune up Services to keep up with necessary maintenance.
• General repair and maintenance for high wind damages to your roof
• Broken tile replacement due to termite tenting and wear and tear.
• Skylight and Chimney Leak Repair including new flashing and high-end underlayment to prevent future roof leaks.
• We never install new roofing felt paper over the old felt paper!

Why Does Your Tile Roof Leak?

A common cause of a leaking tile roof is deteriorated or brittle underlayment.  The waterproofing portion of a tile roofing system is the underlayment.  The only way we can determine if you have a small or larger problem is by removing the tiles in the area and carefully examining the condition of the roofing felt in that same area.

Often your tile roof repair can be confined to an area that is 100 square feet in size or smaller. In the instance you can fix your roof for 10-20% of the cost for a whole new roof you should consider that option.  Especially if you have not experienced a roof leak before.  All roofs eventually leak and it is not necessary to replace them when they do.  Moreover, do you replace your car every time it has a problem.  No you fix.  Your roof is no different.

Skills your roofer will need for tile roof repair:

• How to walk on a tile roof without breaking tiles.
• Know how to identify which type of tile you have.
• Understand which are the right fasteners for securing which types of tile.
• Knowledge of specific waterproofing membranes and knowing when and where to use them.
• Sealant types and proper placement.
• Safety protocols for mounting and wearing a harness and tying off.
• Material stacking and tile numbering for putting a roof back together exactly as it was.

Slipped Roofing Tiles – Orange County, Ca

High winds can damage your tile roof over time by slowly working tiles loose.  Once a tile become free of the sealant bond or fastener it will eventually fall out of place leaving a hole in your roof.  This hole is not immediately a problem but, eventually the sunlight get in there and burns the underlayment down to the roofing deck and then you have a full on roof leak.

To avoid this situation, you need a licensed roofer that specialize in tile roofing to carefully inspect your tile roof annually and make sure you don’t have loose, slipped, or displaced roofing tiles.

Orange County Broken Roofing Tiles

Broken roof tiles are usually a result of people walking on your roof.  The Direct Tv installer, painter, termite tenting company, and sometimes the occasional stucco worker is typically not trained on how to walk on a tile roof.  If you are aware that anyone has been on your roof recently you should give us a call for a free check up of your tile roof.

An even better thing to do if “if” you know one of these trades will have to get on your roof in order to perform the necessary task then you can call us in advance to take pictures of the condition of your roof “Before” the other work is done.  This will allow you to know what is damage that was on your roof prior to the work being done and what is “New” damage sustained after the work was done.

Because South County Roofing has been repairing and replacing broken roofing tile for the last 30 year we know where to find extra roofing tile even when the tiles are no longer being made.  We have contacts who have collected obsolete roof tiles that are no longer being manufactured and can sometimes find a perfect replacement.  In the event a suitable replacement can be locally sourced we have the experience to use what is locally available to use and make it work without damaging the integrity of your tile roof.

Roof Mortar on Your Hips and Ridges

Tile roofs most always use mortar to close hole where the tiles can not be perfectly mitered.  Eventually the mortar will crack and sometimes falls off the roof.  We can help fix that problem by replacing missing mortar, going over cracked mortar and keeping the finer components of your roof in good shape.

Sealing Plumbing and Heating Flashings

Over the 30 years of working on tile roofs one of the things we encounter the most is tile roofs that the plumbing and heating flashings have been sealed with roofer’s tar.  Roofer’s tar is that black sealant that literally sticks to everything.  The only problem with using roofers tar to seal your flashing is that the sunlight breaks down the sealant within about 5-10 years max.  To correct this, we only use a high-quality polyether-based sealant.  This is basically a rubberized sealant to is highly resistant to high heat and sunlight.  Which makes it the preferred sealant for flashings and pipe collars.

How to Know if Your Tile Roof is Leaking or Not?

Sometimes it can be difficult to know if your tile roof is currently leaking or if you are looking at older damage that you just did not notice.  This becomes harder if you recently moved into a home.  In this case you will not know the roof repair history.

Here are some hints that you may have an active roof leak.

A sure sign that your roof may be leaking is when you have water is dripping from the ceiling and nothing is above that area besides the roof.  This is the most common and the easiest of all signs to recognize.  If you encounter this, you should lay down a towel and use a container to catch the water.

You may need to move a piece of furniture and if water is dripping on your furniture you need to move it fast and catch the water. If water has soaked into a couch or the carpet, then get a fan out keep air blowing over it for 24-48 hours.  The area should be dry to the touch before you remove the fan.

Another quite common sign that your tile roof is leaking is if observe a small brownish colored stain on your ceiling or wall.  I have seen these stains the size of a gold ball up to the size of a basketball.  This occurs when water get absorbed into your drywall ceiling or wall.  This causes a light brown colored stain on the ceiling or wall.

If this is the first time you have seen the stain and you are not 100% it was there prior, then you first check it with your hand and see if it is wet.   If it is dry, then you should get a pencil to draw a tight circle around the stain.  Then, check the stain after the next hard rain to see if it grows outside the circle you drew.  If it does it means you most likely have an active leak.

One of the harder to pin done sings of a water leak is a musty scent in a room or if the room has a moldy smell.  This is likely a sign that you have a water intrusion issue in that area of the home.  Pinning these down or find the exact source can be difficult.

Do not assume it is the roof that is leaking.  You may have a fire sprinkler system that is minorly leaking.  Or, I have seen it where the plumbing is leaking up through the concrete slab or onto a ceiling or down a wall.  In these cases, it will be helpful if the contractor you choose to call has a thermal imaging device.  We can bring out one if you request it prior to use arriving.

What to do if Water is Dripping from my Ceiling?

Most homes in Orange County have a drywall ceiling that is textured.  Older homes have what they call a “popcorn” textured ceiling.  The drywall itself is typically about a half inch thick.

I tell customers to get a sturdy chair, grab sharp pen, and a receptacle for catching the water.  If you simply get on the chair, poke a hole in the ceiling where the water is dripping through and then catch the water with the container.

This will keep the water from spreading out to the parts of the ceiling and may keep the ceiling or drywall from falling off the ceiling.  Drywall that gets to wet gets incredibly soft and will often break off in basketball sized chunks.  This of course makes a huge mess and can be avoided if you simply follow those steps to drain the water out of the ceiling.

This is a temporary fix but effective at minimizing the damage to your ceiling for the time being.

Why Choose Tile Roofing for your Home or Business

Tile roofing gives your home or business a classic look while offering the look of strength and durability.  Your home value is often increased with the installation of a tile roof and tile roofs are often installed on more expensive homes.  The downside of a tile roof is the need for a tile roof repair specialist. 

Contact South County Roofing Directly

If you have a question you can always send us a picture of your concern and email us directly at customerservivce@southcountyroofing.com

The office manager will get back to you right away.

If you have a specific concern and need it taken care of right away, then please fill out our contact form.

Filling out the form allows us to quickly know where you are, what you need, and allow us to sometimes immediately dispatch a repair technician or sales rep. to your home.

Lastly, if it is raining you must fill out the form.  Rather than us calling you back, leaving messages, returning your message, playing phone tag, and then getting all your info over the telephone.

The contact form will get scheduled much more quickly.