Tile Roofing in Southern California

This is the single most important thing to understand about tile roofing: the tile is the weather-shedding surface, but the underlayment beneath it is the actual waterproofing layer. Underlayment typically lasts 20 to 30 years depending on the material, and once it starts failing, you get leaks even though the tile above looks completely intact.

That's why so many tile re-roofs on older Southern California homes involve carefully removing and stacking the existing tile, replacing the deteriorated underlayment, and then resetting the original tile back on top - the tile itself often didn't need replacing at all, just the layer underneath it.

• Tile Roofing handled by our own Southern California crew – no subcontractors
• Licensed, insured and permitted for work in Southern California, CA
• Written scope and pricing before anything starts
• Clean-up and haul-away included on every Southern California job

Cracked tile from foot traffic - satellite installers, solar crews, HVAC techs walking on tile without knowing where it's safe to step - is one of the most common issues we find. Broken tiles allow water to reach the underlayment directly in that spot, accelerating wear even if the underlayment is otherwise fine.

Slipped or shifted tiles from wind or age let water bypass the tile's designed overlap. Valley flashing failure and mortar or foam adhesive breaking down at ridge caps are also common, especially after 20-plus years.

• Cracked or broken field tile from foot traffic
• Slipped tiles disrupting the water-shedding overlap
• Valley flashing deterioration
• Ridge cap mortar or adhesive failure
• Underlayment breakdown even with intact tile on top

Solar on tile is a specialty in itself. Standard flashing feet used on composition shingle don't work the same way on tile, and improperly installed tile hooks or flashing are one of the most common causes of solar-related roof leaks we get called out for. Panels also need to sit with proper clearance so tile underneath and around the array can still be serviced or replaced without pulling the whole system.

We handle both roofing and solar, which means the tile flashing details around racking get done by people who understand tile roofing specifically, not a solar crew treating it like a shingle roof.

• Tile Roofing handled by our own Southern California crew – no subcontractors
• Licensed, insured and permitted for work in Southern California, CA
• Written scope and pricing before anything starts
• Clean-up and haul-away included on every Southern California job

Cost depends on whether we're doing a repair, a partial re-underlayment or a full tear-off and reset, the tile profile and how available matching replacement tile is, roof pitch and access, and the condition of the deck underneath once tile and old underlayment come off.

Saving and resetting existing tile is typically more cost-effective than a full replacement with new tile, when the tile itself is still in good shape - which is often is, since tile just outlasts almost everything installed underneath it.

• Tile Roofing handled by our own Southern California crew – no subcontractors
• Licensed, insured and permitted for work in Southern California, CA
• Written scope and pricing before anything starts
• Clean-up and haul-away included on every Southern California job