You want a safe home. You want a warm home. And of course, you want an energy-efficient home. Do you know what can help you achieve all of these goals? Your roof. That's right, if you call up a roofer and tell them about your desires, they can recommend some roofing repairs or materials to help you achieve those desires. They may recommend a metal roof, or they might recommend adding zinc strips to the roof peak. It all depends. One thing we can promise, though, is that learning more about roofing is a good idea. This blog is a good resource, but we recommend looking for other ones, too.
Roofing Repairs Your Concrete Tile Roof May Need When Tiles Crack
A concrete tile roof is durable and long-lasting, but even concrete can be damaged by an impact or when someone walks on the tiles incorrectly. A cracked tile can start a roof leak, so it has to be repaired or replaced. Here's how this roofing repair might be done.
Tile Replacement
If a concrete tile is stepped on in the wrong place, the tile can break in half. When the damage is bad enough, the roofer will probably replace the tile rather than try to repair it. Concrete tiles are nailed to the roof, but the tiles are layered on top of each other so the nails are difficult to reach. The tile above the damaged one has to be pried up so the top of the damaged tile can be reached and pulled out once the nails are removed.
A new tile can then be put in the old tile's place and held securely with caulk. When the tile is removed, the roofer makes sure the deck isn't leaking, and if necessary plugs holes or repairs water damage before the new tile is put on.
One problem you may need to discuss with your roofer is finding a new tile that has a similar color. If your tiles are bleached by the sun or dirty from pollution, dirt, or algae, a new tile will look out of place. If your roofer can't find a suitable replacement tile, they might consider removing one of the tiles from a less conspicuous place on your roof and using it for the replacement tile and then put the new tile where it won't be seen so easily.
Tile Repairs
Repairing a cracked tile is easy since the cracked piece can be put back together with roofing cement made for concrete tiles. This cement comes in different colors so the cement blends in with the color of the tiles and isn't noticeable from a distance.
Fortunately, when tiles crack, even if they split off, the missing piece is often right beside the tile since the tiles are too heavy to blow off. The roofer can apply the roofing cement and put the tile back together like a puzzle piece. The cement seals the crack so rain won't leak through.
These are two common roofing repairs for concrete tile roofs, but if a tile was cracked long enough, the deck might have a leak that needs to be repaired too. That's why timely roofing repairs are needed. If you can fix broken tiles fast enough, you won't have to tear tiles off to repair the deck underneath.