Perplexing Tile Roof Leaks

The case of the outside wall.

Perplexing tile roof leaks.

If your roof is old the chances are that your tiles have been fixed using mortar. Sometimes the water shows up at a ceiling spot distant from the leak. It must be sealed below the tiles. Our photo above left shows broken clay roof tiles a very common clay tile roof defect that is also a common leak source.

If your ceiling has a plastic vapor barrier between the drywall and the attic insulation push the insulation aside and look for flow stains on the plastic often water runs to openings in the vapor barrier such as at ceiling light fixtures. While some issues will go beyond your roof and will be related to other things to do with roofing or the installation methods some of the common issues with clay tiles are. Some leaks are so inexplicable only a highly trained professional can figure them out. Tiles that are broken or have large cracks need to be replaced in order to fix the leak.

If the roof is in a tree zone leaves are washed into the watercourses and over time this leads to clogging and eventually blockage during heavy rain. For this you will need to remove all damaged tiles using a pry bar. The first leak seemed simple enough. Clay tiles may leak because of several reasons.

Use a hammer to assist in the removal but be careful not to damage any of the good tiles. We recommend against walking on clay tile roofs as you are likely to damage the roof leading to the need for costly repairs. Leak repairs to tile roofs cannot be repaired by sealing anything on top. There is no such thing as a tile roof leak where the repair can be done without first deconstructing the area of tiles and flashing.

More discussion on walking on fragile roofs is later in this article. Some roof leaks are tough to locate. The anatomy of a proper pipe flashing there are two main components to a pipe flashing. And once in awhile even professionals are baffled by a roof leak and must do a little detective work.

Dirty or broken watercourses.