Tile roofing is generally a very decorative and durable roofing material. Because of the way that tiles are able to channel water downhill, they suffer leaks less often than other roofing materials. However, if your tile roof does develop a leak, there is a good reason behind it. There are at least three known causes that tile roofs develop leaks, and you will need to get up to the roof to see if any of the following exist. 

Piles of Debris

Have you ever seen what happens when a beaver builds a dam? Leaves, mud, sticks, and twigs create this mass in the middle of a waterway, and the water builds up behind it until it spills over the nearby banks. The same holds true for piles of debris on a tile roof. The water cannot run straight down off the roof when a pile of mud, sticks, leaves, and/or pieces of broken tiles exist because the rain builds up behind that and cannot flow downward. Instead, the water flows backward into any space it can find and sideways underneath neighboring tiles. The result is a water leak where the water found its way in under neighboring tiles. If you clear the debris, you stop the leak.

Broken Tiles

Broken tiles expose the waterproofing roofing membrane. They also allow water to flow directly into and under the rest of the roof. Replacing the broken tiles stops the water from getting in and helps support the roofing membrane with its waterproofing job. 

The Waterproofing Membrane Has Gone Bad

Some tile roofs are so old that the roofing membrane underneath has, for lack of a better word, expired. If this is the reason why your home is leaking a lot of water through the ceilings, then the only recourse is to hire a roofing tile contractor. The contractor has to painstakingly remove every tile without breaking them and then rip off the membrane and replace it. Once the membrane is replaced, then all of those saved tiles have to be reinstalled over the new roofing membrane. Both the removal and reinstallation of the tiles takes the longest to accomplish.

To Find a Contractor, Call Around

It should not surprise you that every roofing contractor does not work on tile roofs. Only those that are dedicated to tile roofing jobs should be allowed to handle your roofing repair needs. To find the right tile roofing contractor, you will need to call around.