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Tile roofs are very popular among homeowners in Arizona. Not only do they offer that distinct southwestern desert look to your home, but they are also designed to withstand the heat of the harsh Arizona summers. As a result, these are very durable, but do come with their own set of issues.

One common issue is when tiles become dislodged and fall from your roof. This can indicate one of several problems, and will continue to lead into more problems if not fixed. When tiles fall off of your roof, a small portion underneath is left exposed. When it rains, this is a prime spot for leaks to develop and also allows for the surrounding tiles to lift and fall as well!

Three Reasons Tiles Fall From Roofs:

Poor Installation

Do you live in a new home, or have you recently had a roof replacement? If so, the chances of improper installation are high! If tiles were used that are not rated for the slope of your roof, or if they were not properly secured in place, they may slip and fall.

Walking On Your Roof

Unlike shingles which can withstand the weight of someone walking, tiles are easily broken and will likely break or crack under you. Make sure you do not walk on your tile roof – if you have recently had someone service your roof or climb on top for something like a satellite dish installation, then there is a chance something cracked or loosened out of place.

Desert Climate

Living in Arizona means you have to deal with intense heat through the summer. Although clay tiles can withstand extreme temperatures and light, they’re not completely immune to it. After some time, it’s worth looking to see if the elements have gotten the better of your tiles – typically clay tiles lay over gaps that could lift up during times of heavy winds, like our current monsoon season!

Tips For Preventing Falling Tiles

This may actually be easier than you would expect. The biggest thing you can do to take care of your tile roof is to avoid walking on it unless it is absolutely necessary. Monitor your roof for tiles that look like they are loosening, and if you find any, call a professional roofer to get it taken care of right away. Depending on your home warranty, tile replacements may be covered! Mikku Roofing has over 20 years of experience laying tile and will help to inspect your roof for any damages needing to be fixed. Call today or fill out an online form to get started with a free roof inspection!

Does Your Roof Need Repair?

If you think your tile roof has potential issues and you want fix those problems before they becoming bigger and more expensive issues, you’ll need to know what to look for. However, how can a homeowner inspect their tile roof and recognize the telling points that may show your roof has problems? Read on and we’ll help you with telltale signs that your roof may need some attention.

We’ll be discussing:

Remember, do not walk on your tile roof! To be safe, and to keep yourself from breaking tiles, we recommend you don’t walk on your roof.  This is especially important when you have a fragile clay tile roof. A good suggestions would be to use binoculars to inspect your roof from a distance from your yard or up on a secured ladder. Move the ladder to different view angles around your property to get a clear view of the entire roof.

Know What To Look For

Organic Debris Between Tiles

Plant materials like mold and lichen or small branches and leaves can literally eat away at the underlayment.  This will leave your roof vulnerable and could void your roof’s warranty. If your tile roof is covered with lots of leaves, branches, and other organic debris, schedule a professional roofing contractor to preform maintenance as soon as you can.

Deteriorated Flashing

Flashing is the material around any pipes, vents, chimneys or other penetrations on your roof. Decayed or poorly installed flashing can lead to water penetrating under the tiles and potentially damaging your underlayment.

Broken or Missing Tiles

Missing or broken tiles will allow the tile roof underlayment (the roofs waterproofing feature) to decay. How does this happen? With a tile missing, the underlayment is now open and vulnerable to the weather and elements, like the hot sun, torrential monsoon rains and organic material from birds.

Moisture Damaged Fascia Boards

Fascia boards are long, straight boards that run along the lower edge of your tile roof. These boards may need repair or replacement since they’re susceptible to moisture and can rot or decay. You should look for cracks and discoloration in the fascia boards around the roof.

A Sagging Roof

If you think your tile roof is sagging, it may be that the roofing material that supports the roof has weakened.  Another reason could be that your roof has too much weight for the structure.  You may need to have a professional tile roof repair contractor bring in a structural engineer to analyze and recommend corrections to any structural problems your roof has.

The Underlying Issue

Deteriorating Underlayment

Everything we’ve pointed out so far is fairly easy to spot. However, deteriorating underlayment is harder to see because – as its name implies – it’s underneath the tile, which protects your roof from water penetrating through to the interior. Getting up on your roof and uncovering tiles to check your underlayment isn’t something you want to do yourself.

Here’s the most important thing to know – the underlayment on your tile roof needs to be replaced eventually. Usually between  12 and 20 years is about how long you can expect it to last in a climate like Phoenix.. If your roof is more than 12 years old and hasn’t been inspected in some time, you should contact an experienced tile roof repair company for a comprehensive roof inspection.

Does Your Underlayment Need Replacing?

The underlayment and flashings are critical on a tile roof because they are the primary water barrier to keep moisture from penetrating your roof. The tiles themselves are mostly for architectural curb appeal and helps to protect the underlayment. Since the tiles can last 50 years or more, your underlayment needs to be of similar quality. Usually, the tiles on the roof will outlast the underlayment and the flashings around your roof penetrations.

Whatever type of underlayment is deployed on your tile roof, the installation is as critical as the material used. It’s most important that proper sealing measures and flashing material is used at all penetrations for chimneys, skylights, pipes and roof vents. Valleys in your roof are also problem areas that need special attention.

More Than Just Good Looks

Tile roofing is most commonly installed on Southwest and Mediterranean-style homes.  These aesthetically pleasing tiles are generally made of clay, concrete, or slate.

However, the benefits of a tile roof are more than just good looks; choosing the right tile can help improve the house's value and help when you sell your house.

Familiarize yourself with the selling points that make them such popular roofing options. Weigh those strengths against key factors to decide whether or not your home can benefit from a tile roof. You

(See our tile innovations post)

Here Are A Few Key Benefits of a Tile Roof

Durability and Long Lifespan

Clay, concrete, and slate roofs are extremely resistant to fire and resist rot, bugs, and most other pests. Most tile roofing will hold up to extreme heat and cold, making it great for use in almost any climate. Usually, the underlayment needs to be replaced every 20 years. This is how underlayment is replaced.

Clay tiles are especially resistant to corrosion from the salty air, which makes them an excellent choice for properties located in coastal areas.

Many kinds of roofing tiles can also brag of superior impact resistance, which makes them a superior option in areas that experience severe storms with hail or high winds.

Most tile roofs are found in the warmer regions of our country, but they can be utilized in colder areas, too.

When you’re installing a clay or concrete tile roof in a region with a colder climate, however, you should require materials designed to handle the expansion that occurs with freezing and thawing cycles.

Quite frankly, people are the biggest threat to tile roofs. The tiles are not typically designed to handle foot traffic and are prone to be being broken or chipped when people walk on them and are careless.

This is why it's important to hire an experienced, professional roofing contractor to do any repairs or maintenance on or around a tile roof – including cleaning gutters, maintaining chimney and other protrusion flashing, and routine regular inspections.

A roof made of concrete, clay, or slate could be the last roof you will ever need on your home. Clay or slate tiles can last as long as 100 years, while most concrete tile comes with a 50-year warranty. 

Slate is one of the most durable and long-lasting roofing materials of all, with a lifespan of 100 to 150 years or more.

Curb Appeal and Versatility

Concrete and clay tiles usually feature natural earth tones, a sand-cast or unglazed finish, and a classic curved shape.

However, their design isn’t limited to just these Southwestern and Mediterranean benchmarks. Their casting allows for a lot of different style options which will suit just about any type of architectural taste.

Both concrete and clay tiles come in a large array of colors and can have glazed or unglazed finishes. The most common shapes are flat, fluted, and interlocking which can be used in a wide variety of home designs.

Some tiles are made to look like wood shakes, for use in craftsman, rustic, and log homes. Others are designed to mimic traditional European properties.

Natural slate tiles are used often as the roofing system of choice for victorian, colonial, and Tudor architecture.  They also look great on sleek, modern, contemporary homes.

Slate tiles give the distinct appearance of natural stone and have a lot of advantages that clay and concrete tiles have, including durability and long lifespans.

They’re very popular in northern Europe and are often found in victorian and Tudor-style homes in the US.

Long Term Return on Investment

Tile roofs are one of the most expensive upfronts for both materials and labor. Slate, as an example, can range from $1,000 to $2,000 per square (which is a 10-foot-by-10-foot section of roofing) installed and a tile roofing contractor that has experience working with the high-end material may also require more.

However, over their long lifespan, concrete, clay, and slate tiles will offset their initial cost. Because of a high thermal mass, tiles do a great job of regulating the temperature of your property, thus helping you lower heating and cooling expenses.

The durability and longevity of clay, concrete, and slate also mean that you save a lot of money by not having to replace your roof multiple times over the lifespan of your home.

As an added benefit in today's eco-friendly world, all of the materials used are environmentally friendly, easily recycled.

However, like any great roofing system, there are drawbacks and problems. For example, the trim tiles fall off after a while.

Schedule Annual Preventative Maintenance

Its great to own your own home, but when you own a property you have to perform the dreaded word, maintenance.  However, if you schedule time annually for preventative maintenance, it won’t to be such a burdensome task. This means you’ll need to give equal importance to both the interior of your property and the exterior. Take your roof as an example. Roofs get more abuse from weather and the elements than any other part of your property. Preventative maintenance is a major factor to your roof providing the longest service life possible.

Whether it’s a commercial or residential roof, all roofing systems need some scheduled maintenance during the year. Concrete or clay tile roofs, under normal situations, don’t require much upkeep. Twice-yearly inspections should take place to findand fix issues as they occur.  The best time to perform these inspections would be in the spring, before the monsoon storm season begins, and in the fall, after its over.

When Having Your Roof Inspected

A lot of roof damage happens before anyone at ground level notices it. Finding ponding, gaps around penetrations, loose flashings or other roof damage should be promptly reported to a professional, properly licensed, roofing company.  If your property has any leaks, it’s critical to get a comprehensive leak inspection completed as soon as possible. A visible interior leak could mean there’s an outside entryway for water to enter your roof structure, which could cause significant and more expensive damage.  Here’s some important tile maintenance tips to consider when having your roof and the surrounding areas inspected.

When Hiring A Roofing Contractor

A good tip to having the best kept tile roof in the neighborhood is to have it cleaned and inspected by a licensed and insured tile roof repair contractor while these semi-annual dates are being scheduled. In monsoon seasons, its especially important to check your roof visually after each storm, in case tiles have been misplaced by high winds or flying broken branches.

Durable, Long Lasting and Stylish

Tile roofs are beautiful. They’re durable, long lasting and offer southwest style to any home. But they develop problems just like any other type of roof.  Like most roof problems, the sooner a problem is discovered, the better.  You’ll spend way less money fixing immediately than having to deal with bigger problems that may develop down the road. In light of this, we’d like to point out a few common problems with tile roofs, so you can contact a reliable roofing contractor to fix your problem as soon as you spot it.

If you use quality materials, keep debris clear, inspect regularly and only use professional, licensed contractors to work on it, your tile roof will provide many years of protection and beauty to your home or business.

Poor Quality Materials

One of the biggest problems is using poor quality materials to install on your roof. Make sure you purchase tiles for your roof that are ASTM certified. The market for roofing materials has been strong and there’s been a flood  low quality tiles pushed to consumers because of this. If you use non-ASTM certified tiles, your roof’s lifespan will be significantly reduced and you’ll have much more frequent need for repairs. Saving money in the installation will only cost you much more down the road.

Unreliable Contractors

Even if you use top quality tiles, if you use inexperienced , unlicensed or amateur contractors to install them, you’ll be sorry later. Make sure you’re hiring a reliable, professional, properly licensed and insured company like this one to do the job. This goes for any repairs you need, also. Don’t hire a handyman or someone that will do a cheap job for you to make any repairs on your roof. Make sure , again, that they’re a professional roofing contractor.

Debris Build Up

Material build-up on the tiles. The material tiles are made of is porous and susceptible to moisture and organic debris. If you have any trees that are constantly drooping leaves, branches, twigs or other debris on your roof, make sure you are diligent about removing it from your roof on a consistent basis. If you don’t, the tiles will begin to wear out and crack, or the debris will work its way under the tiles and destroy the integrity of the underlayment.

Storms & Harsh Weather

Storms and weather. Here in Arizona, we can have violent, sudden storms, especially during the monsoon season. High winds can knock tiles loose or cause them to slide, exposing the underlayment below. If you have trees near your roof, branches can sway in the wind and wreak havoc on your tiles. Make sure you check your roof after storms and have a professional roofing contractor inspect your roofs integrity at least once a year before the storm season starts.

Walking On The Roof

Walking on the roof. Tiles are made from cast concrete or clay and can be broken if walked upon. Clay tiles can be especially sensitive to weight. Don’t walk on your roof unless there’s no way to avoid it. If you need to have a section of your roof checked that is hard to see from the ground, hire a professional roofer to inspect the area for you, to avoid risk and damage to the roof.

Know Why You Need A Pro

Hiring the right roofing company can make a world of difference for your home or business. Knowing the worst enemies of your roof will help when you need to hire the right professional roofing company.

Five Worst Enemies to the Health and Condition of Your Roof

Trees and Their Branches

Trees are beautiful and must-have additions to your homes landscaping for their aesthetics and shading possibilities. They will give your home fantastic curb appeal and possibly help you lower your cooling bills, but, they can also be  a major problem for your roof if they’re in the wrong location. If they’re too close to your home, a branch being knocked down or even being scraped across your roofing material in a storm can inflict serious, expensive damage. In severe storms, the entire tree could fall on top of your roof.

They also drop a lot of organic material, like leaves, pods and small branches, that can cause problems by clogging gutters and causing standing water after rains. If you don’t clear the material on a regular basis, the materials can decompose and break down the roofing materials, leading to leaks.

Roof Leaks

A leak itself is, of course, one of, if not the biggest problem. There’s a lot of reasons leaks can happen including poor installation, standing water, busted tiles and cracked shingles, failing underlayment, flashing problems and more. There’s no limit to the areas of your roof that these issues can occur.

Water can flow from one location to another, making it difficult to pinpoint where a roof leak is originating. The best thing you can do is hire a professional roofing contractor Like Mikku and Sons Roofing and Repair to discover the source. They can find the leak’s source and make the necessary repairs to stop it and prevent it from happening again.

Poor Ventilation

Air needs to flow through your roof freely to prevent heat, pressure and humidity from building up.  A lack of air flow can cause stress to the materials. You should never completely block the air flow into your home through your roof.  During installation, sofits, vents and other means need to be installed in the proper locations to ensure that your roof will always have proper air flow through your attic.

Pooling or Standing Water

During installation, a certain pitch or slope needs to be used to make sure water flows off and away from your roof to avoid any pooling or standing water issues. Standing water, whether caused by poor installation or some sort of obstruction, like tree debris, can be a major issue for your roof. Water is heavy. If there’s a lot of it pooling on your roof, it can put a lot of stress on the support structure, along with, if its not removed, helping to decompose the construction materials and making its way into existing cracks, creating leaks.

Poor Initial Installation

Your roof needs to get off to its best start by being installed correctly. If not, you’ll soon see loose shingles, broken tiles, decaying underlayment and other items that will start causing leaks. Choosing the right roofing installation company is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your home or business.

Make sure you do your homework before hiring someone. Check the company’s reputation online and check their standing with the Better Business Bureau and Registrar of Contractors. you’ll have the peace of mind knowing that a quality, professional contractor has installed your roof.

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