Cracked Roof Tiles After Someone Walked on Your Roof?
Roof tiles crack when someone steps on them in the wrong place, and a cracked tile leaves the underlayment beneath it open to sun and rain. Replacing the broken tiles soon, before that layer wears through, keeps a small repair from turning into a leak.
Call or text photos to (725) 502-3114 for a free, no-pressure inspection and a written estimate before any work begins.
Who ends up walking on your roof
Plenty of people besides roofers go up on a roof. Air conditioning technicians reach the units and ducts. Solar installers mount panels. Painters reach the eaves and the walls above the roof. Satellite dish installers and holiday-light hangers work along the edges.
Most of them are good at their own trade. Walking on tile is a different skill, and one wrong step can crack a tile without the person feeling it. Wind and foot traffic crack and dislodge tiles, and the cracks usually follow the path someone walked.
Why a step cracks a tile
Concrete and clay tiles are strong when the weight is spread out, but each tile is curved or ribbed and only rests on the roof at certain points. A foot on an unsupported curve, or on the edge of a tile, can snap it.
People who walk tile for a living step on the lower part of each tile, where it overlaps the tile below and has the most support. Clay tile tends to break more easily underfoot than concrete tile.
A crack can be a hairline you cannot see from the ground, or a broken corner that slides down into a valley or the gutter.
What a cracked tile does to the roof
The tile on top is a rain shield and a sunshade. The underlayment beneath it is the waterproofing.
A cracked or missing tile exposes the underlayment to direct water and sun. Desert sun wears that layer down faster, and monsoon rain pushed by wind can get into the gap.
That is why a cracked tile may not leak right away. The leak comes later, once the exposed underlayment gives out. A single slipped tile is a small repair if it is caught early. Left alone, the underlayment below it ages faster and the leak spreads. Broken pieces can also collect in a valley and send water where it should not go.
What you can check from the ground
Please stay off the roof. Desert roofs are hot, steep and slick with grit, and walking up there to look can crack more tile.
Walk around the house and look up. Look for tiles that sit crooked, a gap in a row, or a broken corner. Look in the yard, on the patio and in the gutters for pieces of tile.
Look hardest near the places people went: the air conditioner, solar panels, a satellite dish, the edges where lights were hung, and the wall a painter worked on.
Inside, check the ceiling under that part of the roof for a new stain, especially after the next rain. Take photos from the ground, and write down when the other work was done if you know it. That record also helps if you take the damage up with whoever did the work.
What we do about cracked tiles
Tile repair is our flagship. We replace damaged tiles and reseat slipped ones, matching the existing profile and color wherever possible.
We carry and source common Southern Nevada concrete tile profiles and can often match or closely blend replacement tiles. For discontinued tile we source salvaged matching tile or relocate matching tile from hidden areas and use new tile there. We assess matching during the inspection.
We also look at what is under the broken tiles. We inspect underlayment age and condition during every tile-roof estimate, so you know whether the cracks let water reach it. See our residential roof repair and tile roofing pages for the full list of tile work.
A small repair or a bigger job?
A few cracked tiles caught early are a small repair: the broken tiles come out and matching tiles go in.
It becomes a bigger job when water has already been getting in. If the underlayment under the broken tiles has failed, we lift the tile over the affected area, tear off the brittle old felt, install new high-temperature underlayment and flashing, and reset your original tile.
If your tile roof is 20 or more years old, it is worth knowing whether the underlayment is near the end of its life. If it is, a lift-and-relay may make more sense than chasing cracks. We will tell you honestly whether your roof needs a targeted repair or has reached the end of its service life. Our article on tile underlayment in Las Vegas explains why.
Before the next person goes up
If work is planned that puts someone on your roof, ask how they will walk the tile and who replaces a tile if one breaks.
Holiday lights can often be clipped to the gutter or the eave from a ladder, without walking on the tile at all.
If tiles crack anyway, send the photos to (725) 502-3114 and we can tell you what we see.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a cracked roof tile always leak?
Not right away. The underlayment under the tile is the layer that keeps water out. A crack exposes it to sun and rain, and the leak comes when that layer wears through.
Can you match my tile?
In most cases, yes. We match or closely blend replacement tile, and for discontinued tile we can relocate matching tile from hidden areas and use new tile there.
Can I replace a cracked tile myself?
We do not recommend it. Walking the roof to reach one tile can crack others, and desert roofs are hot, steep and slick with grit.
Do you repair clay tile as well as concrete?
Yes. We install, repair and relay tile roofs, concrete and clay, and we match the existing profile and color wherever possible.
Who do I call?
Call or text photos to (725) 502-3114.