A Lot of people in the Phoenix Metroplex area are led to believe that tile roofs are lifetime roofs. Usually not true! I recently met a wonderful young family from the East Coast who is moving into their recently purchased home in our valley of the sun. They called me to give them a price on some rotting fascia and a few other issues. No signs of leaks inside the house……
The house has a tile roof and is slightly over 20 years old. The problem with tile roofs is what cannot be seen from the ground or without some investigation from a Tile Roofing Institute Certified and honest Licensed Roofing Contractor. I looked to the critical areas first:
- Valleys
- Penetrations
- Trim tile
- Overall underlayment condition
- Amount of broken tile
- Chipped tile
The following assessment has been determined:
1. The underlayment is curling and badly deteriorated especially where exposed to UV rays. The fascia is rotting in a few areas which tells me the water is not running where it is intended. There are a number of broken roof tiles that should be replaced. The valleys were installed improperly and because of the age and the condition of he felt will be leaking soon. There is a lot of debris from a large tree that has been dropping leaves for many years adding to the deterioration and the microbiological attacks on the underlayment. 
1. Considering the age of the roof, the amount of deterioration of the underlayment, the loose and broken trim tile. All the underlayment will need to be replaced.
UUUUGGGHH!, they say, we’re are on a tight budget. Is there anything else we can do to hold out for a year or so?
YES!
2. I dissected the roof and categorized in order of importance, Safety (falling tile), living space potential leaks (valleys, pipes, deteriorated felt and broken tiles). And finally, overhangs and chipped tile that has the least amount of effect on the waterproofing of the roof system.
3. The plan is now to replace smaller sections of the roof’s underlayment with distinctive cutoff points to assure warranty. This plan lowers the price of the initial concern of rotting fascia and aggressively starts to fix the “hidden” problem of 20 years of deterioration. Chips away at the cost of the inevitable underlayment replacement and in this case some very serious safety concerns of falling tile.
4. The underlayment and code upgrades should give 30 or more years of no leaks or roofing problems
5. This plan allows the owners to budget for the rest of the underlayment replacement in a year or so.
Read more on tile roofs at our website and call us for your Phoenix Metroplex Pre-Monsoon Inspection! 602-400-1635
Written By: Jim McLain
