There are few roof coverings that can match the beauty of tile, but the downside is that the individual tiles can often become cracked or broken. Even just a single damaged tile can hurt the look of your roof, not to mention the fact that you may expose the area below the broken tile to the elements.
It is for this reason that you need to think about tile roof repair the moment that you see there is an issue. It’s always best to call in the professionals when you need this work done, but you can try to do it yourself if you have some construction experience.
The first thing that has to be done before you get started is getting hold of a replacement tile for the one that is broken. This is actually a little trickier than it sounds, as there are many different types of tile on the market.
You will have to ensure that the design and color exactly match what you have on your roof. Once you have what you need, you will then need to take all of your tools and tiles up to the roof. It’s always best to make this a two person job, as you should have someone there to hold the ladder steady as you climb.
The good news is that you do not need to carry a lot of materials up there with you. All that you will need is your replacement tile, a couple of small pieces of wood, and a trowel. Once you have located the broken tile you will need to carefully raise the tile that overlaps it. You can then slide in the two pieces of timber to hold open the overlapping tile, making it much easier to get the damaged tile out.
At this point you can then slide the brick trowel under the damaged tile and lift it over the baton underneath so that it can then be slid out. The tile should slide out fairly easily at this point, although you may have to do this in a couple of steps if the tile breaks during removal.
You will need to make sure that no pieces of tile debris remain in the area, as this could affect your ability to easily add the new tile. This should be easy to do, as it’s just a matter of sliding it in under the raised overlapping tile. Once it’s in place and you see that it is not interfering with any of the surrounding tiles, you can then remove the timber and be done with the job.
You really need to exercise extreme caution when up on the roof, and that includes calling someone out to hold the ladder steady when you are ready to come back down. It is not necessarily a difficult job to replace a roof tile, but it is one that can potentially be very dangerous. If you are in any way unsure about what to do, or nervous about the job, call in a professional roofer to do it for you.