How do you fix a cracked or slipped roof tile?
Short answer. To fix a cracked or slipped roof tile, carefully wedge up the tiles that overlap it, remove the broken pieces, slide a matching replacement into place so it hooks over the batten or sits in the original position, and secure it with the clip, nail or adhesive the roof uses. Check the underlayment while the tile is out, since that layer is the actual waterproofing.
Before you start
- Identify the tile: clay or concrete, its profile (flat, S or barrel), and its color. Take a broken piece to a supplier to match.
- Avoid walking on tile. If you must, step only on the lower part of tiles over their supports, in soft-soled shoes, or work from a ladder.
- Never work on wet or algae-covered tile, which is slick.
Replacing a single tile
- Gently lift the tiles overlapping the broken one and prop them with wood wedges.
- Break out the damaged tile in pieces if needed, and remove or cut its nail.
- Look at the underlayment. If it is torn or brittle, patch it now with a lapped piece.
- Slide the new tile up into place so its nibs hook over the batten, or set it in the same position on a direct-to-deck roof.
- Secure it with a tile clip, a corrosion-resistant nail or an approved tile adhesive, matching how the roof was built.
- Remove the wedges and lower the overlapping tiles back down.
Slipped tiles
A tile that has slid down has usually lost its nail or broken a nib. Slide it back and secure it with a clip or adhesive. Many slipped tiles across a roof suggest corroded fasteners or failing battens, which is a bigger repair.
When it is more than a tile
Tile often outlasts the underlayment beneath it. If leaks continue after tiles are replaced, or the underlayment is brittle across the roof, the fix is lifting the tiles, replacing the underlayment and battens, and relaying the same tiles. See common roof leak causes and roof anatomy explained.