This one was a headache for the homeowner before we ever got there. A tile roof leak in Hemet, handymen who couldn't find where it was coming from, and sealant that didn't stop it. Under the tile, the deck was rotted. Here's how we fixed it without tearing off the whole roof.
By the time this homeowner called us, they'd already been through it. The handymen before us couldn't figure out where the water was getting in, so they kept sealing what they could see with Henry's. It didn't stop the leak.
There's nothing wrong with Henry's as a stop. It's not a permanent fix. On a tile roof, though, go easy with it. When we take tiles off that are covered in Henry's, they end up breaking, and that means more damage. So call a contractor first. If you absolutely have to put Henry's on to stop a leak, it is what it is: don't overdo it, and then call someone to find where the water is really getting in. More on that in caulk is not flashing.
Once the tile came up, the problem was right there: the deck was rotted. Not a soft spot. Rotted, with holes where the wood used to be. Rot like that means water had been getting past the layers under the tile for a while, and no amount of sealant on top was going to reach it.
Left: the rotted deck once the tile came up. Right: new OSB where the rot was cut out.
A surgical fix means we open only the area that needs it, fix it right, and close it back up. We cut out the rotted decking and put down new OSB. Over that went new Westlake Royal TileSeal HT underlayment, the layer that actually keeps water out on a tile roof. Then the tile went back on, and the ridge and hip got fresh mortar.
New TileSeal HT over the new deck, then the tile back on.
Fresh mortar at the ridge and where the hips meet.
On a tile roof, the tile isn't what keeps the water out. The underlayment under it is. Sealant can't fix wood that's already gone, and it can't stop water that's getting in somewhere you can't see. If a leak keeps coming back after it's been patched, the answer is usually under the tile. How we track down where the water really gets in is in how we find a roof leak, and the repair side of what we do is on our roof repairs page.
Sealant on top can't fix rot underneath.
Free estimate, in writing. We find where the water is getting in and fix that. We do asphalt shingle roofs, tile replacement with new tile, tile lift and relay, and flat roofs across the Inland Empire.
(909) 819-8394