Walk through almost any neighborhood in Vista, Oceanside, or San Marcos and you'll see concrete and clay tile roofs. Tile is a great choice here: it handles sun and heat, it doesn't burn easily, and it lasts. But tile is not what keeps the water out. Tiles shed most of the rain, and the underlayment underneath handles the rest.
That underlayment sits in an attic-hot space for years, baking every summer. Over time it dries out, cracks, and tears at the nail holes. The tiles above can look perfect while the layer underneath has stopped doing its job, which is why so many tile-roof leaks seem to come out of nowhere after the first big storm of the season.
Signs the underlayment is failing include leaks that move around, stains that show up in different rooms each winter, and brittle, black paper visible when a tile is lifted. If your roof is original to a house built in the 1980s or 1990s, it's worth having someone look.
The good news is that a worn underlayment doesn't always mean a whole new roof. On many tile roofs we can lift the existing tiles, install new underlayment and flashing, and set the same tiles back down. It's called a lift-and-relay, and it usually costs far less than replacing everything.
If you're not sure what's under your tiles, ask for an inspection. We'll lift a few tiles in the places that matter, take photos, and tell you honestly whether you need a repair, a lift-and-relay, or nothing at all yet.