A tile roof is two roofs stacked together. The clay or concrete tile on top sheds most of the rain and takes the sun. The underlayment beneath it is the waterproof layer, and it is the part that wears out. Most of the tile roof repair we do in Mesa starts with a ceiling stain under tile that looks perfectly sound from the driveway.
We are Circle G Roofing, a family run roofing company that has repaired and relaid tile roofs across the Valley for more than 20 years. This page explains how we find a leak on a Mesa tile roof, the three kinds of repair we do, how we match tile that is no longer made, and what the City of Mesa says about replacing roofing.
Call us about a cracked tile, a stain on the ceiling or a roof that has not been looked at in years. The inspection is free and comes with photos.
Why cracked tiles are rarely the leak
Homeowners usually call about the thing they can see: a broken tile, a tile that has slid out of its course, mortar crumbling along a ridge. Those are worth fixing, but they are seldom where the water is coming in. Tile is not completely waterproof, and in a driving rain some water gets past it. That water lands on the underlayment and runs down to the eave. On most of the tile roofs we open, the leak starts where the underlayment itself has given up.
In our experience underlayment in Arizona heat needs replacing after roughly 13 to 16 years, while the tile above it can last the life of the house. Mesa’s weather explains the gap. The 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the East Mesa station put the average daily high in July at 105.9 degrees Fahrenheit, and the highest reading on record there is 121. What we find when we lift tile on an older roof is underlayment that years of that heat have dried out until it turned brittle and split.
Once it splits, water tracks along the roof deck and shows up somewhere else. A stain over a hallway can come from a split several feet up the slope. That is why we lift tile during an inspection. Looking at the top of the roof tells you very little about the layer that keeps the house dry.
The three repairs we do on Mesa tile roofs
Cracked, chipped and slipped tile replacement
When the underlayment is still sound, a tile repair is a short job. We lift the damaged tile out without prying against its neighbors, check the underlayment beneath it, and set a matching tile in its place. Slipped tiles are reset in line with their course. Often this is the whole job, and we say so.
Leak, valley and flashing repair
Water gets in where the roof changes direction or something passes through it. We open the roof at the valleys, at the headwall flashing where a roof plane meets a wall, and around vents and pipes, then reseal or reflash the spot where water is entering. Hip and ridge mortar that has cracked or fallen away is redone as part of the same visit.
Underlayment replacement, also called a lift and relay
When the underlayment is brittle across a section or across the whole roof, patching it is money spent twice. The right repair is a lift and relay. We remove the tiles in order and stack them, strip the old underlayment, lay new underlayment and set the original tiles back, replacing only the broken ones. You may see this written as R and R, for removal and replacement. It sits between patching a spot and buying a new roof, and it reuses the tile you already own. You pay for the layer that wore out, not for the one that did not.
| What you see | What it usually means | The usual repair |
|---|---|---|
| One or two cracked or slipped tiles, no stains inside | Impact, foot traffic or wind, with the underlayment still doing its job | Tile replacement and reset |
| A stain below a valley, a wall or a vent | Water is getting in at the valley, the flashing or a vent | Leak, valley and flashing repair, with underlayment renewed around it |
| Stains in more than one room, or repairs that keep coming back | Underlayment has aged out across the roof | Lift and relay of the affected slopes or the whole roof |
| Mortar crumbling along hips and ridges | Mortar has cracked after years of heating and cooling | Hip and ridge mortar redone, with the tiles beneath checked |
We do not push a full relay when a smaller repair will do. If the roof needs more than a repair, our tile roofing Mesa AZ page covers relays, replacements and new tile roofs in full.
How we find the leak
The inspection is the part of the job that decides whether you pay for the right repair. Ours follows the same order on every roof.
- Start from the stain. We work back from where the water is showing to the roof plane above it, because the two are rarely the same place.
- Walk the roof correctly. We step only on the supported lower edge of each course, never across the middle of a tile, so the inspection does not add to the damage.
- Lift tile uphill of the stain. We follow the water path up the slope to the valley, wall, vent or split where it starts.
- Photograph what is underneath. You see the underlayment, the flashing and the deck, not a description of them.
- Check the usual suspects. Valleys, headwall flashing, pipe and vent flashings, and hip and ridge mortar are looked at on every visit.
- Put the price in writing. Tiles, underlayment and flashing are itemized as a fixed price before any work starts.
The inspection and the written quote are free whether or not you go ahead with the work.
Matching tile on older Mesa roofs
Mesa is the third most populous city in Arizona and it was built over many decades, so its tile roofs are not all alike. Dobson Ranch, between US 60 and Guadalupe Road on the west side, was built from 1973 to 1999. Eastmark, near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, did not open until 2013. A tile profile that was common when a house was built may have left production long ago.
We identify the profile and source it before the repair starts, so the job does not stall with the roof open. When a discontinued tile cannot be found, we take sound tiles from an elevation that cannot be seen from the street and use them where the repair shows. The new tiles then go on the out-of-sight slope. From the curb the repair reads as the same roof.
If your house is in a homeowners’ association, check its rules before you approve a visible change in tile color or profile. Matching what is already there is the simplest way to stay inside them.
What monsoon storms do to tile
Arizona’s monsoon season runs from June 15 to September 30, and around Phoenix the first storms typically arrive in the first week of July. The National Weather Service office in Phoenix says thunderstorm gusts in the Southwest almost always exceed 40 miles per hour, and that a severe thunderstorm warning means winds of 60 miles per hour or more.
On tile, that wind lifts and slides pieces, above all around the edges of the roof. Installation guidance published by a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory treats the eaves, rakes, hips and ridges as the perimeter of a tile roof, where every tile is to be fastened whatever the slope. The same guidance notes that tile is brittle under a heavy impact such as a falling branch. Then the rain arrives in a burst, and every slipped tile is an opening straight onto the underlayment. On a roof with young underlayment that is a nuisance. On a roof with underlayment past 15 years old it can be a leak.
After a storm we inspect, photograph and repair wind, debris and hail damage on tile. The photos are dated, which is what an insurer asks for. You deal with your insurer and we do the repair. If water is coming in right now, our tile roof repair near me page explains what to do in the first hour and how our emergency leak line works.
What Mesa’s rules say about roof work
The City of Mesa’s residential construction questions page answers the roofing question in two sentences. In its words, you can replace your roof with the same roof material type or better, if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If your home is historic, Planning approval is required.
A lift and relay puts the same tile back over new underlayment, so the roofing material does not change. The City’s page does not spell out when roof work needs a permit, so if you are unsure, ask Development Services at 55 N. Center Street. The second sentence matters in eight parts of the city. Mesa has eight locally designated historic districts: Evergreen, Flying Acres, Fraser Fields, Glenwood/Wilbur, Robson, Temple, West Second Street and West Side-Clark. Changes to designated historic properties go through the City’s Certificate of Appropriateness process. If your house is in one of them, talk to the City’s Historic Preservation Office, also at 55 N. Center Street, before any roofing is ordered.
If a repair cannot wait
The same City page covers urgent work. If you need to make an emergency repair that requires a permit, the application is to be submitted by the next business day. Mesa adopted the 2024 International Code Council codes for permit applications submitted on or after January 8, 2026, so ask Development Services which rules apply to your job if you are unsure.
Repair day, in order
- Lift and stack the tile. Tiles come off in order and are stacked on the roof so each one goes back where it was.
- Open up the leak. We expose the underlayment, the deck and the flashing until the point where water enters is in plain view.
- Relay and reflash. New underlayment goes over the affected area, and the valleys, headwall flashing and penetrations around it are resealed.
- Set the tile back. Original tiles are reset, broken ones are replaced with matches, and the debris leaves with us.
Our own crew does the work, and we walk the finished roof with you. A repair on tile also has to avoid creating the next repair. We do not mortar tile where it should not be mortared, because that makes every later repair harder and costlier, and we lift and stack tile where others pry it.
What moves the cost of a tile roof repair
We do not quote tile repairs over the phone, because the roof has to be opened before anyone can know what is under it. Four things move the figure.
- The number of broken tiles. A handful of pieces is a different job from a slope of them.
- The condition of the underlayment. Sound underlayment keeps the repair small. Brittle underlayment turns it into a relay.
- Flashing and valley work. Metal that has to be reformed or replaced adds time.
- Whether the tile is still made. A discontinued profile has to be sourced or borrowed from another slope.
After the inspection you get a fixed price in writing, itemized so you can see what each part contributes. If you are comparing companies, our tile roofers Mesa page lists what to ask each one and what a written scope should contain.
Catching it while it is still a repair
A yearly check of the valleys, the ridge mortar and the flashing catches a slipped or cracked tile while the job is still a repair. The best time is before the monsoon. Between visits, these are the signs to act on.
- Cracked, chipped or slipped tiles, or pieces of tile on the ground after a storm.
- Mortar crumbling along the hips and ridges.
- Stains on a ceiling or down a wall.
- Daylight visible from inside the attic.
- Underlayment that is more than 15 years old and has never been renewed.
Stay off the roof yourself if you can. Tile cracks under a foot placed in the middle of it, which is how a visit to service a satellite dish or an air conditioner can leave broken tile behind. Tile manufacturers tell professionals to step on the bottom three inches of an installed tile, where it is supported by the tile beneath, and they often do not cover breakage from foot traffic. More about our company and our other roofing services is on circlegroofing.com, our main website.
Call us and tell us where the stain is and roughly how old the roof is. We will lift the tile, show you the photos and tell you whether it is a repair or a relay.
Common questions
Why is my tile roof leaking when the tiles look fine?
Because the tile is not the waterproof layer. The underlayment beneath it does that job, and it wears out several times faster than tile. When it turns brittle and splits, water runs along the deck and appears somewhere else, which is why we lift tile during an inspection.
How long does a tile roof last in Mesa?
The tile can last the life of the house. The underlayment is the limiting layer. In our experience it needs replacing after roughly 13 to 16 years in Arizona heat, so it is renewed once or twice over the life of the tile.
Can you replace a single cracked tile?
Yes, and often that is the whole job. We lift the tile out, check the underlayment beneath it and set a tile of the same profile and color. If the profile is discontinued we source it, or we borrow a sound tile from a slope that cannot be seen from the street.
What does R and R mean on a tile roof quote?
Removal and replacement. The tiles are lifted and stacked, the old underlayment is stripped, new underlayment is laid and the original tiles are reset, with broken ones swapped. It is also called a lift and relay.
Do I need a permit for tile roof repair in Mesa, AZ?
The City of Mesa says you can replace your roof with the same roof material type or better if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and that Planning approval is required if the home is historic. Mesa has eight locally designated historic districts. For anything beyond a like for like repair, ask Development Services at 55 N. Center Street before work starts.
What does tile roof repair cost?
It depends on how many tiles are broken, the condition of the underlayment, how much flashing and valley work is needed and whether the tile profile is still made. We give a fixed written price after an inspection on the roof. The inspection and the quote are free.
Can I walk on my tile roof to check it?
As little as possible, and never across the middle of a tile. The place to step is the supported lower edge of each course, and even there a tile can crack under the wrong boot or a dropped tool. Most early warnings on a tile roof show from the ground, so look from the yard after a storm and call us about anything out of place.
Do you repair both clay and concrete tile?
Yes. We replace, reset and relay both, and we match the profile and color before the repair starts.
Is storm damage to a tile roof something you document?
Yes. We inspect and photograph wind, debris and hail damage, and the photos are dated. You deal with your insurer and we carry out the repair.
How often should a tile roof be checked?
Once a year, ideally before the monsoon season begins on June 15. The check covers the valleys, the hip and ridge mortar and the flashing, and it catches a slipped tile while it is still one tile.