Sloped roofs
Tile Roof Repair
A tile roof leaks through its underlayment, not through its tile. Concrete and clay tiles are a rain screen. They shed the bulk of the water and take the ultraviolet exposure, but the layer that actually keeps water out of the building is the membrane underneath them. That membrane has a service life measured in decades, while the tile itself can last far longer.
- 24/7 emergency line
- Licence BL272564
- WCB 9892020
- $5M liability
- Free written estimate
Free written estimate
Tell us what the roof is doing
We reply with a written scope and a price, not a range.
City of Calgary licence
BL272564
WCB Alberta account
9892020
General liability
$5,000,000
Written estimate
Free, itemised
This is why a tile roof can look perfect from the street and still be leaking.
Marku Roofing Repair Ltd. repairs tile roofs. Call 403-700-7542 for a free written estimate.
01
What we repair
Cracked tiles
Concrete tile cracks under point loading. The usual causes are foot traffic during another trade's work, a satellite or solar installer walking the field, and hail. A cracked tile passes water directly onto the underlayment below, which then takes the exposure it was never designed for.
Slipped tiles
Tiles slip when the fastener corrodes, when the batten rots, or when the nose of the tile below breaks. A slipped tile leaves the course below it exposed and puts extra load on its neighbours.
Failed underlayment beneath sound tile
The most expensive failure on a tile roof, because the tile has to come off to fix it. The tile is lifted, stacked, the underlayment is replaced, and the tile is reset. On a roof where the tile is still serviceable, this is the correct repair and it is far cheaper than a full replacement.
Broken hip and ridge bedding
Hip and ridge tiles are bedded in mortar or fixed with a dry ridge system. Mortar bedding cracks and washes out over time, particularly on a roof going through freeze-thaw cycling. Once the bedding is gone, ridge tiles move and the ridge line opens.
Valley and penetration flashings
As with any roof, most leaks are flashing leaks. Tile valleys are metal, they collect debris, and they corrode where water sits.
02
Concrete and clay
Concrete tile. Cement, sand and pigment, pressed and cured. The pigment is often only surface-applied, so a repair tile will not match a weathered field. Heavier than clay.
Clay tile. Fired clay. Colour is through the body, so it weathers more evenly. More brittle underfoot.
Both are heavy. A tile roof imposes a dead load that the structure was designed for. Replacing a tile roof with a different material is straightforward. Adding tile to a structure built for asphalt is not, and requires structural review.
Stop guessing
Get tile roof repair priced in writing
We look at the roof, photograph what we find, and hand you a scope with a number on it. If a repair is the right answer, we say so rather than quoting a replacement.
Estimates are free and written. Not a range, not a verbal number.
03
Why walking a tile roof matters
Every trade that walks a tile roof without knowing where to step breaks tiles. The load has to go over the batten line or the head lap, not over the unsupported span of the tile. A roof that has had two or three other trades on it will usually have a handful of cracked tiles nobody reported.
If your tile roof started leaking after a solar install, a chimney sweep, or a satellite install, that is the first thing to check.
04
Repair or replace
Repair when the tile field is largely intact and the underlayment is serviceable or can be replaced in sections.
Replace the underlayment and reset the tile when the tile is sound but the membrane has reached end of life. This is the standard mid-life intervention on a tile roof and it is not the same as replacing the roof.
Replace the whole assembly when tile breakage is widespread and the underlayment has failed at the same time.
Our own photographs
Work on Calgary roofs
Every photograph on this site is taken on a job we did. No stock libraries.
Checkable, not claimed
Credentials you can verify before we set a ladder up
Marku Roofing Repair Ltd. was incorporated in Alberta in 2022, corporate access number 2024249985. City of Calgary business licence BL272564. WCB Alberta account 9892020. $5,000,000 commercial general liability through Sandbox Mutual Insurance.
No awards, no rankings, no "best in Calgary". A licence number, a WCB account and a policy limit are things you can check yourself.
More about the companyAnswers
Frequently asked questions
Still unclear? A five minute phone call usually settles it faster than reading.
Ask us directlyHow long does tile underlayment last?
Less than the tile. The underlayment is the component that sets the repair cycle on a tile roof, not the tile.
Can you match my tile?
Profile can usually be matched. Colour on a weathered concrete tile cannot be matched exactly, because surface pigment fades. Where possible we relocate sound tiles from a low-visibility area into the visible repair and put the new tiles out of sight.
My tile roof looks fine but the ceiling is stained. How?
The tile is doing its job. The underlayment below it is not. This is the normal presentation of a mid-life tile roof.
Is a broken tile urgent?
Yes. The underlayment below a broken tile is directly exposed to ultraviolet light and weather it was not designed for, and it degrades quickly once exposed.
Free written estimate
Book it before the next chinook
Freeze-thaw turns a small opening into a large one faster here than almost anywhere else in Canada. Get it looked at while it is still a repair.
Serving Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks and Chestermere.