Can a roof tile be replaced from inside the roof? Information, help and tips on many areas of roofing including trusses, tiling, venting, insulation etc....

[herbsmith]

Perhaps experts will laugh at this question, but I wonder if I can replace a damaged clay red roof tile on the roof of my 1930's house without getting someone to climb up a ladder to access a difficult to reach part of the roof when I could quite easily reach it from inside the loft.
Could I simply pull out the tile from above the batten and slide a new one in?

[TheDoctor4]

Hi

Have you had a look at the DIY projects area of this site as there are several projects related to roofing that may be of some help to you: https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects.htm

Regards

[herbsmith]

Yes I have had a look but it does not answer my question

[nitro23456]

there is no way (unless you can prove me wrong by doing it!!) that this can be done. Depending on your roof construction the tiles will be nailed to the battens depending on their spacing or cemented if its an old roof. Also you would need to cut through any felt that might be present.

[john2310]

[quote="herbsmith"]Perhaps experts will laugh at this question, but I wonder if I can replace a damaged clay red roof tile on the roof of my 1930's house without getting someone to climb up a ladder to access a difficult to reach part of the roof when I could quite easily reach it from inside the loft.
Could I simply pull out the tile from above the batten and slide a new one in?[/quote]

Yes I did recently. I noticed a broken tile on my roof. I removed it from inside the loft and also reached out and retrieved the broken piece from off the roof.
It's quite easy if there is no felt and the tiles are not nailed down. I understand that it is good practice not to nail down all the tiles (just the top and bottom rows and intermittent others) so you may be ok.
You can ease the tile out by gently pushing up the bottom and pulling it out. If the tile is directly above a rafter then you can ease out the tile next to it and slide it across. The replacement tile or tiles were easier to get in than out. Make sure you've got a few spare tiles in case you break any additional tiles when getting it out.
I haven't needed to remove any nailed down tiles but this seems theoretically possible if you use the special tool that you can but for this purpose.