Separate the visible tile from the weather-shedding system below
Plan a Tile Roof Underlayment Opening
Define how tile will be lifted, stored, and reinstated while concealed layers are evaluated.
Document the actual condition
When an interior stain returns without an obvious broken tile, a controlled opening may be necessary to examine underlayment, laps, fasteners, and substrate. Intake should identify known roof age, previous openings, stored-tile inventory, and access constraints without presuming that all removed units can be reused.
Set the inspection questions
Before lifting tile, define the initial investigation area, safe staging, weather protection, and criteria for expanding the opening. Ask how field and trim pieces will be counted and protected, which concealed conditions will be photographed, and how the new underlayment will connect to identifiable sound material.
Write a comparable scope
The written price should address tile removal, sorting, storage, underlayment tie-in, flashing interfaces, broken-tile allowance, and final attachment. Compare bidders on those same quantities. Preserve tile counts, product markings, stage photographs, approved discoveries, and any area that remained inaccessible in the final record.
Preserve the decision record
Use a roof sketch to number the opening, stored-tile area, valley or wall transition, and interior symptom. If expansion becomes necessary, the crew can add the newly exposed zone to the same sketch before authorization. This preserves a defensible boundary and prevents tile counts or hidden-condition discussions from becoming detached from location.
- Set an initial tile count and written expansion limit
- Protect sorted reusable pieces from debris and foot traffic