Mending Broken Roof Tile

What about glueing something on the bottom of the tile, across the break, to keep the pieces together and prevent water going through? Some sort of material that won't rot. If the glue can go through it, put a piece of polythene underneath so you don't inadvertently stick it to the tile underneath.

There are grab adhesives which will strongly bond masonary products, even when wet. I used to use Wickes Master "Forget Nails" Waterproof which was excellent, but they stopped doing that range. Someone can probably suggest a current product which works well.

Miliput

Yes, I did consider that. I thought of using either slate, or a piece of the thin cement fibre-board that used to be commonly used for soffits, although the cement fibre-board probably contained asbestos has since been banned.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of choice. The material wouldn't want to be any more than 3 - 4mm thick. Maybe fibreglass sheet?

I did considered using a piece of fine stainless steel mesh with polythene behind. The adhesive would pass through the mesh and bond well.

This still leaves the question of which adhesive to use. I wondered about an external tile adhesive such as would be used for tiling a swimming pool.

I've just read the spec sheet for RT-600: DANGER! EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE. HARMFUL OR FATAL IF SWALLOWED. Contains Naphtha Solvents, Toluene and Ethanol. Keep from heat, sparks and flame. Vapors may ignite explosively. Extinguish all flames, burners, stoves, heaters and pilot lights and disconnect all electrical motors and appliances before use and until all vapors are gone. Prevent build up of vapors by opening all windows and doors to achieve cross-ventilation. May cause central nervous system effects including dizziness, headache or nausea. Contains n-Hexane which can cause peripheral polyneuropathy and central nerve damage. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.

That more than enough to give our killjoy H&S Executive a fit of the vapours. I doubt I'll find it for sale in the UK!

Either Sicks Like Sh*t or Nail & Seal.

My roofing tiles are Redland plain concrete 10.1/2" x 6.1/2".

I don't understand the problem, you should be able to replace the tile in the same way as replacing a slate. See;

It's going to have to be mighty UV resistant up there

I don't understand the problem, you should be able to replace the tile in the same way as replacing a slate. See;

OK, I can answer my own question now. The best adhesive seems to be Araldite epoxy resin (original, slow-set Araldite, not the quick-set

I deliberately snapped a spare roof tile in half and then glued it back together with Araldite. I left it for a week, and then tried to break it. The glued joint held firm. I then dropped the tile onto a concrete surface, whereupon it predictably shattered into many pieces. However, nowhere did it break along the glue line.

I have now glued my broken roof tile back in place, and the result seems perfect.

It's important that the tile is a simple break with matching edges to glue. Choose a hot, dry, sunny day - the Araldite needs 5-hours to set! Wire brush the broken edges to remove any loose material. Coat both edges with Araldite and push the two tile pieces together. I used a piece of plastic under the tile to prevent the adhesive from sticking to the tile beneath. I held the broken piece of tile in position with wire hooks and elastic bands, until the Araldite had set.

Providing the integrity of the glued joint isn't compromised by months of rain and thermal cycling, the job's a good un.

In message , Interloper writes

Well described, I hope it has worked for you. May even encourage me to fix a couple of mine.

Milliput (

I've repaired the odd terracotta pot with that with similar results to those which you describe.