Can You Replace Individual Roof Tiles?

Where a roof is laid in interlocking concrete tiles, the roofer gently lifts the neighbouring tiles lying over the broken one, using small wedges to hold them up. The damaged tile is slid out, the batten underneath is checked, and a new tile is hooked over the batten by its nibs, the small projections on its back. It is then nailed or clipped in the same way as its neighbours, so wind cannot lift it, and the tiles above are lowered back into place. The roofer should also look at the tiles around it for hairline cracks, since one broken tile is often joined by a neighbour.

Plain tiles are smaller and overlap two rows below, so more of them have to be eased up, but the principle is the same. Slates have no nibs and are nailed through, so a slipped slate is usually secured with a tingle. That is a thin copper or lead strap, fixed to the batten through the gap between the lower slates and bent up to cradle the new slate's tail. Done well, none of this damages the surrounding roof, and from the garden you should struggle to spot which piece is new.

A new tile only stays put if what it hangs on is sound. If the battens under the slipped tile have gone soft, the new tile will slip in the same way, and the right repair is to strip that patch and renew the battens and any torn underlay first. Our guide on when roof battens need replacing explains the signs.

The same goes for slates. A few slipped slates can be put back on tingles, but if the nails are rusting right across the roof, more and more will follow, and that area needs re-slating on new fixings. Tiles cut into a mortar valley or bedded along a ridge or verge are different too: they are part of the detail, so the mortar or dry-fix system around them has to be dealt with as well. If more than one problem turns up, the written price should say so plainly.

Finally, sealant smeared over a cracked tile is not a replacement. It may stop a drip for a while, but the crack keeps moving with frost and sun, so a proper swap is the lasting fix.

A replacement needs the same profile, the same size and, ideally, a similar colour, or it will neither fit nor look right. Many concrete and clay profiles are still made, and a roofer can usually identify yours from the tile itself or the maker's mark on its underside. Where a profile has been discontinued, reclaimed tiles are the next option, and roofers often keep a few spares from earlier jobs.

If nothing matches, there is a neat solution: take sound tiles from a slope nobody sees, such as the back of a garage or a rear porch, use them for the visible repair, and put the closest new tiles where they will not show. A brand-new tile can also look bright beside weathered ones for a while until it tones down. Keep any spare tiles left after a job; they are often the best match you will ever find.

Every tile has a minimum pitch on its data sheet, so a different profile is only an option if your roof is steep enough for it. Our answer on matching old roof tiles goes further into colour and reclaimed stock.

As a national guide, Checkatrade's October 2026 tile replacement table gives £170 to £500 to refix as many as five slipped or broken tiles. The bottom of that range is a simple job; around £225 covers ladder access and bedding; the top, around £500, is where scaffold is needed. Treat these as a yardstick only; the price for your own roof depends on what the survey finds. Ask whether any quote includes VAT.

Access is the biggest variable. On a bungalow, ladders alone, including one that hooks over the ridge, may be enough. A tile in the middle of a two-storey slope, or near a chimney, usually needs a tower or scaffold to be done safely. A good roofer will tell you which, and why, before quoting. Scaffold can cost more than the tile work itself, so ask whether other jobs on that side of the house could share it.

You receive a single written total once we have inspected the roof, with photos of the tile and the batten under it. If you are not sure why the tile moved in the first place, our answer on why roof tiles slip covers the usual causes, and our pitched roofing page covers the wider repairs.