Cracked, broken, or missing roof tiles leave your home vulnerable to water damage and structural decay. Palmers Roofing replaces damaged tiles with precision-matched replacements across Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama, and every Illawarra suburb — restoring full weatherproofing to your roof.
Individual broken tile replacement in the Wollongong, Shellharbour, and Kiama areas typically costs between $45 and $85 per tile, including materials and labour. This price varies depending on tile type — concrete tiles are at the lower end, while terracotta and slate replacements cost more due to sourcing and handling requirements. A minimum call-out fee of $180–$250 generally applies, which covers travel, safe roof access setup, and the first few tiles. For larger jobs involving 10 or more tiles, we provide a per-tile rate that reduces the overall cost. All quotes from Palmers Roofing are free and provided in writing before any work begins.
In most cases, yes. We maintain relationships with all major tile manufacturers including Monier, Boral, and CSR, and carry stock of the most common concrete and terracotta profiles used on Illawarra homes. For discontinued tile lines, we access salvage yards, demolition suppliers, and specialty roofing warehouses across NSW. If an exact match is truly unavailable, we discuss alternatives such as sourcing tiles from a less visible section of your roof to use on the damaged area, or custom colour-matching through specialist suppliers. Accurate tile matching is critical — mismatched tiles are visually obvious and can affect your property's resale value.
There is no practical limit. We regularly replace anywhere from a single cracked tile through to 100+ tiles on storm-damaged roofs across the Illawarra. For small jobs of 1–5 tiles, the work is typically completed within 1–2 hours. Medium jobs of 10–30 tiles take half a day, while extensive replacements of 50+ tiles may require a full day or two depending on tile sourcing and roof accessibility. We always carry surplus replacement tiles to account for any additional damage discovered once we are on the roof.
The most common causes of broken tiles in the Illawarra region are storm impact from hail and airborne debris, thermal cycling where tiles expand and contract through extreme temperature changes, foot traffic from tradespeople accessing rooftop equipment such as antennas and solar panels, falling tree branches during high winds, and age-related brittleness in tiles over 30 years old. Coastal suburbs including Austinmer, Thirroul, and Scarborough experience additional salt crystallisation within tile pores, which accelerates surface degradation and makes tiles more prone to cracking.
Yes — even a single broken tile exposes your roof's underlayment and timber structure to water ingress. During Illawarra rain events, which average 1,200mm annually, water penetrating through a broken tile saturates sarking, wets timber battens, and can reach ceiling plaster within a few heavy downpours. Prolonged moisture exposure causes timber rot, encourages mould growth inside wall and ceiling cavities, and can attract termites. Replacing a broken tile promptly costs $45–$85, whereas repairing water-damaged ceilings, battens, and insulation can cost $2,000–$5,000 or more. We recommend replacing broken tiles within 7 days of noticing the damage.
Absolutely. All tile replacement work carried out by Palmers Roofing is backed by our written workmanship warranty. This covers the installation, bedding, and waterproofing of every replaced tile. New tiles also carry the manufacturer's product warranty, which typically ranges from 20 to 50 years depending on the brand and material. Our workmanship warranty ensures that if any replaced tile fails due to installation fault — such as improper bedding, incorrect overlap, or inadequate sealing — we return and rectify the issue at no additional cost. We are a licensed NSW roofing contractor (Licence #168816C) with full public liability insurance.