Tile roofs, if taken care of, should last 50 + years. The tiles themselves will last much longer of course, what fails (aside from leaks caused from lack of maintenance) is the moisture barrier, rusting flashings, gaskets etc.
There are things that can be done to extend the life of your tile roof aside from regular maintenance and updates.
Updating old style flashings – most tile roofs built before 2004 have older style flashings. The poor design of these older flashings are prone to clogging with debris. We update these flashings to high flow systems that reduce maintenance intervals and help to extend the life of your tile roof.
Updating joint areas – most tile roofs have joints sealed with caulking, we replace these joints with lead flashing creating a seal that will far outlast any caulking or mastic.
Updating weather blocking – most tile roofs built before 2004 have a very weak weather blocking system at the hip and ridge areas. These areas are prone to penetration from wind driven rain. Replacing the weather blocking at the hip and ridge helps to extend the life of the roof in these areas.
Adding Rake (gable) seals – Sealing rake tiles is not practiced by most roofers as it is a tedious procedure to do properly. Sealing all the edge areas will extend the life of your roof in these areas.