DIY Re-roof?

[Nige F]

You could just repair the felt - and simply save up for the work that you know will need doing - the felt will keep the water out until it fails - the hole you`ve got was probably done when it was built . The block of flats I mentioned was one of two identical - the remaining one showed no signs inside the roof, and it`s still got the original 70`s tiles - what happened was that one roof`s felt just perished all over - strange - the other one is still tracking the water away . There must be millions of houses where the roofs are leaking a tad , but the felt`s holding the water back

 

[kingandy2nd]

Many thanks for your input Nige.

I’ve now pinpointed the two areas that I think are leaking.

Firstly it’s where the felt is torn, and the water is going though the headlap of the tiles. The felt as torn along the length of the roof truss , so it’s difficult to fix back in place. I was thinking if I could cut a wooden batten and nail the ripped felt onto that, then screw the batten to the truss to hold the felt roughly back in place.

The second leak is a bit more tricky as the water is coming into the roof around where the soil pipe exits the roof. The felt is in a very bad way around the pipe – it just looks like an x has been cut in the felt and the pipe pushed through it.

I’ve been up on the roof and replaced all the flashing around the pipe and I’m confident that this is not the source of the leak. So I think the leak is somewhere higher up on the roof and the water is running down the felt and entering the roof space where the pipe cut is.

Any idea how to tackle this leak from below? Just to make it more complicated the space in the roof is really restricted around the soil stack – max 100mm.

Thanks

 

[catlad]

It will have to be done from the outside, get a small roll of roof underlay / shed felt, then remove a few rows of tiles from behind the affected area until you see the the next overlapping piece of felt, you can then cut a piece of felt the size you need and slide it between the overlapping piece above and that should carry the water past the ripped part, as for the pipe you will need to turn the felt up the pipe an inch and then if the rest of the felt is ok it should take any water into the gutter.

 

[kingandy2nd]

Thanks Catlad.

I was hoping to not have to remove the tiles for the ripped felt as it’s pretty much in the centre of the roof so I think it might be a pain to get to access that area and get the tiles lifted.

Someone has ID the tiles as Marley Wessex, so they are interlocking tiles. What I’ve not established yet is how many courses of the tiles are nailed into position. Is there any set approach to how many courses are nailed, or is it very much dependent on the location of the roof and how the roofer is feeling on the day?

As for the leak around the soil pipe, as it’s only in the second course of tiles, after a bit of research I think it might be a better approach to take off the bottom 2/3 courses of tiles to fit some proper eave trays and while the tiles are up I can tackle the felt around the soil pipe at the same time. Probably a job I’ll save for spring.

Looks like I’ll be investing in a slate ripper. Can anyone recommend a particular brand that’s good value but is also a good tool?

Cheers
Andy

 

[catlad]

Slate rippers are for slate only. You will need something to prise up the bottom of the tile, a trowel or a small crow bar the flat ones that can also prise the nails out, and a few bits of wood to hold the tiles up above were your working. If you push the bottom of the tiles around the area you want to start you should find one that is not nailed once you have removed that then that will reveal the nails on the one bellow. Once you have removed a few tiles you will get the idea, best to go and get a few tiles before you start to replace any broken ones.

 

[kingandy2nd]

ok thanks again catlad, you've saved me a few quid on a tool i don't actually need

having never bought roof tiles before, is it normal for roofing suppliers to sell a dozen tiles (or so) at a time or will most only sell by the pallet?

 

[SurreyRoofingEstimator]

A good roofing supplier (not a builders merchant) will be able to get tiles by the pack rather than the pallet, they may even have a few knocking about (unlikely but you never know). One good wheeze if you only need a few is to ask for some samples to be arranged