Leaking tiled roof after repointing in August 2018

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Location
West Midlands
Country
United Kingdom
In June 2018 I noticed staining to the bedroom ceiling due to a leak, there was also mortar coming out of the roof valleys and cracked verges. I also had cracked verges on the garage roof.

In August 2018 I had the ridge tiles and valleys repointed on the house roof. I also had some work done to the garage roof.

About a year after the work was completed I noticed mortar falling from the house and garage roofs. The contractor visited and told me this was normal because re-pointing should last no longer than 12 months. He told me there was no problems with the workmanship.

Recently I noticed staining to the same area of the bedroom ceiling. I went into the loft and saw water stains on the valley board and on a strut in the same area above the bedroom. The insulation under the valley board was damp.

The contractor visited again on Monday to repair the work he had done on the garage. His guys checked the house roof and valley. I was shown an image of an old square of flashing with a cracked tile underneath. I was told water was leaking under the flashing and through the edge of the valley into the loft space. I was previously unaware of the cracked tile. Neither contractor mentioned a cracked tile in their original quotations.

I had also contacted my insurance company. By coincidence the surveyor arrived while the contractor's guys were working on the garage roof. The surveyor concluded the mortar had been eroded from the valley due to failure of the repointing. He thought re-pointing should last at least 2 years.

After the surveyor had left the contractor's guys told me they had spotted some touching up work was necessary on the roof. I specifically asked whether they were going to do any work on the valley. They said they would be working only on the ridge tiles.

I have the following questions:

How long should I reasonably expect re-pointing to last? The other contractor who quoted offered a 3 year guarantee.

Isn't fitting flashing over a cracked tile meant to be temporary repair? The house is 22 years old, (I bought it from new), is it likely to have fitted by the housebuilder? Nobody apart from the contractor has worked on the roof since the house was new. Except, that is a guy who fitted a chimney pot protector 18 years ago.

The surveyor told me the tears in the felt in the loft were of no concern, do you agree?

Does it now look as if the contractor has re-pointed the valley again , despite what I was told?

In the last 2 images there seems to be a new strip of flashing, do you think it is protecting the cracked tile? Wouldn't it be better to replace it?

I attach the images taken by the surveyor followed by two images I took after everyone had gone.
 

Attachments

  • Cracks and moss growth in the valley mortar .jpg
    Cracks and moss growth in the valley mortar .jpg
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  • debris noted in the valley of the property.jpg
    debris noted in the valley of the property.jpg
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  • Further Water staining to the valley board in the attic, further tearing noted to the felt .jpg
    Further Water staining to the valley board in the attic, further tearing noted to the felt .jpg
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  • Overview of the valley, debris in the valley noted and repointing only in past effected .jpg
    Overview of the valley, debris in the valley noted and repointing only in past effected .jpg
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  • Tear noted to the felt in the attic space.jpg
    Tear noted to the felt in the attic space.jpg
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  • Water staining to the valley board in the attic.jpg
    Water staining to the valley board in the attic.jpg
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  • valley after visit 1.JPG
    valley after visit 1.JPG
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  • valley after visit 2.JPG
    valley after visit 2.JPG
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Last edited:
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Repointing in this manor is a waste of time and money and will always fail.
The damaged tile needs changing which is very easy (they look like Redland Grovebury tiles which are available)
Hole in the underlay, no big deal
 
as above - all the way.

properly fitted with care and attention to detail then mortared-in lead valleys have been serving the public for a couple of centuries.
carelessly done or ignorantly attempted they dont last long at all.
at first glance that valley should have been stripped, and a dry valley installed.
it might cost quite a bit more but well worth it. not least because it works, & you wont have returnee's traipsing up and down your roof.
and with the correct valley boards, fixing is provided for laths and counter battens etc.
 
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OP,
the flaunching on your stack is a mess and will be giving you problems ... ?
the right hand barge board is beginning to decay at the tail end.
was the debris removed from your gutter?

the verge pointing done by you recent roofers is excellently done. only hope the verge tiles were removed to do the pointing?
 
Thanks everyone for your responses.

The roofing company came back. They replaced the broken tiles, and the valley. They fitted new permeable felt over the old felt. They re-bedded the tiles on either side of the valley. I paid a contribution to the work because it was not clear how much responsibility the roofer could take for all the faults they fixed.

Now 7 days after the work as done and after some significant rainfall last night, I found some water beads where the valley board intersects with the old felt. The valley board is also a little damp to touch in that area, although it is still probably drying out after the original leak. See the attached images. Is this anything to be concerned about?

I should also mention that at the same time the roofer pulled back the insulation in the loft, exposing the soffit vents for the first time since the house was build in 1997.
 

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