Light coming through roof after work being, is this normal?

[portuguesejohn]

Context: Have had a chimney stack removed by a professional roofer (found through checkatrade with 200+ near perfect reviews). Work was carried over 2 days.

Once finished, I went in the loft and noticed some light coming through a couple of the tiles in the area that was affected. Proceed to call the roofer and he was happy to return and have a look - Said everything was fine and not to worry, said those gaps were protected by sealant, as well as the new breathable felt, and went up the roof again to recheck (equipped with the sealant gun) to give us some peace of mind.

I have attached the following pictures:
#1, #2: Inside the loft, the 2 visible light points.
#3: First day of work finished (not final product!)
#4: Finished product - Can't snap better picture as ladder belonged to roofer, sorry.

I have no idea about roofing and what is acceptable or not, I am confident in the roofer as he appeared to be very courteous and experienced, as well as equipped with very good online feedback, but I still have that nagging feeling at the back of my head - so need to ask, is this a normal situation?

 

[portuguesejohn]

Also worth mentioning, the roof in an old 1930s one, I don't know the exact terminology for the original slates (but they are the kind of ones with questionable levels of asbestos), the new slates mentioned in the quote are "eternett slates".

 

[^woody^]

In that location, if light can get in so can water.

 

[mattylad]

In the third picture there is an effing great big hole where a tile should be.

I wonder how much he paid to get the reviews or if they were from friends and family or himself?

 

[portuguesejohn]

In the third picture there is an effing great big hole where a tile should be.

I wonder how much he paid to get the reviews or if they were from friends and family or himself?

If you are referring to the section where the felt is visible, I believe that was properly worked in on the second day of work... If not, I could surely see a missing tile from either the loft or the view from the garden, which is not the case.

I worked up the courage to go and poke my fingers in the "holes", not the easiest job since this section of the loft is not boarded up... but sure enough it was like he said: Those "holes" can't actually be poked through, they are filled with the mentioned sealant, which is clear/transparent. One thing that also became clearer is how reflective this sealant product is, there was quite a bit of it pushed between the tiles and coming through under the tiles, but it's so reflective that it made the issue look "worse".

Oh well - the only thing I can realistically do is wait for some rain and inspect. The roofer was clear on calling him back if there was an actual issue.

 

[Diver Fred]

Also worth mentioning, the roof in an old 1930s one, I don't know the exact terminology for the original slates (but they are the kind of ones with questionable levels of asbestos), the new slates mentioned in the quote are "eternett slates".

I note the 'slates' do not have the 'rivets' in - that is what should be through the hole in the bottom edge of the slates - See; the rivet tails are visible in the picture. Which is why the 'brick Bond Pattern' is offset so that could be a cause of leaks in the future and possibly why light is visible through the slates.

 

[portuguesejohn]

I note the 'slates' do not have the 'rivets' in - that is what should be through the hole in the bottom edge of the slates - See; the rivet tails are visible in the picture. Which is why the 'brick Bond Pattern' is offset so that could be a cause of leaks in the future and possibly why light is visible through the slates.

I should have made it clearer - That picture (if we are talking about #3?) details the work on the first day of the job, which was mostly taken up by taking the chimney stack off. He left it like that just to leave something in place in case of rain (unlikely as we checked weather reports) and finished the job on the next day, unfortunately it is the only close up photo I have.

I like to think I do my research on people, and am somewhat tech savvy (not so much DYI savvy though!), this roofer has impeccable reviews and no negative local feedback on social media. He has also been trading for many years now (over 25 years of business, older gentleman). He was courteous, showed up on time and provided a quote in a timely manner as well (can't say the same for other blokes), has assured he will do right if required - I don't think I am dealing with a cowboy.

This is not to say he could have made a mistake, could very well be the case, but the bloke has assured us he believes this to be a non issue... so all I can do is keep his number on speed dial, just in case.

 

[mattylad]

Sealant has no place being used to prevent rain coming through roof tile holes.
In the sun it will not last too long before it erodes and allows water to pass.

That's a bodge and not a very good one.
There should IMO be tile over those gaps, not sealant.
Also, from underneath in the first pic I cannot see the membrane spoken of, is it actually there?

 

[datarebal]

first couple of pictures show no membrane under the slates.
the originals were probably 250 x 500, new are eternit thru tones 300 x 600 that have been left out in the pallet , that is why there is white all over them. it will not go.
the new slates have been trimmed down to maintain bond, rivets left out. the rivets are there to hold the tails down.
the rivet holes wont allow water into the house, but the slipped eave slates will.
sealant wtf
its a cra pp y job leave a review

 

[portuguesejohn]

Sealant has no place being used to prevent rain coming through roof tile holes.
In the sun it will not last too long before it erodes and allows water to pass.

That's a bodge and not a very good one.
There should IMO be tile over those gaps, not sealant.
Also, from underneath in the first pic I cannot see the membrane spoken of, is it actually there?

first couple of pictures show no membrane under the slates.
the originals were probably 250 x 500, new are eternit thru tones 300 x 600 that have been left out in the pallet , that is why there is white all over them. it will not go.
the new slates have been trimmed down to maintain bond, rivets left out. the rivets are there to hold the tails down.
the rivet holes wont allow water into the house, but the slipped eave slates will.
sealant wtf
its a cra pp y job leave a review

I think I can explain (to the best of my abilities...) the "missing" membrane/felt... Here is a video detailing: https://imgur.com/a/xk7pUmY

The house has a raised roof, all rooms upstairs have a "slope" on the outer wall, so there was a lot more to the roof than what I was initially showing in the photos. In the video above (right at the beginning) you can see where the felt starts (right at the bottom of the slope) this is where my chimney breast starts, I then proceed to show the first gap with silicone, and clumsily attempt to show the second gap on the other side. The gaps look a lot worse on the naked eye, running my finger through them feels like any other gap in the rest of the tiles, light is especially reflecting heavily on the dried sealant that has bled through - not to excuse the work, but I initially thought I could stick my garden hose through these...

Most of my roof shows very faint light gaps in the tiles as well (but no signs of leakage/damp anywhere else besides the chimney area).

Bonus, you can hear me banging my head in the last second.

 

[datarebal]

I'd expect to see a glow here and there on the original roof there is no underlay.
The light show where the silicon is showing is caused by the last slate bring too short , it's just snapped off not even cut , is the silicon is just weathering the point of no head Lap.
If your happy with that then great .
But it's a poor job ,very poor
You won't need the hose, next winter will tell

 

[portuguesejohn]

I'd expect to see a glow here and there on the original roof there is no underlay.
The light show where the silicon is showing is caused by the last slate bring too short , it's just snapped off not even cut , is the silicon is just weathering the point of no head Lap.
If your happy with that then great .
But it's a poor job ,very poor
You won't need the hose, next winter will tell

I've decided to escalate this with the roofer, in the most courteous way I could write down in sms form.

This has been gnawing on the back of my head all easter, so lets see what happens... Always a bit awkward coming back with a "but...", ideally you want a job done, be happy with it, pay up and move on. Can't always be the case though.

 

[datarebal]

yes put it to him nicely.

 

[datarebal]

area within the red lines is missing slate. There is now no headlap so silicon has been pumped into the gap

 

[portuguesejohn]

yes put it to him nicely.

I did my best and he is happy to return tomorrow to fit new slates, in his words "both parties need to be happy in the end", so can't fault the bloke in the attitude department really.

Will update as it now feels like people are missing something since the end of Tiger King .