Nightmare Pointer-come-roofer

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Good day all,

Please help me.

My home is a Victorian stone-built mid-terrace home. I recently replaced the 100-year-old Yorkshire stone slate roof with Marley Edgemere tile. This was a very fraught process. Everyone has commented on the roofers' lack of attention to detail and overall shoddy work. A persistent leak has soaked the stone masonry to the front (underneath a join in the gutter by the party wall) each time it rains, causing an unsightly wet patch and peeling paint on the inside.

A man who did some stone-pointing work for me told me he also does roof/gutter repairs, which I asked him to do.

When I noticed the pronounced wet (water dripping) on the stone masonry and the damp inside, he returned to check and swore up and down that it wasn't the gutter. The roofers did return and also said they did not see anything wrong with the gutter.

In his bid to find the leak and acting on the theory that the water was getting behind the gutter, the Pointer went on the roof - lifted the tiles, and lead off the next-door neighbour's chimney (I know that over the years, she has had an issue with it leaking, but this never affected me until he went there). He claimed he felt a damp patch on the felt, and he had put some sealant and put the tiles back.

Suddenly, with the recent heavy rains, I now have a leak in the chimney area coming through on the first-floor ceiling, travelling the 7 ft down loft wall.

The man started work without first agreeing on the price. As a matter of fact, when he turned up to erect the tower, I had to cancel a roofer who was coming down to give me a quote. I later asked him what the cost was and he told me it should be around £1000. He stated it would be about two days for two men and material (I would have chosen a daily rate!). He claimed that he would change the felt in the chimney area, put in soakers (he said he'd use Marley plastic ones) and re-lead just one side of the chimney (the side that affects me).

He turned up on the first day to start the work and stayed for 3 hours (but counted that as a day). Before leaving, he told me he would now need over 10 of the Edgemere tiles (notoriously hard to source) to replace chipped tiles. I sorted the tiles.

He did not come back again until six days later, when he stayed for the whole day. He claimed he had to spend more time than he had expected as the chimney was in a bad state of disrepair, and he could not use the same holes as the original lead, and because of that, he needed to charge me an extra half a day rate, bringing the total cost to £1300. Obviously, a skilled roofer with muscle memory might have knocked that out in an hour.

I have also had another leak come through since he was last here. He told me that's to be expected as he had not sealed the lead!! He came down Saturday morning (5 days later) to put some "sealant", which he stated might not help much since it's been raining.

I am incredibly nervous and uncomfortable, and I doubt his capability to complete the job well. It's been 18 days since he started, and it doesn't seem we are any nearer to completion, and he has not taken the felt over to next door like I suggested to him.

I would really appreciate your advice.

Many thanks,
T
 

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It could be the gutter - that is the lead back gutter, or indeed anywhere through what appears to be sub standard leadwork.
 
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You're the umpteenth victim of a scammer posing as a roofer, unfortunately.
There seem to be a large number of them in west London, all wearing branded uniforms, new vans with accreditation logos and shiny ladders on the roof.
They overcharge people, go in, make the problem (if there was a problem) worse and disappear.
From the state of the lead alone, I can tell you that this cowboy is not a roofer.
I am not a roofer and my leadwork looks a million times better.
At this point you have to be pragmatic and accept that you've been scammed.
You need to find a real skilled roofer to fix what the cowboy has done and find the source of the leak.
Good luck.
 
pimlico plumbers ? can you name this company so people can avoid them -
 
the tiles are not bonded correctly .. That wont be a cause of a leak , but its not right.
the chimney flashing is a lash up. looks like the old lead.
chimney front apron doesn't cover well over the head of the tiles or slate next door.

The mortar in the bonding gutter will cause a dam effect and water will run over the sides
 
Last edited:
the tilers are not bonded correctly .. That wont be a cause of a leak , but its not right.
the chimney flashing is a lash up. looks like the old lead.
chimney front apron doesn't cover well over the head of the tiles or slate next door.

The mortar in the bonding gutter will cause a dam effect and water will run over the sides
Thanks for the valuable feedback. That Chimney is the neighbour's, and it's in bad shape, but they aren't kept in its upkeep. Would the poor lead on their apron front impact me?

The new person on the job has put me in some Marley soakers and has renewed the lead on my side where I have the leak. Luckily, the leak in the gutter joint was found and sealed with fibreglass sealant (previously, it had bitumen sealant masking it). I will ask him to remove as much mortar as possible from the bonding gutter.

Did you mean that all the tiles are not bonded correctly?
 

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