Flat Roof - damp patches on inside ceiling

kahtty

Hi there, please help!!

I have a flat roof above my whole flat. In the bedroom which is at the end of the flat, I have noticed damp patches on the ceiling. These are not circular patches but more like say if a paintbrush dipped in water was brushed against the ceiling if that makes sense. Is this possibly condensation or is the roof leaking? I have just noticed this happening recently. It has happened today, but it has not been raining. There has been a drop in temperature outside though overnight. Any help would be much appreciated!!

In additional there are a number of small patches all in a line from left to right of the room.

Here is a pic, hard to see the patches though!!

masona · Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:38 am Post Subject:

Can you take a photo of the top of your flat roof?

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kahtty · Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 2:13 pm Post Subject:

Heres a couple of pics from the top of the roof:

masona

kahtty wrote:

Is this possibly condensation or is the roof leaking?

Could be either unless your flat roof is well ventilated via the fascia or soffit vents.

Your roof is in a sorry state, depending on your budget, there are plenty of bitumen roof repair products for your type of roof or renew the whole roof.

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kahtty · Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 4:44 pm Post Subject:

Hi again. yeah the roof is in a bit of a sorry state!! When you say to renew the whole roof, can you explain what this entails in more detail?

I got a guy come round today and he took a look at the roof. He said the walls (which prevent anyone falling off are damp and need to be repaired. He gave me a couple of different estimates:

1. Coat roof with acrypol and repair walls - £2000

2. Strip back roof, refelt with underlay, membrane and green mineral felt - £3000

3. All of 2 and repair walls - £3800

4. All of 2 + coat roof with acrypol - £4200

5. All of 2 + coat roof with acrypol + repair walls - £5000

Does this sound right?

Many thanks for the help.

masona · Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 5:05 pm Post Subject:

kahtty wrote:

Hi again. yeah the roof is in a bit of a sorry state!! When you say to renew the whole roof, can you explain what this entails in more detail?

There are many ways of difference type of roofing product but more questions first

Quote:

I got a guy come round today and he took a look at the roof. He said the walls (which prevent anyone falling off are damp and need to be repaired.

Sounds like you have a parapet wall, does it looks similar to this?

Quote:

He gave me a couple of different estimates:

1. Coat roof with acrypol and repair walls - £2000

2. Strip back roof, refelt with underlay, membrane and green mineral felt - £3000

3. All of 2 and repair walls - £3800

4. All of 2 + coat roof with acrypol - £4200

5. All of 2 + coat roof with acrypol + repair walls - £5000

Does this sound right?

Don't know the size of the roof area; can you do more photos so we can see the whole area of the roof?

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kahtty · Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 5:37 pm Post Subject:

Yeah, the wall is similar to the photo you have shown but is higher, its about 3 foot from floor to top, plus the one in your pic looks alot better!!!

The walls are really crumbly, the plaster is coming off leaving a 'bare' wall as to speak.

I will get the dimensions of the roof tomorrow, getting dark.

Thanks.

Nige F · Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:35 am Post Subject:

For what it`s worth I got a estimate same ££ as your option 2 for a garage roof 20 feet x8 feet.from a trusted builder

Nige F · Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:38 am Post Subject:

Hang on

Flat=leasehold= Landlord`s responsible

kahtty · Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:57 pm Post Subject:

Hi Nige, thanks for your reply.

I own the flat, and yes I am the leaseholder. There are 2 flats in the building and I called the freeholder, he advised that the repairs to be done will be split up between me, the guy that owns the other flat and him, therefore cost will be a 1/3 for me.

Anyway, what do you think is the best option for me? I was thinking of the most expensive coz I wanna get the job done right and not have to worry about it.

I haven't taken the measurements of the roof yet, but will do and post here in the next couple of days.

Another question, is there anything I can cover the roof with before it gets repaired so that no more water leaks into the roof.

Many thanks.

masona · Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:14 pm Post Subject:

kahtty wrote:

Anyway, what do you think is the best option for me? I was thinking of the most expensive coz I wanna get the job done right and not have to worry about it.

The best option is a low pitch roof, not always the most expensive is a better job. We have a new member here who does EPDM roofing which I don't know much about it, Zeberdee maybe able to advise you on their product but will need to know the roof size and the next problem is, does the boards need replacing(?) without seeing it's difficult.

Quote:

Another question, is there anything I can cover the roof with before it gets repaired so that no more water leaks into the roof.

We don't know if it's leaking yet but your roof is in a bit of a sorry state. We use tarpaulin sheet and tied it down to prevent the wind blowing it off. You maybe able to repair the leak with roofing products to last for a few more years but we don't know until it leak again.

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kahtty · Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:14 am Post Subject:

Sorry for my lack of knowledge here, but when you say about the boards needing replacing, which boards do you mean?

masona · Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:34 am Post Subject:

Under the roofing felt, should be exterior plywood but most of them are chipboards which is useless when the roof is leaking.

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Nige F · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:35 am Post Subject:

best option would be to get more quotes, and check out local town hall for lists of approved traders.......don`t like the sound of the parapet walls (ones that stop you falling

)..sometimes they need a lot of repair

........Y`know that pic. looks like mastic ashphalt rather than felt on a roll laid 3 layers thick...............def. a job for a specialised roofing co.

kahtty · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:45 am Post Subject:

I am getting some quotes from roofing contractors who are part of the NFRC - National Federation of Roofing Contractors Ltd. I'm assuming that these companies will be good at their work.

Am I correct in assuming this? Many thanks.