Emergency roof repair

[Space cat]

It's done.

When I got to Wickes I found this alongside the flashband:

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Flashing-Strip-Primer/invt/240512?tapopen=cm

Not the same stuff but in a small tin at a fraction of the price. It came out like a thick, brown goo and dried black and tacky. It was so thick, it filled small grooves and pits which seemed to be no bad thing. (I don't know what the other stuff was but it slopped like thin liquid in its tin. )

It claimed to dry in half an hour but I left it longer because the thicker parts were clearly still wet. In fact I left it about two hours - and then the first drops of rain appeared. Fortunately I had the flashband cut and shaped ready to go straight in but it was still a mad rush.

The split was in the vertical part of the felt, just above the surface (which explains why it only leaked in heavy rain) and it had spread lengthways since I last patched it up. Rather ominously, the boards underneath feel a bit soft near the split. I can see this being a bigger job than a new piece of felt - but it'll have to wait.

Thanks for all the advice. It's holiday time and I don't have to spend it worrying about a flooded kitchen.

 

[Cumbrianroofer30yrsexp]

If you dont get it seen to by a professional you could end up looking at re-roofing,i would not be at all surprised if thats whats needed now tbh.Sadly it sounds like you have had the cowboys in Good luck with the repair anyway .

 

[Space cat]

Just got back from holiday and no leaks.

The wood underneath is definitely soft near the original hole so that's going to need replacing. I suspect that this leak has been going on undetected for a long time. I've laid two old fence boards down to spread the load across the joists (which still feel solid) then put the original slabs back on top to protect the felt from UV and feet. I can see that this will need a proper repair in the near future and I'll get the whole roof re-done with those promenade tiles at the same time.

Just a passing thought but --

Is it practical to reinforce the roof from underneath by adding extra boards between the joists supported on battens? I'm thinking that this would eliminate the need to strip back several square feet of felt up above and I wouldn't need to worry about rain. The down side is that there's a pine panelled ceiling below and I'd have to remove a lot of T&G boards to get in. I don't want to do that unless the result is worth the effort.

Thanks for all the advice so far.