Hiya,
Whilst having my dormer re-cladded, I realised the dormer's flat roof probably needed replacing too. So I called out a local roofer and he said the flat roof was indeed knackered. He also pointed out how it slope backwards slightly (towards the roof slates), rather than sloping forwards slightly - an issue which he said he would rectify. (He also pointed out that when the re-cladding is done (by someone else) they should insulate it with proper insulation, instead of the polystyrene sheets that were currently being used.)
So he ripped off the old flat roof yesterday, before starting to lay the new roof (rubber). I noticed that the roof was still using the same old (and think) polystyrene sheets as the insulation. I queried him about this, and he said it was fine because the roofing boards (plywood) would provide plenty of insulation. Q1. Was that bull crap?
After he finished, I went up to check his work. After tidying up all the mess that was left on the slates, I threw a couple of buckets of water over the new flat roof... I noticed that on the left side of the roof, the water ran forwards, as intended. However, on the right hand side of the roof, the water ran backwards (as it did before, which had caused water to collect which resulted in a rotten timber (now replaced)). Of the water that did run forwards (assisted by me swishing it with my hand), none of it ran into the gutter (which has recently been added to the front side of the dormer), but the water just dropped from the front corners of the dormer roof, down onto the roof slates below. I also noticed that I was left with a big puddle (about 1 meter diameter) in the middle of the flat roof that wasn't going anywhere. Q2. Are all these things I have observed unacceptable, and should I demand he put them right?
Whilst up there, I also noticed that he or his colleague had also crushed the bottom side of one of my roof slates. I'm not sure how far up it is cracked as I didn't want to disturb it. Q3. Should he replace this slate?
Q4. Does his work comply with the building regulations?
I haven't paid him yet, and he's due back today, so I just wanted to get some input from people in the know about what stance I should take? And should I ask for a certificate or anything like that for the work done, or is a receipt enough?
Update: I've just called my local council Building Regulations about all this and someone technical is going to call me back later, with a view to possibly coming out to view the flat roof, but is that generally a bad idea - i.e., could their assessment potentially cause more problems than it's worth?
Thanks in advance.
PS - The new roof is rubber.
Whilst having my dormer re-cladded, I realised the dormer's flat roof probably needed replacing too. So I called out a local roofer and he said the flat roof was indeed knackered. He also pointed out how it slope backwards slightly (towards the roof slates), rather than sloping forwards slightly - an issue which he said he would rectify. (He also pointed out that when the re-cladding is done (by someone else) they should insulate it with proper insulation, instead of the polystyrene sheets that were currently being used.)
So he ripped off the old flat roof yesterday, before starting to lay the new roof (rubber). I noticed that the roof was still using the same old (and think) polystyrene sheets as the insulation. I queried him about this, and he said it was fine because the roofing boards (plywood) would provide plenty of insulation. Q1. Was that bull crap?
After he finished, I went up to check his work. After tidying up all the mess that was left on the slates, I threw a couple of buckets of water over the new flat roof... I noticed that on the left side of the roof, the water ran forwards, as intended. However, on the right hand side of the roof, the water ran backwards (as it did before, which had caused water to collect which resulted in a rotten timber (now replaced)). Of the water that did run forwards (assisted by me swishing it with my hand), none of it ran into the gutter (which has recently been added to the front side of the dormer), but the water just dropped from the front corners of the dormer roof, down onto the roof slates below. I also noticed that I was left with a big puddle (about 1 meter diameter) in the middle of the flat roof that wasn't going anywhere. Q2. Are all these things I have observed unacceptable, and should I demand he put them right?
Whilst up there, I also noticed that he or his colleague had also crushed the bottom side of one of my roof slates. I'm not sure how far up it is cracked as I didn't want to disturb it. Q3. Should he replace this slate?
Q4. Does his work comply with the building regulations?
I haven't paid him yet, and he's due back today, so I just wanted to get some input from people in the know about what stance I should take? And should I ask for a certificate or anything like that for the work done, or is a receipt enough?
Update: I've just called my local council Building Regulations about all this and someone technical is going to call me back later, with a view to possibly coming out to view the flat roof, but is that generally a bad idea - i.e., could their assessment potentially cause more problems than it's worth?
Thanks in advance.
PS - The new roof is rubber.
