I'm sure I won't be the last to post on here as a result of Storm Ciara!
It seems I have a leaking roof. Having got rained on inside the kitchen, I nipped up into the loft space to see what was what and found lots of water running down the outside walls and onto the kitchen ceiling.
The house is a two-storey house with a larger downstairs than upstairs. The kitchen is in the single storey part of the house with a pitched roof above it and stepped lead flashing onto the side of the "main" house. It's obvious that this flashing is to blame as I found water running vertically down from roof level, aligned nicely with the bricks.
I haven't gone up on the roof for a proper look however from a step ladder I can see the pointing above the flashing is missing in significant sections and actually where the pointing has come out I can't see any wedges to hold the flashing in place either.
The flashing is a really tidy job, one of the best I've seen, and still looks in good condition, there are no signs of cracking etc. and the bit at the bottom that I could reach from the steps is still nice and pliable. So I was thinking I'd probably just repoint it myself rather than call a roofer.
Firstly, how often would you expect to see a wedge on a stepped flashing? I see you can get v-shaped clips now so I'm inclined to buy some of these and re-wedge it while I'm at it.
Secondly, is Leadmate any good as an alternative to cement pointing? I know cement has a tendency to fall out as it never sticks properly to the lead, whereas Leadmate claims to much more adherent. Obviously it's a more expensive way of doing it but if I factor in the amount of time it would save versus my slow and obsessive pointing skills, it feels worthwhile if it's a good product.
Any other advice?
It seems I have a leaking roof. Having got rained on inside the kitchen, I nipped up into the loft space to see what was what and found lots of water running down the outside walls and onto the kitchen ceiling.
The house is a two-storey house with a larger downstairs than upstairs. The kitchen is in the single storey part of the house with a pitched roof above it and stepped lead flashing onto the side of the "main" house. It's obvious that this flashing is to blame as I found water running vertically down from roof level, aligned nicely with the bricks.
I haven't gone up on the roof for a proper look however from a step ladder I can see the pointing above the flashing is missing in significant sections and actually where the pointing has come out I can't see any wedges to hold the flashing in place either.
The flashing is a really tidy job, one of the best I've seen, and still looks in good condition, there are no signs of cracking etc. and the bit at the bottom that I could reach from the steps is still nice and pliable. So I was thinking I'd probably just repoint it myself rather than call a roofer.
Firstly, how often would you expect to see a wedge on a stepped flashing? I see you can get v-shaped clips now so I'm inclined to buy some of these and re-wedge it while I'm at it.
Secondly, is Leadmate any good as an alternative to cement pointing? I know cement has a tendency to fall out as it never sticks properly to the lead, whereas Leadmate claims to much more adherent. Obviously it's a more expensive way of doing it but if I factor in the amount of time it would save versus my slow and obsessive pointing skills, it feels worthwhile if it's a good product.
Any other advice?
