Leaking roof - Advice needed

[wanderlywagon]

I live in a 3 bed/2 story semi. I have a small leak coming through the upstairs ceiling, close to the chimney breast. I called a couple of people to come out and have a look and got 2 seperate opinions.

1st person said it was too windy to go up on the roof, but went into the attic and showed me that I have a rip in my felt at one end of the roof, and further down on the same side of the roof, there is a section of felt that is torn also. He advised me to run a new length of felt across that side of the roof, repair the tiles/flashing near the leaking section by the chimney, and quoted me £500.

The 2nd person that came went on the roof, but advised not to bother repairing the felt because "all the houses in my estate use an old type of felt and it's likely to have holes all over it, so repairing a section will mean the water will just trickle down to another hole in another part of the felt". He instead advised just repairing the tiles and flashing and leave the felt as is. £200. He didn't actually go into the attic to inspect the felt, so I'm not sure if he's making a completely incorrect assumption about it being a waste of time doing the felt.

I would obviously like to get the felt repaired, but if it's a waste of time as roofer #2 says, then I don't want to throw money away either. If a tile comes loose again, is it just going to puncture any new felt again anyway?

Any advice or opinions much appreciated.

 

[Old Salt]

I had a roofer repair a section of torn felt and add some tile vents to my roof about 12 months ago. Built in the late 50's the felt is very brittle and we had a leak and some broken tiles. He removed the tiles to access the torn felt, removed the nails from the battens and carefully teased a new section of membrane under the felt and overlapping onto the next section. Replaced the nails and tiles and, touch wood, the roof has been weathertight since.

 

[datarebal]

If you have water coming through the felt then the roof is leaking .fix the roof

 

[wanderlywagon]

If you have water coming through the felt then the roof is leaking .fix the roof

Should I fix just the roof, or both roof and felt though.

Roofer #1 inspected the attic and advised fixing the torn felt. Roofer #2 advised that the houses in my estate all have degrading felt which will have multiple holes so fixing the felt is a waste of money, he didn't go into the attic to actually inspect it himself though, so it's possibly not as bad as the thinks.

I suppose my question is, would leaving the torn felt there and just repairing the roof be unwise? Alternatively, fixing the patch of torn felt is unwise if it's degraded elsewhere too. I'm very confused by the 2 completely different opinions. Also wondering if the tiles get damaged again anyway, will the felt get torn by the damaged tiles, rendering the felt kind of pointless?

 

[Notch7]

Should I fix just the roof, or both roof and felt though.

Roofer #1 inspected the attic and advised fixing the torn felt. Roofer #2 advised that the houses in my estate all have degrading felt which will have multiple holes so fixing the felt is a waste of money, he didn't go into the attic to actually inspect it himself though, so it's possibly not as bad as the thinks.

I suppose my question is, would leaving the torn felt there and just repairing the roof be unwise? Alternatively, fixing the patch of torn felt is unwise if it's degraded elsewhere too. I'm very confused by the 2 completely different opinions. Also wondering if the tiles get damaged again anyway, will the felt get torn by the damaged tiles, rendering the felt kind of pointless?

Its probably not worth repairing the felt. the purpose of the felt is to stop water getting in during high winds or when there is snow buildup. its also used in houses as temporary weathering during the build.

If your roof tiles have the correct headlap and are all fitted correctly you shouldnt get any rain getting through anyway.

the roofing felt will have holes through it anyway -every tile nail will go through the felt -admittedly they are the high points so water may not get in through them, but they are a point where the felt gets torn and broken.

 

[datarebal]

The felt is not strictly your roof weathering .
If your roof is in good order then it won't need felt to keep the rain out.
When manufacturers test for water tightness they do so without a membrane . (Not water obsorbtion)... Post a picture of the roof