Removing bottom two courses of tiles

[Mr M]

Hope someone can help.

I have a terraced house which has Intelocking concrete roof tiles. My problem concerns the underfelt which runs under the bottom course of tiles, just above the guttering to the side wall of the outrigger. Where the underfelt should drop into the guttering, it is perished and needs to be replaced. I therefore need to remove at least the bottom two courses of tiles, remove the fixing battens, cut back the old perished felt higher up to that which is not damaged, fix new battens, replace with new felt and reinstate the existing tiles. I've been up the ladder this morning and there is no play at all in any of the bottom course of tiles.

The existing tiles oversail the rear wall (pike) by about 25mm and have a 4)board underneath them which is about 6mm thick. In between the tile and the board is sand and cement pointing, which is all intact and in pretty good condition.

1) Is there a correct place to start removing the tiles and how do I get them out, assuming they are nailed in, without damaging them?

2) Are galvanised clout nails ok to use to refix the tiles in place. Should all courses of tiles which I reinstate be fully nailed and if they should, how do I nail the 2nd course, with the 3rd course already in place, lying over the top of them?

3)What spec of new felt should I use to replace the perished existing felt?

4) and just out of curiosity, what is the board that I mentioned above actually called and what is it made out of?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

[masona]

I have a terraced house which has Intelocking concrete roof tiles. My problem concerns the underfelt which runs under the bottom course of tiles, just above the guttering to the side wall of the outrigger. Where the underfelt should drop into the guttering, it is perished and needs to be replaced.

No need, just slide this under the roofing felt, More details here

 

[Mr M]

Thanks masona.

According to the Eaves Protector Installation Guide, it still requires nailing in place under at least the 1st course of tiles. I also think that the Eaves Protector should be used as well as the felt, not instead of it and as such, the new felt would still need to be installed and I would therefore still need to remove the roof tiles to facilitate this.

 

[^woody^]

Depending on the condition of the felt, you can either replace the first layer, or just cut it back to install the eaves tray.

For replacing the felt you kick or knock the third row up as far as it will go, and then lift off the first two rows of tiles, and then you can get at the felt. Once done, nail the first two and slide the third row back down. Make sure you align the tiles before nailing. You can start anywhere, but one end of the roof is best - depending on which side the tile the nib is, so that the tile just comes up without having to lift the adjacent one up first.

For just inserting the eaves tray, you knock the second row up and remove the first.

In this type of work, one row of tiles is not re-nailed, but its not a problem

The board you mention is undercloak, and is made of fibre /cement. It used to be asbestos/cement.

The felt is commonly just called 'underslating felt'. No particular spec, you will just see one type in the merchants, but you can get a plastic or breathable version

 

[Mr M]

Thanks ^woody^

Being able to 'knock the tiles up' suggests that you would not expect them to be nailed in place. Is it common practice not to nail the tiles in place? Do they not need nailing if they are interlocking tiles or are just some of them required to be nailed?

If the first two rows or even three rows are already nailed what do I do then?

 

[joe-90]

I've never seen concrete tiles nailed, they are pretty heavy and interlock.

To facilitate their removal cut yourself some wedges from 4x2 timber (6 inch long pieces cut diagonally) and push the wedges under the tiles at the course just above the one you want to remove. Then lift out the tiles below with the wedges in place. You'll see what I mean when you give it a go, it's just a matter of clearing the nibs.

 

[^woody^]

Profiled tiles (wavey ones) are normally nailed, but flat ones are not nailed.

Even if nailed, a kick or strong push dislodges the nail and lets the tile slide up

 

[Mw Roofline]

Focus DIY sell those dirt cheap mini crowbars (not sure of the technical name) which have a sharp V cut at the end for 'slicing' the nail head off the nail without lifting the above course of tiles too much.

With this cheap tool it will make life easier for you pal

 

[Mr M]

Cheers people, I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[noseall]

Focus DIY sell those dirt cheap mini crowbars (not sure of the technical name) which have a sharp V cut at the end for 'slicing' the nail head off the nail without lifting the above course of tiles too much.

With this cheap tool it will make life easier for you pal

slaters rip