Forum | Roof advice by Juzzie

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Roof advice 10:12 - Jul 7 with 1579 views

Hello all,
my turn for a little bit of advice please :)

I live in a typical suburban 1930's semi-detached house. Roof is original tile so the whole house is coming up for 100 years old.

When I bought the place 4 1/2 years ago had the full survey and it didn't pick up anything untoward but they did say houses of this age with an original roof may eventually need work done, as with anything that ages.

Had quite a torrential 10 minute downpour yesterday and there was a small leak in the front bedroom. Nothing much, no bucket needed but water was clearly getting in. When it rains 'normally' there's never an issue so it felt to me that water was getting in at an angle that is not usually expected.

I went up into the loft and no signs of any ingress so may be a gap where the roof and dorma extension meet.

Still, decided to call someone in (local roofer, good reputation) and although they pretty much agreed it was abnormal conditions yesterday, having gone into the loft themselves felt that there was 'sweating' as there were stains on the underside of the tiles and some were very slightly damp to touch (again, could just be from forced entry after yesterday).

There's no membrane and there is insulation wadding that's just held in place by itself between the rafters.

He said he's not here to spend my money and tell me I need a whole new roof but he said it could do with all new tiles & batons to make it fully whole again.

He said he could just repair what may have caused the leak yesterday but other issues may come up in the future so could just be coming back making repair after repair whereas a full replacement would make the roof as new for decades to come.

Has anyone had any experience of this and is it a false economy to keep patching up. Another house move (not just because of the roof because it's not that bad, it's not going to cave in) would see £30-35k alone would be gone in stamp duty and estate agents fees. I'd rather use that sort of money to keep the current place nice. There's nothing wrong with it.

Thanks in advance :)

[Post edited 7 Jul 10:24]

Roof advice on 11:46 - Jul 7 with 1349 views

ActonExile

Had pretty much a similar experience when i bought my house circa 2000.
The valleys on the roof (internal corners) were allowing water down the inside walls of the box room, when we had downpours the water was getting in around the windows, tried to do a bit of DIY which held up for a bit, but in the end i gave in and got both done.

From memory the roof was £5k (Semi detached, quite small) and the glazing was about £3k, i have had most of the glazing replaced recently and for the whole house it would have been £5k ish.

Personally i'm glad i got the whole roof done as it was guaranteed for some years (can't remember exactly, as for the sweating that may be down to the roof not being 'vented'.

In my opinion (for what it's worth) if you like the house and don't want to move then invest the £35k in the existing property rather than paying stamp duty to the clown at No.11 who will only find more elaborate ways to waste it.

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Roof advice on 12:09 - Jul 7 with 1279 views

actonman

Very similar to myself also , 1930s mid terrace , had water getting in from chimney stack then running down the trusts and dripping onto ceiling . Only really happened when heavy downpour and depending on angle of rain .
Paid best part of couple of grand to have the chimney re pointed and so far so good.
Roofer said the same thing , not overly concerned with rest of the roof apart from the inner membrane in loft was not tight enough.
He was happy to do the whole roof for 10k / 15k or something like that but he didn’t seem that bothered about it so I took that as it will do for now

Roof advice on 12:43 - Jul 7 with 1178 views

Lblock

Ahhhh roofs..... "it only leaks when it rains guv"

First off -- the term "sweating" was used.
This is usually only used when there's a condensation issue caused by lack of airflow - double check on that.

For me this would be very much a monitor it situation.
Huge deluges can mean an issue that only ever surfaces once in a blue moon come up.
For instance the capacity of your gutters and downpipes couldn't take the volume so backed up meaning flashings over run etc etc
It's simply not worth doing anything in these situations IMHO

If, however, it's becoming a regular occurrence then it's time to take some action.

Whereabouts are you location wise?

Cherish and enjoy life.... this ain't no dress rehearsal

Roof advice on 12:55 - Jul 7 with 1138 views

DavieQPR

Roof advice on 12:43 - Jul 7 by Lblock

Mine turned out to be the casing around a central heating pipe on the roof. This only leaked when it rained heavy. Fortunately I know a few roofers from my local Working Mans Club at got it fixed for a few beers.

Roof advice on 12:57 - Jul 7 with 1127 views

Juzzie

Thanks everyone!

It feels ventilated OK to me as when I open up the loft hatch I can feel a draught running from front to back. Never seen any signs of condensation or damp in the loft.

The batons themselves look fine, no damp, no rotting ertc. though I just did only check a few, I can go back later and do a more thorough check but my feel is that they are OK.
I've been up to the loft quite a few times over the last 4 years and never felt (or smelled) any thing like damp etc and my missus who pops up from time to time hasn't mentioned anything and she has a keen sense of these things so would have said so. In fact, she said 'there was a slight draught' and I said 'yes, that's good as it keeps it ventilated and stops things (roof & contents of loft) from going damp/mouldy'.

I'm not far from the Twickenham rugby ground.

[Post edited 7 Jul 12:58]

Roof advice on 13:12 - Jul 7 with 1065 views

ted_hendrix

Helpful Info hear; https://www.nfrc.co.uk/

If I was in your house with the issues you describe I'd leave well alone a shared roof normally means shared problems/Issues.

I'd just keep a mental note of when and where the leak first occurred and should It leak again under similar rainfall, then you've got a problem, I'd also keep an eye on the situation everytime It rains If possible from now on, If It leaks again under normal rain (not gusty or windy or heavy) then you've got a problem that has basically just manifested Itself.

If you decide to have your roof done then you must absolutely must get your contractor's to issue you with Risk and Method Statements, that Is your responsibility.

My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.

Roof advice on 13:22 - Jul 7 with 1037 views

TheChef

We had a slow leak which supposedly got fixed last year although I'm not entirely convinced.

The house had a loft conversion done years ago by previous owners and it was clearly done by cowboys on the cheap. I'm not even sure they used a membrane for the roofing where they did the work?

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Roof advice on 13:28 - Jul 7 with 999 views

Boston

Personally, having made a small fortune from roof jobs - go with Lblock's thoughts.

[Post edited 7 Jul 13:29]

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Roof advice on 13:29 - Jul 7 with 991 views

Juzzie

Roof advice on 13:12 - Jul 7 by ted_hendrix

Cheers Ted. When we had 'normal' rain about 7am this morning, it was fine, no leak.

The original leak itself was just one or two small trails of water running down an inside sloped section but enough to make me look into it.

Roof advice on 17:59 - Jul 7 with 779 views

Juzzie

Just got the quote in and (in summary) to remove existing tiles, replace battens, add membrane and replace with Redland 49 tiles.... £13,500.

Yeah, that ain't gonna happen!

Roof advice on 18:09 - Jul 7 with 734 views

Lblock

Redland 49’s are horrendous fcukrs so definitely leave it!!!
That’s just my pathological hatred of interlockers on a roof though…. A sin against Victorian workmanship

As an aside…. The amount of people who I’ve had panic about holes in the sarking felt, daylight showing or “no membrane” does make me smile.
They started using sarking felt as a temporary assistance for weather as the work went on. The end job should never rely on that to stay watertight (for slate, clay etc tiles) it’s the covering and flashings that do the job.

I’ve just seen other responses so hopefully you can rest easy and not panic.
Let us know if any ongoing concerns.

Must admit I don’t have many roofers in my contacts these days as I moved pintos different part of the godforesaken industry….. but I know a man who can!!!

Good luck

Cherish and enjoy life.... this ain't no dress rehearsal

Roof advice on 18:23 - Jul 7 with 692 views

Juzzie

Thanks LBlock. To go without Redlands 49’s and use smaller tiles adds £3000 to the quote.
The house is not Victorian and quite a few in our street have them and they don’t look that bad, certainly not bad enough to cough up another £3k for smaller ones.

They were totally fine and understood if I didn’t want to proceed so I’ll just wait until a part of an aeroplane falls on it and claim off the insurance!

Thanks to everyone as it is indeed put my mind at rest and although a new roof is never a bad thing, it feels a bit like saying replace your car engine because it needs a new timing belt.

Roof advice on 19:10 - Jul 7 with 616 views

kensalriser

Good rule of thumb - if it ain't broke don't fix it. So just fix what needs fixing.

And I'd always use original spec for replacements unless there's a very good reason not to. Ease of fitting not being a good one.

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Roof advice on 20:03 - Jul 7 with 549 views

Boston

In 1987, I had returned from the US to apply / renew a visa and was in town when the 'hurricane' came through. To be precise, I was in Dunollie Rd, Kentish Town that morning, leaving the house around 6am to travel by train to my dad's house in North Wembley. Although still inebriated, hadn't got to bed until 2am ish(drinking in a pub at the end of Gerard St), I was blown away at the surreal sights when leaving the house, chimneys down, tiles, slates, scaffolding poles etc all over the road. The matrix board at Kentish Town Underground was just a row of blinking lights, and still being unaware of the widespread chaos, I popped back upstairs and got a mini cab from the office a few doors down. Long story short, it was just as well I had a black cab drivers' knowledge of Northwest London as we'd never have made it back with the man I had behind the wheel.
Got in the door, dads on the phone, tells me it hadn't stopped ringing since 5.30am, tells me to start up the van, we had loads of estimates to do...that's when the penny dropped. I asked the Old Man how he was fixed for dough, me then telling him how much I could lay my hands in a hurry - we drove to Donoghue's yard in Cricklewood, I asked how much roofing materials they had in stock, then how much they had in a storage facility in West London, whereupon I enquired what would the damage be for the lot? Bloke behind the desk was slightly taken aback when I announced we were taking everything, and a couple of thousand bricks for chimney work.
While others estimated then clamoured for supplies, we coined it. One of the best business decision's I ever made, needless to say, my return to the US was delayed.

Apologies, have posted this long-winded story before on other mediums.

Poll:

Thank God The Seaons Over.

Roof advice on 08:46 - Jul 8 with 190 views

Rsole

Roof advice on 13:28 - Jul 7 by Boston
Personally, having made a small fortune from roof jobs - go with Lblock's thoughts. [Post edited 7 Jul 13:29]

Triggered a search for roof jobs on pornhub….

Those possessed by devils, try and keep them under control a bit, can't you ?

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