New loft ladder; now roof leaking! What can we do?

esuhl

About 3-4 weeks ago we had a loft ladder fitted. We chose a builder who is a member of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

I've just heard a strange dripping noise coming from the loft (it's raining quite heavily here), and on opening the loft hatch a fair bit of water splashed down.

It seems that when the ladder was fitted, the guy cut and removed a square (50cm/2ft wide) section of the waterproof lining that goes under the roof tiles. The tiles are completely exposed and water is dripping in!!!

I didn't take any photos before the job was done, but I know the lining was there before, and in 20 years the roof has never leaked before.

I really don't know what to do - should I call the builder and ask him to come back (not sure I trust him now, though) or call the FMB, claim under the household insurance, sue for damages... or...

Please help! Any advice would be really appreciated.

Edit: The company was Surrey Loft Company Ltd. (www.surreylofts.com).

bryanb

Call the builder, see what he says. Why would he need to cut it?

fiddiwebb

Should your roofing tiles be letting in water anyway

Could it not be a case of condensation on the top surface of the lining running down to the cut area and dripping in.

esuhl

bryanb wrote: »

Call the builder, see what he says. Why would he need to cut it?

There's not a lot of clearance around for the ladder to fit because the loft hatch is only a metre or so away from the edge of the sloping roof. I can only imagine that by removing the lining, the extra 2 or 3 inches meant that the ladder could slide up and out of the way when not in use. The builder should have either told us either that the ladder could not be fitted, or asked if it would be okay to cut the lining.

I'll give the guy a call on Monday (think the office is closed at weekends) and see what he says, but if he just denies everything... what could we do? And if he offers to repair it... how could I trust him? Would it be better to get someone else to do the job and send him the bill?

esuhl

fiddiwebb wrote: »

Should your roofing tiles be letting in water anyway

I don't know... Why would there be a waterproof lining if the tiles would do the job? In any case, the roof was waterproof before the builder removed part of the lining, and now it isn't.

fiddiwebb wrote: »

Could it not be a case of condensation on the top surface of the lining running down to the cut area and dripping in.

I think there's far too much water for it to be condensation! But... again, everything was fine till the builder cut the hole...

fiddiwebb

Okay I'm not to up on roofing but should your lining under the tiles not be on top of roofing sheets or sarking boards?

lagi

You need to speak to the builder first, no point guessing what he might say.........way too many variables.

The other problem you have is even with lining not there it shouldn't leak. So this means you have a leak somewhere on your roof. Can you see any missing/slipped tiles? You need to get this sorted as well.

esuhl

fiddiwebb wrote: »

Okay I'm not to up on roofing but should your lining under the tiles not be on top of roofing sheets or sarking boards?

Errr... now you're getting technical! It looks like there's a timber frame for the house, with lining on top, then tiles on top of that. Hopefully the photo below will show what I mean.

Thanks for your help :-)

fiddiwebb

What kind of roofing tiles do you have esuhl?

peediedj

strange set up,theres usually sheathing ply or sarking below the tiles???:eek:

esuhl

fiddiwebb wrote: »

What kind of roofing tiles do you have esuhl?

Erm... sorry - I've no idea. I thought all tiles were pretty much the same! They look like ceramic or stone, if that answers the question. They look in good condition, fit tightly together, and as far as I can tell none are cracked, loose or visibly damaged in any way.

peediedj wrote: »

strange set up,theres usually sheathing ply or sarking below the tiles???:eek:

Uh-oh. I remember when we moved in, window putty had been used to seal the U-bend on the cloak room sink... I'm told it's a "hip roof"... Has that been bodged too, do you think?

Surely the lining was there for a reason, and shouldn't just be removed willy-nilly so we can fit a ladder... I just feel a bit out of my depth because I don't know anything about building work.