Leaking flat roof

Beenie

This morning I spotted that we have a leak in the ceiling of a flat roof extension. Water had dripped on to the floor via the light fitting. There was a long thin damp patch on the ceiling itself (suspiciously the shape of a joist).

The roof is felt and pitch with some stones scattered over it. It is approx. 16 years old. What should we do? Is this a repair job or a new roof? If so, how do I go about getting a reliable tradesman and how do I know if the quote(s) are reasonable?

No-one we know has had work like this done before so it's no good asking friends for recommendations. Feel a bit lost and panicky...:(

Tr1pp

Its past its lifespan imo and should really be fully replaced.

only go to tradesmen who are fully certified have a list of references and provide long guarantees on their work (though admittedly there is no garauntee you wont get a dud) then put it out to tender, approach at least 3 roofers to give you quotes for the work (ask for a full break down of the costs) then choose the people with the middle quote, that way you wont be getting ripped off by the most expensive or be getting potentially shabby work by the cheapest

Kiran

Felt roofs are a bit of an old fashioned solution. For not a great deal more you can have an epdm roof membrane. The rubber usually carries a 25 year guarantee. Depending on the size it is also possible to DIY

Beenie

The room is about 6' x 13' but I don't really fancy DIY to be honest.

Any ideas how much the rubber roof costs v. felt? (£££ per m2)

teeni

Beenie wrote: »

The room is about 6' x 13' but I don't really fancy DIY to be honest.

Any ideas how much the rubber roof costs v. felt? (£££ per m2)

I had my roof done in the summer size 24 ft by 14 ft all the rubber, glue trims etc all the stuff cost £400, then my son did the work, (he is a roofer mind who works in industrial epdm on a daily basis.)

I bought th e stuff off the internet and they delivered the next day and it was good quality.

Rubber hs a 25 year guarentee where felt usually needs replacing after 10 I know i have replaced my felt roof twice in the past 21 years.

slipperyshoe

teeni wrote: »

I had my roof done in the summer size 24 ft by 14 ft all the rubber, glue trims etc all the stuff cost £400, then my son did the work, (he is a roofer mind who works in industrial epdm on a daily basis.)

I bought th e stuff off the internet and they delivered the next day and it was good quality.

Rubber hs a 25 year guarentee where felt usually needs replacing after 10 I know i have replaced my felt roof twice in the past 21 years.

Please dont listen to people who have no idea what they are talking about. EPDM is may have a 25yr guarantee but it will be a material guarantee and therefore the manufacturer will not want to know about any claim. Even if they do (which they wont) they will only pay for the cost of the material (which is likely to be approx 30% of the job cost).

It sounds as though the roof you have is a BS747 type felt. This is s basically a cheap and rubbish felt roof that is rarely used these days. Premium felt roofs are SBS or APP modified and good ones have a PROVEN (unlike EPDM's) lifespan of 30yrs+. The maximum (genuine) guarantee you will get is 25 yrs.

The life of a BS747 roof is approximately 15-25yrs so there is no reason it could not be patched. That being said every roof is different and this may not be the case. If your roof has been in the sun the felt tends to get brittle and it can be split by walking (or attemting to repair it).

Depending on how much a guarantee is important to you, you should think about the following:

-What does the guarantee cover (materials, labour, design)
-Who provides the guarantee
-If it covers labour, who guarantee's the labour (note that unles the manufacturer does site inspections it wont be them).
-Is it insurance backed (is the insurance premium paid anually or as a lump sum)
-Does it cover cost of the system (not just waterproofing), site setup, labour, cost of removing old roof etc
-Is it index linked (i.e. does it go up year in year out?).
-Is it transferable between building owners
-Is it reliant on annual, biannual or any other inspections to keep the guarantee
-Do you have to show proof of maintenence to keep the guarantee in place

If in doubt ask for T&C's of manufacturer and check the above. Any guarantee from a contractor is likely to be dependant on them staying in business which in the current climate is not really a guarantee at all.

This is just some of the things that are important if guarantees are important to you. To the best of my knowledge there is NO EPDM manufacturer that will give you a guarantee that is worth the paper it is written on.

With regard to EPDM please do not listen to clueless people who have read a flyer, which was probably dropped through there door by a double glazing company. It makes me very angry.:mad:

slipperyshoe

Beenie wrote: »

This morning I spotted that we have a leak in the ceiling of a flat roof extension. Water had dripped on to the floor via the light fitting. There was a long thin damp patch on the ceiling itself (suspiciously the shape of a joist).

The roof is felt and pitch with some stones scattered over it. It is approx. 16 years old. What should we do? Is this a repair job or a new roof? If so, how do I go about getting a reliable tradesman and how do I know if the quote(s) are reasonable?

No-one we know has had work like this done before so it's no good asking friends for recommendations. Feel a bit lost and panicky...:(

Regarding cost:

-£30-£35/m2 for a one man band to strip and lay a new 2 layer high performance felt

-£60-£65/m2 - For a one man band to strip and lay a new insulated system using 120mm PIR insulation (I would always get it insulated and you are breaking building regs if you don't (though you wont get caught))

£65/m2 for a decent company to come in and install 2 layers

£100/m2 for a decent company to come in and install insulated system

£120-£160m2 for an all singing all dancing 20-25 yr insurance backed guarantee as described above. Manufacturer will write spec and perform final inspection (i.e. will ensure works are top quality).

All prices are plus VAT if the company is VAT registered (any decent company will be).

There is nothing wrong with a one man band doing it as ling as he is trust worthy. If you don't know anyone I would suggest you don't go down that routhe.