Roof problem - advice please!

quietheart

Our 1920's detached house has rain coming into the bedroom. It seems to be a problem around the chimney which needs stripping back and repairing. We've established the roof doesn't have any felt.
Do we have the Rosemary tiles removed, felt laid and tiles replaced for £4K or have the leak repaired and the tiles torched internally for £2K.
I just don't know what the best option is. I can't afford either so the torching is tempting, I just don't know I'd be better off with the bigger job.
Everyone who's seen it thinks the tiles are in good condition and be a shame to replace.
Your opinion is awaited!

swebb

Our house is 100 years old. A builder I know repaired a couple tiles after the wind problems of a few weeks ago. He told me the tiles need replacing sooner rather than later. The leading around the chimney is also on it's way out. We don't have any leaks at the moment. It's a lot of money, but next year we've got to get it done.

Bottom line, I'd look to do the same if poss. If your tiles are the original ones, they will need sorting in the not too distant future anyway. The other factor is, how long do you intend to stay in the house for? If you plan to move in a few years, go for the cheaper option. If not, it's worth the investment.

quietheart

Everyone who has been out has said the tiles are in great condition, they are twice as thick as the tiles on the similar houses nearby, seems a shame to skip good quality materials.
It's whether we remove and felt the roof, replacing guttering etc or just get the torching done. Don't know much about torching....

Doozergirl

I'd replace it if possible, especially if you're staying for a while. You can repair it but it will need to be replaced at some point, still costing you £4k.

I don't think that £2k is an investment, I think it might just be delaying the inevitable.

itsakidsworld

Hi,

If the tiles are in great condition and from the outside the roof looks in good condition also, such as no tiles are slipping or very few, then I would not re-roof and this is my trade.

If you have damp around the chimney it can be many things such as tiles missing or slipped, lead damaged, pointing or could even be as a result of damp actually inside the chimney. Has the chimney now got gas running through it?

Torching is where the tiles are pointed up on the inside ( in the loft) with lime and sand. This was a traditional method long before roofing felt came along and what happens over the years is the stuff falls off due to people banging about on the roof or wind blowing through the tiles.

It is a job you could attempt yourself and save a fortune. In roofing, I reckon it is one of the worst jobs and in the olden days ( long before my time may I add!!) the job was given to the young apprentice! It is basically back pointing the tiles again but you have to remove what is already there.

You never use cement as against using lime so that the mix does not get to hard over the years which can cause major problems.

Good luck

benood

We are just looking at this job on ours (Edwardian), and have decided to go the whole hog - only one quadrant of the roof needed doing really urgently the others could have waited for up to 5 yrs. Our roofers will be reusing the old tiles where they are in decent condition - surely yours will do the same.

Our decision was made mostly because the loft is presently pretty much unusable space - the torching is constantly dropping down and makes a real mess up there, flies and other insects get through the tiles. When we put a breathable membrane up and re tile we will put in a couple of conservation velux windows, plus the roofers are sorting the chimneys while they're up there all inclusive supposedly - we should have a clean dry usable loft space which is on the way to a loft conversion. We'll probably get a load of celotex moved in at the same time for me to DIY insulate between the rafters, rather than try and bring it thru the loft hatch later.

Hope our thought processes help - if I were you I would try to either do nothing or do the whole thing I wouldn't do the halfway job.

quietheart

itsakidsworld wrote: »

Hi,
If you have damp around the chimney it can be many things such as tiles missing or slipped, lead damaged, pointing or could even be as a result of damp actually inside the chimney. Has the chimney now got gas running through it?
no but we might use it in the future
Torching is where the tiles are pointed up on the inside ( in the loft) with lime and sand. This was a traditional method long before roofing felt came along and what happens over the years is the stuff falls off due to people banging about on the roof or wind blowing through the tiles.
It is a job you could attempt yourself and save a fortune. In roofing, I reckon it is one of the worst jobs and in the olden days ( long before my time may I add!!) the job was given to the young apprentice! It is basically back pointing the tiles again but you have to remove what is already there.
you've totally put me off here, it sounds like a nightmare! and the idea of a DIY job made me laugh out loud. your insight has been very useful though and has given me a bigger picture - thanks!
Good luck

thanks for your advice
:beer: