Roof leaking now - how to temp repair?

usman330

Hi all,

got a bit of a situation ongoing, water is leaking though the flat roof right now in various places, front room and hallway, bucket underneath at the moment.







I am going to try and temporary repair it tomorrow if it would be a simple task. I am thinking of a tarpaulin sheet to cover the whole lot and bricks on top of the sheet, but I am worried about where the sheet meets the brickwork of the house and the edges of the sheet, im not sure if it will need to be fixed to the back wall with a batten of some sort?

Or would the sheet be ok with just bricks?

Would it be better to get a roofer to do it?

Also, in regards to the insurance company, do they mark my file if I ring them up to enquire about a claim, or is it safe to do this even if I don't put the claim in?

Thankyou in advance.

Lorian

First thing to do it make sure the drainpipe isn't blocked at the top, it didn't look in a terrible state of repair 2 months ago, from what I can see...

Could do with a better picture of the flashing.

Also make sure the main roof gutter is not over-topping on to it when its raining heavily.

The way next doors roof is of course a better bet, and not that expensive to do.

tonyh66

you can get stuff to paint on the roof from toolstation its supposed to work and I believe you can paint in on wet surfaces.

Evercryl roof repair

DaftyDuck

It looks to me like the seams have been resealed with roof mastic, and not very well. You could do worse than peel back all the failing mastic on the seams, reapply a reasonably good roof mastic, then recoat with roof bitumen seal .

You can apply both in the wet, but best if dry. We have a few dry days coming up, and I'd personally wait for a completely dry roof.

Gently remove any failing mastic. Squeeze new into the cracks, and smooth over onto felt with a spatula (or just use a cheap kitchen knife). Force it in a little, to ensure a good seal. Leave it for a couple of hours to cure, then paint a single coat of the paint over just the cracks you've filled. When that has dried, repaint the whole roof to complete the process.


The roof doesn't look in brilliant condition, but a quick fix will do for now. I don't believe a tarpaulin and bricks will help - certainly not if we get a repeat of that wind!

Le_Kirk

Good luck with the insurers; my neighbour tried that and they told him because he hadn't carried out inspections of his roof every three years he wasn't covered - except by the roof! Of course, if you carry out inspections of your roof every three years you would probably find problems and fix them, so not requiring insurance!!

macman

As above, if the leakage is due to wear and tear, then your building insurance does not cover it (only damage due to extreme weather, falling objects, etc).
Those type of flat roofs have a fairly limited life expectancy, especially once water starts pooling on the surface.

usman330

Quick update - I didn't fancy messing around trying to reseal the felt roof and decided I wanted a pitched roof going over the existing roof, I had a few quotes and all the roofers said it was fine to go over the existing roof while leaving it in place.

One of the quotes fitted me in and the job has been completed today, I paid £550 which seems a good price.

Im am due to pay him tomorrow, any feedback on the job would be grateful.

Grenage

It would have been a good idea to take back some of what was there, and install some insulation board, but I don't think you've not done too badly for £550.

prosaver

there's suppose to be lead on the top of brick above the roof,sorry

prosaver

like this ..one side hasnt been done in picture.

prosaver

better pic