Leaky Roof - What should I do?

onomatopoeia99

No-one on here can have any idea what it will cost without knowing why it is leaking, what will need to be done to fix it, how long it will take, what access is like, will scaffolding be needed, etc etc.

tristanjourney

Some update here. The roofer has checked the roof. It turns out that there are about 3~4 splits/holes on felt of the leaking area. The roofer said the tiles are in good condition.
The solution the roofer suggested is to replace the sections of broken felt.
There are 6~7 holes on the felt in total and will take around 3~4 hours to finish.
The quote is £500. I am in North West.
I am now trying to search online to see if it is a reasonable quote.

tristanjourney

In some other threads, I see people arguing that broken felt alone wouldn't cause leaking.

@moneyistooshorttomention, I see your old thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4853037/replacing-felt-underneath-concrete-roof-tiles having similar problems. How you solved that?

moneyistooshorttomention

tristanjourney wrote: »

In some other threads, I see people arguing that broken felt alone wouldn't cause leaking.

@moneyistooshorttomention, I see your old thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4853037/replacing-felt-underneath-concrete-roof-tiles having similar problems. How you solved that?

In the event - that was my emergency repair - ie replacing a roof tile - that I had here.

That seemed to solve the problem (fingers crossed).

I've had someone in since doing a different job on my house and they do roofing as well. So I asked them to have a good check and they just said that a quick/easy repair could be done to just one bit of the old roof felt. I asked them to do that repair - and that was that sorted.

They said to me that they could replace all the roof felt if I wanted/didn't mention any need to change battens - so I don't know if changing battens would or wouldnt be part of that job really (I'd forgotten that comment from different workman back then). They advised me I don't need to change roof felt at this time and not to bother to do so.

newatc

tristanjourney wrote: »

In some other threads, I see people arguing that broken felt alone wouldn't cause leaking.

A few years ago (maybe 10) we had water pouring in, got someone in to fix it and he said immediately after looking at the roof from ground level "that will be the felt gone". He subsequently replaced the felt in that area and we never had another problem.
I can't remember the cost exactly but he was able to it without scaffolding and I think it was about £150.

tristanjourney

That roofer gave me a small discount and we agreed to fix the issue tomorrow morning (given that he might be the only few I can found at this xmas time). In the meantime, the roofer suggested to put a bucket under the dripping position (pierced a hole).

More importantly, I have confirmed with my building insurance company from their online chat service that they can cover the repair. I wouldn't be able to call them as they are not working today. They said I can get this sorted and then compensate from them. Hopefully this can go through without problems.

fezster

tristanjourney wrote: »

Some update here. The roofer has checked the roof. It turns out that there are about 3~4 splits/holes on felt of the leaking area. The roofer said the tiles are in good condition.
The solution the roofer suggested is to replace the sections of broken felt.
There are 6~7 holes on the felt in total and will take around 3~4 hours to finish.
The quote is £500. I am in North West.
I am now trying to search online to see if it is a reasonable quote.

Roofing felt is an additional layer of protection, but should not be necessary if the tiles are in good condition and laid correctly. Tiles provide a weather proof covering by the way which they are placed, overlapping one another. If you've ever seen such an arrangement, you'll understand why water is unable to get through.

Whilst I don't dispute that the roofing felt will fix your immediate problem, I'd definitely be querying the roofer as to why the tiles are allowing water through consistently. You don't want to find the felt perishes prematurely because of the constant water ingress.

I should say, I'm not a roofer and very far from being even remotely knowledgeable about roofing. Just providing some advice based on my understanding.

parking_question_chap

The felt will not be the main problem here, the water should not be getting through the tiles in the first place. And i would also be wary of any roofer that 1. offer discounts and 2. is available at such short notice.

Suggest trying to collect the drops somehow and get somebody that a family member or friend can vouch for to give a second opinions.

Davesnave

tristanjourney wrote: »

will take around 3~4 hours to finish.
The quote is £500. I am in North West.
I am now trying to search online to see if it is a reasonable quote.

So £125/hour minimum to replace membrane. Nice work if you can get it! Where I am, the going rate for a tradesperson is 1/4 of that.
I did warn you it would be difficult right now to get anyone to come out, and even more so to get the repair done at a sensible rate.

As regards those saying that tiles alone should keep the wet out, yes they should, but none of us knows the roof angle, which if it's on the low side, can allow water to blow back under the tiles.

Alias_Omega

tristanjourney wrote: »

That roofer gave me a small discount and we agreed to fix the issue tomorrow morning (given that he might be the only few I can found at this xmas time). In the meantime, the roofer suggested to put a bucket under the dripping position (pierced a hole).

More importantly, I have confirmed with my building insurance company from their online chat service that they can cover the repair. I wouldn't be able to call them as they are not working today. They said I can get this sorted and then compensate from them. Hopefully this can go through without problems.

Arrange for it to be stripped fully off, insulation installed to meet current regs, new OSB fitted and 3 layers of felt... Should last you 20 years..

Your patching something that will last 1-2 years...


Survey? Performed from the ground...