Fibreglass roof leak

Giggidy

Since the heavy snowfall in December we noticed two damp patches on the upstairs hallways ceiling. The house is an extended chalet, a roofer came to inspect and he said it's where the gulleys meet and run off all water but he cant see any apparent breach and that it might the fibreglass needs to be looked at. This is a picture he took and not sure who to get to fix this as I would have thought a roofer would be able to sort it but he said not. What sort of costs are we looking at to get this sorted?

grumbler

Giggidy said:

 have thought a roofer would be able to sort it but he said not.

I would have thought the same. It's a job for a roofer, possibly a less lazy and less choosy one. More and more tradespeople get spoiled by the current market.

What's this hole in a tile at the bottom on the left side? And why fibreglass, not (thick) led?

Giggidy

grumbler said:

Giggidy said:

 have thought a roofer would be able to sort it but he said not.

I would have thought the same. It's a job for a roofer, possibly a less lazy and less choosy one. More and more tradespeople get spoiled by the current market.

What's this hole in a tile at the bottom on the left side? And why fibreglass, not (thick) led?

We moved here recently, with quite a few jobs need doing and had no end of tradesmen being picky about jobs, not bothering turning up or overinflating prices so as not to do it, it seems. 

Not sure which tile you mean, the third one from the gulley on the left? That could be the source perhaps, because the patches are relatively small.

grumbler

Giggidy said:

grumbler said:

Giggidy said:

 have thought a roofer would be able to sort it but he said not.

I would have thought the same. It's a job for a roofer, possibly a less lazy and less choosy one. More and more tradespeople get spoiled by the current market.

What's this hole in a tile at the bottom on the left side? And why fibreglass, not (thick) led?

Not sure which tile you mean, the third one from the gulley on the left? That could be the source perhaps, because the patches are relatively small.

Yes, the visible big hole on the edge of the photo.

Tucosalamanca

That's absolutely a roofer's job. I don't think that they want the work.
 
It looks like a bodger has had a go in the not too distant past.
The valleys have had a liquid coating applied and the mortar doesn't look too old. I'm guessing the current issues you're experiencing are faults that have been there a while.

Hard to tell from the photo but I'd expect to strip that entire area, replace valleys and possibly redo the deck within a couple of days. So up to two days labour for two guys plus materials and waste costs.

Giggidy

grumbler said:

Giggidy said:

grumbler said:

Giggidy said:

 have thought a roofer would be able to sort it but he said not.

I would have thought the same. It's a job for a roofer, possibly a less lazy and less choosy one. More and more tradespeople get spoiled by the current market.

What's this hole in a tile at the bottom on the left side? And why fibreglass, not (thick) led?

Not sure which tile you mean, the third one from the gulley on the left? That could be the source perhaps, because the patches are relatively small.

Yes, the visible big hole on the edge of the photo.

I took a picture of the picture on the roofer's phone, I think that's just his screen that was cracked 

Giggidy

Tucosalamanca said:

That's absolutely a roofer's job. I don't think that they want the work.
 
It looks like a bodger has had a go in the not too distant past.
The valleys have had a liquid coating applied and the mortar doesn't look too old. I'm guessing the current issues you're experiencing are faults that have been there a while.

Hard to tell from the photo but I'd expect to strip that entire area, replace valleys and possibly redo the deck within a couple of days. So up to two days labour for two guys plus materials and waste costs.

Thanks for that, helpful to know.

Tucosalamanca

And why fibreglass, not (thick) led?

The deck looks to be over 2500mm long (at least eight tile widths) and over 1000mm wide (inc upstands). That's not straightforward with lead and no roofer wants to be lumping 50kg+ of lead onto a roof, let alone the prohibitive costs.
Fibreglass is easier and cheaper, although I'd probably use a one-piece membrane, Resitrix or single-ply for ease of installation.

itsakidsworld

Hi,

It might be Capillary Reaction which has caused the issue after snow has sat in the box gutter area of your roof ( the lower flat section).  The roof looks in good order with a fibreglass base and fibreglass valleys instead of traditional lead valleys ( which are not an issue if left untouched - all new houses have fibreglass valleys fitted).

The snow sits in this area and then as it melts, it melts from the warmest part of the snow which is underneath. This then causes a Capillary Reaction - imagine having a "wet vac" under your tiles on full suction pulling water into it - this is what Capillary Reaction does.

If it has only occurred when snow has sat on your roof, this would be the problem. You can make a wooden frame that sits on top of the box gutter, but clean the box gutter first of any loose debris. Then if/when it snows again & the snow starts to melt, it drips through the slats of your wooden frame and runs away into the outlet.

Wooden slatted frames were common years ago but as they rot, people discard them & do not replace them. 

Hope this helps.

Giggidy

itsakidsworld said:

Hi,

It might be Capillary Reaction which has caused the issue after snow has sat in the box gutter area of your roof ( the lower flat section).  The roof looks in good order with a fibreglass base and fibreglass valleys instead of traditional lead valleys ( which are not an issue if left untouched - all new houses have fibreglass valleys fitted).

The snow sits in this area and then as it melts, it melts from the warmest part of the snow which is underneath. This then causes a Capillary Reaction - imagine having a "wet vac" under your tiles on full suction pulling water into it - this is what Capillary Reaction does.

If it has only occurred when snow has sat on your roof, this would be the problem. You can make a wooden frame that sits on top of the box gutter, but clean the box gutter first of any loose debris. Then if/when it snows again & the snow starts to melt, it drips through the slats of your wooden frame and runs away into the outlet.

Wooden slatted frames were common years ago but as they rot, people discard them & do not replace them. 

Hope this helps.

Thanks, that's very helpful to know. It's rained since we moved in, some weeks quite heavy rain but the only time the 2 small patches appeared is after we had the snowfall. We've had some rain since, and only one time the smaller patch appeared again but nothing since. Will point this out to the roofer, to see if this could be the issue and solution.

plumb1_2

grumbler said:

Giggidy said:

grumbler said:

Giggidy said:

 have thought a roofer would be able to sort it but he said not.

I would have thought the same. It's a job for a roofer, possibly a less lazy and less choosy one. More and more tradespeople get spoiled by the current market.

What's this hole in a tile at the bottom on the left side? And why fibreglass, not (thick) led?

Not sure which tile you mean, the third one from the gulley on the left? That could be the source perhaps, because the patches are relatively small.

Yes, the visible big hole on the edge of the photo.

I can’t see a hole, sure it’s not a lump of moss?