2 basic roofing questions...

[ackieboy]

Hi all,

I insulated and boarded my loft this year (solely for storage, and it's a 1920's house with roof joists the same size as the floor joists on the first floor, so no issue with weight). While doing so I noticed a few areas where light was coming through due to cracked or missing slates. If light can get through, water can obviously also get through, so I need this fixed. So question 1 - is it easy to fix individual slate tiles on a slate roof, how much should I be looking to pay for this, and what type of roofing firm would I approach for this service?

The other thing I noticed during my 12 hours in a hot loft is that there is no roofing felt between the battens and the slates. I don't think this is too unusual in a ninety year old house, but do I need to do anything about this, and will it prevent me from installing cellotex-style insulation in the rafters.

thanks!

 

[noseall]

I noticed a few areas where light was coming through due to cracked or missing slates. If light can get through, water can obviously

Not so.

Remove the roofing membrane from ANY roof and daylight will be visible, as tiles do not sit perfectly tight.

Felt or roofing membrane is a bonus as far as weathering is concerned and is useful at keeping out muck. However, your tiles are your primary weathering layer and need to be maintained as such and it wont stop you fitting celotex.

 

[ackieboy]

I noticed a few areas where light was coming through due to cracked or missing slates. If light can get through, water can obviously

Not so.

Remove the roofing membrane from ANY roof and daylight will be visible, as tiles do not sit perfectly tight.

Felt or roofing membrane is a bonus as far as weathering is concerned and is useful at keeping out muck. However, your tiles are your primary weathering layer and need to be maintained as such and it wont stop you fitting celotex.

Thanks for the response.

However the light getting through is more than just the minute gaps between tile edges - there are two or three areas where a tile has cracked or broken off, which are definitely not weatherproof. Not bad enough to require a bucket underneath, but over time water damage will occur. What's the best way to get these fixed?

 

[noseall]

Quite simple, replace any damaged or broken tiles. Roof tiles are individual elements and are easily replaced. Unless they are slates.....

 

[ackieboy]

They are slates...

Does this make it more difficult / costly? How much should I be looking to pay (roughly)?

 

[noseall]

They are slates...

Does this make it more difficult / costly? How much should I be looking to pay (roughly)?

Damaged slates are removed using a Slater's rip as the fixings are concealed by the ones above.

Similarly, replacement slates are fixed using a copper or lead tingle or a jenny twin.

As for cost, get local roofers to quote.

 

[roofer1uk]

Alot of old slate roofs don't have a membrane under them most have tearing instead but eventually this will wear away. Replace the leaking damaged slates but the others will be fine only letting a little water in on windy Rain days but not enough to cause any damage!!!

 

[anchorbay]

old houses with original roofs simply didnt use roofing felt up to a certain time frame
a few slates and a bit of pointing shouldnt cost more than a couple of hundred quid
but make sure you stand in your garden and watch to see what they replace