Fixing the roof........

[JDLDIY]

I have a 1960's house built with cement pantiles with roofing felt underneath.

We have some leaks in the loft, primarily where one ridge runs at right angles into the main roof, a few tiles below the main ridge. The water seems to be getting in where the valleys run down.

I can see some ridge tiles above need repointing, whereas I can't see anything amiss with the valleys. Am I right in saying that I need to totally remove the ridge tiles and lay fresh mortar or can I get away with using some kind of sealant or scraping away an inch or so deep and repointing like you would with brickwork?

Many thanks

JD

 

[oilman]

Roofs are serious business, you really ought to get a roofing compamy to look at it. Get it wrong and it can be goodbye house. How much would it have been worth saving the money? It may be the lead has cracked.

 

[JDLDIY]

Roofs are serious business, you really ought to get a roofing compamy to look at it. Get it wrong and it can be goodbye house. How much would it have been worth saving the money? It may be the lead has cracked.

Yeah, I know and take your point. We've just been let down badly by the 3rd roofer in the last year though and I've had enough of chasing them around. The last one even got away with some cash and won't come back.

So that's how I'm ending up doing this myself. I'll certainly do a better job than the bodge jobs I've seen in close up, having been up there.

 

[oilman]

My sympathies. I'm guessing of course, but it could be moss or debris that's allowing the water in. I would do mine too, but I dislike gravity. You could try one of these new tradesmen vetting agencies to find a good firm.
If you're south of the Thames, Check-a-Trade is one such.