How to seal the end apex on a stone tiled roof

[plq]

Just had a stone tiled roof re-done. At each apex end we have an end rafter with a fascia board attached. WHere the stone tiles lie, they just touch the fascia board but obviously the tiles lay on top of each other so there is a triange shaped gap which could let bird/rats in.

My roofers are having an argument with my carpenters.

- Roofers say that the end apex is sealed to the rafter by cutting a piece of "architrave" to the shape of each stone tile. Otherwise putting muck on top of the end rafter and on top of the fascia board will rot the fascia board and it will fall out

- Carpenter says that the end apex should be sealed with cement and an underseal would stop the wood rotting

I'm stuck in the middle as the property owner, and the scaffold is due to go down this week, so I need to find out what the answer is.

The property is a classic wiltshire listed building and i would like to "do it right"

thanks for any advice.

 

[RedHerring]

I'm no expert especially in view of your comments:

The property is a classic wiltshire listed building

Given your time frame I thought I'd offer a suggestion, until an expert responds. I don't think it'll go down well with your roofers now though.

I thought the normal procedure is to use an undercloak of fibreboard, slate or similar on top of the rafter, underneath the tile battens. between this undercloak and the tile is a filet of cement to seal that gap. The tile should be bedded onto the cement, not pointed up afterwards.
Also, care should be taken so that the cement does not contact the ends of the tile battens, to avoid any dampness being transmitted to the battens. I think a gap of 25mm or 50mm was mentioned, between cement and batten ends, when I was researching it a year or so ago.

 

[cumbrianroofer]

completly agree with redherring however you can also get dryverge units which fit most types of concrete tiles but if you have a weather board on gable end none of these would be an option as the weather board sits on top of the tiles if weather board on joiners responsibility if no weathe board roofer should seal apex in my opinion

 

[plq]

Thanks folks.

Apparently cement/fibre board is not appropriate for listed building and the roofers were right - you use a piece of wood - scribe it to the shape of each end tile. We sealed it with black sealant.

Its all done now and looks great (I honestly thought it would look pants!). We talked to a load of roofers and carpenters - they all said the same thing - use cement board and muck in on top of it - so I talked to the planners and they recommended scribing as the roofer suggests.

Anyway I'm very happy with the end result - looks good.

thanks again