Pitched roof, large section of felt missing

[isley76]

Hi,

The house I recently bought had some diy insulation put in by the previous owner in the form of rockwool between the rafters held in by hardboard screwed to the rafters.

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• isley76
• 5 Nov 2009
• 1

My surveyor recommended this be removed as it was a condensation risk (no air circulation behind the felt).

This week after heavy rain I noticed some water staining on the hardboard so took it off to inspect the felt.

Shock horror there is a huge section of felt missing and I can see the tiles behind:

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• isley76
• 5 Nov 2009
• 1

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• isley76
• 5 Nov 2009
• 1

close up:

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• isley76
• 5 Nov 2009
• 1

I'm a real novice but I understand the felt is just a backup and if the tiles are still good then the roof should still be watertight.

Since there is water coming in somehow I think there is a problem and will wait with a bucket next time there is rain to try and see where it is coming in.

Can anyone advise me what to do about the missing felt? I'm planning to take down the rest of the hardboard tomorrow to see if there is any more missing felt.

Is this repairable or is it a home insurance claim?

Many thanks,

Isley

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I'm a real novice but I understand the felt is just a backup and if the tiles are still good then the roof should still be watertight.

Correct

Can anyone advise me what to do about the missing felt? I'm planning to take down the rest of the hardboard tomorrow to see if there is any more missing felt.

Is this repairable or is it a home insurance claim?

Get the tiles fixed and you won't need to worry about there being no felt. Plenty of roof's are in existence with no felt and they do not leak. You can't claim on your insurance for a leaky roof, its wear & tear only for any damage caused by it although I suspect any assessor would say that as the previous owner did not repair the felt but removed it instead your insurance would be invalid.

Anyhoo repair the tiles, fit some mineral wool insulation at ceiling joist level, shut the loft door and forget all about it.

 

[Alastairreid]

and that looks like condensation as opposed to a leak from the roof.

 

[datarebal]

probably condensation.
as it's interlocking tiles the felt would be easy to repair

 

[isley76]

Thanks guys,

I hope it is condensation but the house is quite high up on the peak of a hill and it gets very windy in our street. I wouldn't be surprised if the wind was blowing the rain up under the tiles in which case wouldn't the felt be needed?

as it's interlocking tiles the felt would be easy to repair

datarebal, please could you explain why interlocking tiles make it easy to repair the felt?

Thanks,

Isley

 

[datarebal]

No problem, Interlocking tiles are easy and fast to strip. This makes it easy to strip a patch of tiles simply cut the batten and replace the damaged area of felt. Provided there is access from below a pach the size of the one in your picture could be sorted in an hour or so...