temporary verge repairs and roofer recommendation

[Inglis77]

Hi All,

First time posting here and apologies if this has been covered elsewhere but I haven't been able to find anything.

I've recently bought a house (1970s semi) where the verge pointing in the gable end was flagged in the survey as needing some attention. I was planning to get this done (i.e tiles lifted and new mortar put in and tiles rebedded) this summer when the weather improves but it's deteriorated badly over the past fortnight with a couple of large chunks falling out.

Given the outlook for the next month or so (wet and windy) I'm planning to try and get up to the verge in the next few days to put in some new mortar as a temporary fix. My current plans are to use an extension ladder with stand out and to push the mortar in until I can get a roofer in to do a proper fix - this is all pretty new to me so I'd welcome any comments / advice.

Also if any one can recommend a roofer in the Hampshire / New Forest area that would be appreciated (I've contacted a few but am waiting to hear back).

Thanks,

Dave.

 

[catlad]

There was a fella posting on here not long back called new forest roofer. You could get a continues dry verge fitted which would look neat and should last 20 yrs.

 

[Blagard]

While the original would (should) have been bedded down on mortar there is no reason why you can't repoint it yourself. I hate to see the cowboy jobs where it is smeared all over the edge of the verge tiles so you don't even see the tile edge. So did mine by myself about 20 years ago and pointed it back just enough to define the edge of my plain tiles as clearly visible, I also wiped them clean as I proceeded. The job still looks clean and tidy today

 

[yorkie1969]

If you plan to do it yourself then hack out as much loose mortar as possible and then get some unibond or pva glue mixed with water and paint that on first to act as a bonding agent. Use a good mix of sand and cement. People often have their own preferred mix ratios and types. We use a 4:1 mix of 'Cooks' building sand to cement. Put some mortar plasticizer in (not fairy liquid). Try not to to do it on a particularly cold day, make sure it is at least 2 degrees or warmer. Take your time to do a neat job and you should be fine.
Finally, please work safely. It may help if you have an s hook to attach your bucket to the ladder rungs freeing up your other hand.
Good luck.

 

[Inglis77]

Hello,

Thanks for the replies - after a trip up the ladder today to try and have a closer inspection I think this is going to be a job for scaffolding - the house is covered in uPVC cladding on the side that I need access to making the use of a ladder standoff difficult unless I want to rest it on the uPVC. Even with the standoff I'm not sure I'd be able to access the verge safetly due to the roof overhang being almost as wide as the stand off itself.