by Perry525 »
Sat Dec 19, 2009 6:01 pm
Like Rosebery I had a 1931 semi with a tiled roof that was de- laminating when I bought the place in 1969, over the years I bought many second hand tiles and gradually replaced the middle areas of each of a three sided roof. We never had a leak, I merely got up there each summer and replaced the tiles that were really bad. A cheap and simple way to deal with the problem.
Now days what with health and safety the cost of a commercial company repairing/replacing a roof has literally gone through the roof, the cost of insurance and scaffolding, its really not allowed for a professional company to just put up a ladder and run up and down a roof replacing a few tiles.
Your roof was designed for the weight of clay tiles, replacing clay with concrete will add a lot of extra weight and should not be attempted.
As far as tile overlap is concerned, the thing the designer will have taken into account is the level of exposure to wind blown rain. I would guess that the roof does not have a waterproof membrane.
If you do have it re tiled, then a membrane will help to collect any rain that gets in and will make the loft appear warmer by keeping out the wind and will help to keep the loft cleaner.
As far a re pointing the chimney is concerned, I recommend either getting up there and taking a close look or buy a powerful telescope or binoculars to get a good view to see if the job really needs doing. This will also enable you to check the state of the tiles from across the road or the bottom of the garden.
Question. Has the chimney been fitted with a tray to collect the rain? Is there a lead band round the chimney just above the tiled roof to indicate the presence of a tray – if there is, then there is little chance of rain making its way down the chimney via the mortar and parging.
