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Our 60yr old roof has got to the point of needing lots of work, and we’re planning to get the whole thing refelted/battoned/new tiles etc next summer. I need a solution for one problem that’ll give me another six months until then
The previous owners had an extension approx 30yrs ago and their builder didn’t gauge the tiles properly, so there’s a 5-10mm gap between the ridge and the top of the top tile(!). The nails are visible
water has been coming in for years, running down the felt and onto the valley tray. Ironically we only realised this when we repointed the valley and diverted the water through a few other holes in the felt- doh!
I could pay £1500 now to put some flashing under the ridge tiles, but that feels a waste of money if it’s all being ripped up in a few months
I’m wondering about the repair tapes/Evercryl paint stuff. The idea would be to scrape clean, apply some roofing-grade expanding foam, trim to flush, and then either use some of the tape or just paint Evercryl on
The tape seems easiest and least messy but I’ve read mixed reports on the tape not sticking in cold weather
does anyone have experience with the tapes and could recommend a particular brand?
At this time of year watch the weather forecast in terms of anything you paint on. As a youngster I helped my dad paint something similar to evercryl on a flat roof in our house (something brown and sludgy). While there wasn't actually a frost in cold conditions that night it seems the paint was too cold to set properly next day appeared to have dried but hadn't actually set or cured the way its supposed to, then when rain came later it just dissolved and resulted in filthy brown water pouring through the ceiling instead of relatively clean rain water.
I've used the tape (the Gorilla-branded version) and just warmed the area with a heat gun prior to sticking it on. It's definitely the kind of "get it right first time" kind of stickiness.
Impressed with gorilla patch and seal tape, fixed our keter shed roof with this two years ago, still good. Ps VERY messy to take off. Blackjack flashing also works but I feel gorilla is better. (I brushed off all loose crap, dried with cloths and paper towels and then pushed it on, then once it was on I compressed it as hard as I could by sliding a old sports shirt in a brick up and down it)
evercryl paint worked in our conservatory guttter but is an absolute unforgiving barsteward to apply (it was a tight space), but once it’s on it will not clean off, and it sticks to everything that touches it.
I had the same / similar issues with the top tiles on a ridge not meeting the hip . The cement mix had failed and cracked and left the chat leaving a 2in gap that you see the sarking felt through. I knocked up a bucket of 1 plus 5 and repointed it after some remedial work to remove the majority of the loose pudding.
However .-
A- Im stupid and happy to take high risk to save a few quid so used a velux to access the roof, clambered up to the ridge , sat straddled across it and spent an hour doing a relatively good job without the aid of a safety net.
B - Dont look up at Spitfires doing victory rolls whilst standing on your roof. Concentrate on the job in hand, and inform your neighbours beforehand so they dont distract you by shouting dumb stuff like ' is it safe up there? Do you want a hand ? ' nope its not safe but your interjection is making it unsafer , plus what are you going to do to help? Stand at ground zero and catch me as i fall to the floor at 50mph?
Cost me about a tenner iirc . I might hire a roofing ladder if I had to it again
You could try tape and gunk. Flashband plus activator and some thing like Evercryl liquid roofing repair. I sold lots of it at screwfix. Depends if your tiles are coated in that sand / grit finish to get good adhesion. Warmed up flashband stuck down and then something like a foam roller to really push it in to crevices then an overcoat of evercryl or Blackjack on the joints
If its a small length then maybe some really heavy plastic sheeting over the top with the spare tucked under 2 or 3 rows of tiles down. A claw hammer will help lift a row, wedge a few up with a wooden chock. Tuck the plastc sheet under the tiles a good way then spray some very low expanding adhesive up there as well . Black DPM or clear builders plastic , tin of foam , chocks and pry bar. Roofers tend to not nail every course , usually every 3 or so so theres some movement as you go down the roof.
I used some Flasband (bostik?) On our valley lead a few years ago, same time of year as this. We've had it re done professionally since.
Clean the areas thoroughly first, warm the tape up on a radiator and then have a heat gun up there with you to dry the surface and help mould the tape to form, or at least that was my method.
You'll have to do your own risk assessment as to access and amount of hands needed!
Thanks so much everyone!
sounds like the tape is the easiest option. I have used Evercryl before and I remember binning everything including clothes afterwards!
luckily the access is quite good- up onto a single storey roof from the drive, then up the valley on the main roof to the ridge
theres not a huge amount of water coming in but I’d rather the trusses etc didn’t stay wet for six months
its a dry ridge too, otherwise I’d be exploring jus getting it repointed
Evercryl in the tube can fill big gaps using a caulk gun with minimal clean up. Spendy but reliable.