gavin.starr Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I currently looking at buying a house as a first time buyer. I have taken a look in the loft of the house we are thinking about buying. I noticed from the outside that some of the roof tiles have lifted slightly, probably due to the wind and crappy weather we had in winter. When i went into the loft i could see light coming in from the gaps under the tiles. I had a good look around and there isnt any signs of water coming in, and it was raining at the time. I know from my mum's loft that there is a felt lining laid on the beams and then tiles on top, this house I am looking at doesnt have the felt lining on it so its just direct to the tiles. If i wanted it doing just for piece of minds sake how much is it likley to cost to get the roof re-done. Or is it fine to just leave the roof as it is and just get the lifted tiles looked at. Just another thought as to wat sort of offer to put in for the house in question. A survey would probs tell me if it needs doing but i havent got to that stage yet. Its a semi detached 3 bed but quate a steep apex'd roof. I just think that if there is a good wind blowing and its raining at the same time it could blow the water in through the gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Older house? I presume so. Lots of houses were built with no felt lining and if its quite steep then water run off is no problem. Any water blown in, in very severe conditions would evaporate in the roof void naturally. If you can see no signs of dampness in the bedroom walls or ceilings then its OK. Some companies make a cementy/plasticy spray on foam that seals the underside. These are a bad idea. Do not do it. If at some point you want to inhabit the loft, then there are many other solutions to seal and insulate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavin.starr Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Im not looking into making the loft into a livable space. But i would like to use it for storage. At the moment there is loads of what looks like mortar scattered all over the loft boards and alot of dust from it. Is this mortar holding the tiles in place or are they nailed on too. Is there any solutions to this Ie: removing the old mortar and replacing it with some other form of cement that isnt sand/cement based to reduce the dust. The tiles are exactly the same as these [ATTACH=CONFIG]135258[/ATTACH] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 They are plain tiles, they will be nailed onto battens only, no mortar fixes them, but the verges might have mortar and the ridge tile will be mortared so that may have broken down a bit hence your dust and lumps. If it is that, then applying new mortar may be required. Can you see if the previous owner had the undersides sprayed with a cement spray sealent like I described earlier? If so, is this what has fallen off? The underside of the tiles should be just tile, and no gobs of cement / mortar. I suppose you could put something like building paper or a breather membrane across the underside of the rafters to contain any dust but beware of boarding up or sealing as this will stop the air flow through your roof void, which is essential for moisture control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelfill Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 where abouts are you looking Gavin? My house has the same construction (Ashton) 1930s, and although it's messy, I am using the roof for storage with the minimum of trouble. My slates are flat blue slates rather than preformed ones. One thing I found to help both insulate the space and reduce the amount of mortar was the silver "bubble wrap" style insulation stapled to the rafters, the mortar then falls onto this and slides to the eaves, but I will be looking at replacing the roof at some point too. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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