Leaking Flat Dormer Roof - Help Fixing!!

kinobestew123

kinobestew123

kinobestew123

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So after the very hot and sunny weather we've had, it finally decided to chuck it down yesterday. It was fairly torrential for about 30mins and the street struggled to cope and flooded a bit.

We were in the living room and it started to sound like it was raining in the house. We ran up stairs to find water pouring through one of the LED downlight fittings and onto the LVT floor. Towels and a bucket were employed.

I went up a ladder to look at the roof. To be honest, it's the first time I have since moving in. The roof isn't in the best state and doesn't look flat at all with lots of dips which were holding big puddles of water. The roof itself has felt on it which I presume has cracked somewhere hence the water getting in.

A friend is a roofer but mainly putting new tiles on new housing developments. He said he could come and put Acrypol on.

Is this a temporary fix or can I expect it to last a while?

What would be a permanent fix? I was reading about EDPM and saw Rubber4Roofs.co.uk. It looks like I can get a whole kit to DIY the roof for £250. Has anybody done this? Is it DIY'able?

Thanks!
 
I think we're looking at about 2m x 5m.

I have a week off work at end of July and so I could do it myself then. I'd consider myself adequate at DIY as long as I've researched it in depth beforehand. I'll always try and buy better quality materials.

I'd be interested in what kits people have used who have done it themselves and where they bought it from. Also an explanation of the process.
 
Ok, having taken on board opinions in here, my cousin-in-law (a roofer) came around yesterday. We painted Cromar Cromapol Acrylic Roof Coating on the bits that we know are leaking. Similar to the Black Jack stuff painted above by the looks of it. We used a bigger brush than in that video. :p

I'm hoping that this holds for a few weeks.

We then examined the rest of the roof. At the back, we have another 5mx2m dormer the same and that is in a similar (albeit not leaking just yet) condition. Furthermore:

- mortar in the ridging tiles is all coming out
- cement verges are all falling apart
- some tiles are broken
- there is signs that water has got under some of the tiles (white powder underneath them)
- the chimney needs pointing
- the guttering leaks in lots of places and collects water because it's not got the right angle on it
- the downspouts are loose
- the pvc soffits/facias are falling off/missing in some parts and are generally filthy
- the cladding on the dormers is rotten
- the leading has been patched up many times and is looking a bit of a mess

All in all, there is a lot of work needed.

With this in mind, I think we're going to go down the path of a full reroof instead, tackling all of these jobs at the same time with the aid of scaffolding all around. We'll also get rid of the flat roofs on the dormers and have it pitched instead.

Yes, it's going to cost a lot more than my money-saving ideas above, but we think it's the right idea.

Rough pricing that we've come up with so far is:

£800 scaffolding
£1950 materials (new tiles, timber felt, battens, lead, dry verge, ridge tiles, dry ridge system, etc) and my cousin-in-law's labour. Thinking Marley Eternit Edgemere tiles.
£400 soffits, facias and new cladding on the dormers
£150 guttering

So about £3,300.

This is considerably less that other neighbours on the street have paid (£5k-£6k) but this is because of a lot of the work being done by us.

Anybody got any thoughts on this?
 
Thanks. Really looking forward to it. We get a lot of pigeons walking around on it too which can be noisy so hopefully it will stop them.

I'm now looking for cladding for the dormers as that needs replacing at the same time. Anybody got any experience of which cladding is good?
 
thezappa said:
Or Hardiplank cement board (there are other brands. That was the first that came to mind)
Click to expand...

I was looking at both the Hardie Plank and the Marley Cedral Click. The issue with the Hardie Plank is that it looks like it needs a nail gun to install (which I don't have). The Marley Cedral Click looks good with it being Tongue & Groove but it's quite expensive, especially with all the other fittings that you seem to need (starting plates, special clips, various pieces of aluminium trim which are like £30 per metre).

UPVC cladding seems like the cheapest option but I really dislike the look. Still undecided.
 
thezappa said:
I know, it's irritating having to buy extra bits to make it look nice and do a proper job. I suppose you have to weigh up if you want a cheap solution that you're not keen on the look of or a more expensive one. Even the wood effect UPVC stuff looks 'plasticy'.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I'm now looking at Cedar which although a fairly expensive option, it's coming in around a similar price to the fibre cement boards. After lots of measuring, quite a lot of the dormer uses quite short lengths (<1.5m) and I've found places selling offcuts at this length at a reduced price. Tempted to go with this option.
 
thezappa said:
Cedar would work, certainly if you’re buying off cuts to fit odd spaces.
It goes a silver colour when it’s weathered so if you’re happy with that it’s great, if you paint it though you have to keep painting it to maintain the appearance.
Click to expand...

I think the silvery grey weathered look would look good anyway as we have mainly anthracite windows and front door. The soffits, facias and guttering are going to be anthracite too. So the grey colour would work.

I'm going to protect it with Osmo UV oil too before it goes up. It probably won't get another coat after that so nature can take its course.
 
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