Essential Roof Preparation

Up Grade Option – Dry Ridge System

A dry ridge system is the method of mechanically fixing ridge tiles to the ridge of a roof without the use of mortar.
This method involves covering the roof batten with ridge ventilation roll and adhering it to the tile or slate. One by one, the ridge tiles are then installed over the ventilation cover to secure it in place and are laid across the apex of the roof using plastic unions, clips, clamps, screws and washers.
The unions secure the tiles together with a small expansion gap while the clamps are placed between tiles and screwed down into ridge board or batten. This provides a windproof fixing that will ensure no tiles come loose over time, accounting for natural expansion, contraction or any other type of roof movement. Fitting a dry fix system can be done regardless of what the weather is doing at the time.
Once fully installed, the top of the roof will look very similar from street level to how it would if bonded with mortar. However, unlike mortar bonded ridge tiles, a dry ridge system should not require regular maintenance.
This makes dry fix systems a safer, less bothersome option that is cheaper too. Although the initial outlay on mortar costs less than a dry ridge kit, will mean less maintenance over the years, making dry ridge the more affordable choice for most.

Broken Tile Replacement

We will inspect your entire roof, with a view to identifying all of the broken tiles. All broken, chipped, cracked  or damaged tiles will be replaced with new.

We are not going to make your roof look like a patchwork quilt.

We will take tiles off from the back of your roof, at low level by the guttering. We will put the weathered tiles that we take from here and use them to replace the random broken tiles. The new tiles will be placed in a row, at the back, together out of the way, out of sight, so they do not ruin the aesthetics of your roof.

Your roof felt being in good condition is imperative.

It is very important there are no gaps, rips, tears or holes in your roof felt as this is the last barrier between both the outside elements, and your main roof timbers (rafters).

There are a number of ways in which water will ingress under your tiles and run on to your roof felt:

• Wind driven rain
• Capillary action
• Wind driven snow

Bitumen based felt weathers in two ways, condensation from inside, and water ingress from outside. Roof felt often sags between the timbers, creating a low point. Any water penetrating onto the outside of the roof felt (driven under your roof tiles) will track down to the lowest point of the felt. The bitumen felt then naturally erodes over time, this is a process that Smart Eco Living call “laddering” (just like in a ladies stockings) this leaves the strings, which are the main structure of the felt, de-laminated, thin, and weak.

Because the felt is hanging low and has no support underneath, it can then split/tear, leaving the main roof timbers exposed, and in turn, allow rain water to ingress into the loft void and the main timber roof structure. This will cause decay and lead to far bigger issues within your homes main structure.

As Icynene expands it will fill the void between the rafters completely, giving the roof felt a firm solid base to sit on. Therefore, the felt can not sag, or split inwards, this will help prolong the life of your roof felt.

Icynene can also help preserve the timbers in your roof, due to it’s open cell structure residual moisture and condensation will be wicked away, keeping your timbers dry, yet still able to breathe as they should, thus avoiding any decay.

Roof Felt Repairs

Any holes, splits, rips or tears anywhere in your roof felt will be repaired professionally, it is important this is done from outside.

• We clean the surface of the felt, and the surface of the patch, then a roof bonding adhesive is applied to the surfaces of both the patch, and the felt. This is left for both surfaces to go tacky before we apply the patch. We ensure a minimum 100mm of new felt adhered to the existing felt all the way around the circumference of the hole or the width or breadth of a tear, to ensure a good strong bond.
• Using a wallpaper seam roller our installers will rollover the patch to ensure it has adhered properly and there are no gaps where water could ingress.
• As an additional precaution our team will will then paint over the patch (externally) using the same adhesive; when this dries it is almost like rubber. The reason for this is to fill the lip we have created by overlapping the felt, this will create a chamfer rather than a step as we do not want any water to sit on the roof felt.
• We repair the holes in a very similar way as you would do a repair on an inner tube after a puncture. (from the outside)
• If there is a hole larger than 350mm in any direction we will strip that section of roof off and replace that section of felt completely.

Essential Lead Repairs/Replacement

The lead around your chimney is a very important component, the chimney runs straight out through a hole in the roof, and therefore requires sealing to the point of it being water tight.

The biggest issue here is the mortar that secures the lead into the mortar line between the bricks. The mortar deteriorates and comes loose. This in turn allows the lead to also come loose. Water will then penetrate and run down the inside of your chimney breast inside the loft. This is the biggest cause of mould and damp being present inside the home, forming a wet patch on the plasterboard of your ceiling.

It is essential that the lead work is maintained properly to prevent such damage occurring to the rest of your home. We will repair this in a specific way. The lead will be dressed back into the mortar line and held in place use small lead wedges; this ensures the lead stays in the correct position even when no mortar is present and can help prevent future  leaks. Once the lead has been wedged into place we then re-point the mortar leaving a nice water tight seal.

Chimney Lead Flashing

We will replace lead flashing around the chimney, if it’s split or perished, with brand new code 4 roofing lead. (We do NOT Use Flash band, this is very poor and will not last.)
A lead wedge is tapped into the mortar line when dressing the chimney before re- pointing.
Finally the brickwork is re-pointed, cleaned and all waste removed.

Valley Repairs

We will re-bed your valley tiles in the traditional way using mortar, first removing any old mortar that has degraded and become loose.

Valleys can be a hot spot for damaged roof felt, especially if you have a tile valley base rather than lead. If the felt underneath your valley is in any way damaged the valley will require a full strip, felt replacement, and a new valley installed.

A full strip and replacement valley is not included within our standard “Essential roof preparation.” If this is required it would attract an additional charge that can be discussed with your technical sales surveyor.