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Roofing

Hole in roof felt on slate roof

Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 3.38 PM

Hi there, I've had conflicting information from two roofers and would like to pass this by the community here and see what everyone thinks! We noticed while having a bathroom fan fitted that our 1840s victoria mid-terrace maisonette flat (upper 2 floors) had a broken ridge cap which exposed some timber. We got a roofer round who said that several ridge caps need replacing and he also pointed to a hole in the felt (not sure how this happened). This roofer suggested pulling off slate tiles and replacing a 1 square metre of felt where the hole is (despite hole being only 5cm across, because apparently this is the size the felt comes in) plus replacing the batons, plus re-tiling and replacing broken ridge caps. He quoted 1300 for this. We had a second roofer come round for a second opinion and he said the hole could be fixed with sarking tape and then you'd just need to fix the one tile over this hole plus the ridgecaps. He suggested this would be about 600 for everything. Just wanted an opinion on whether the sarking tape is a sufficiently good solution, rather than replacing the full 1 meter square of felt and batons and tiles. To note this is our first owned house, and we have a limited budget for doing the place up and while we want to fix the issue we have limited interest in the 20 year guarantee the first guy quote given we're unlikely to be here in 10 years, but also want to do the right thing and fix the issue as best we can. Grateful for thoughts!

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4 Answers

O’Donnell Roofing Ltd

Rating: 4.1 out of 5

Glasgow

Hi There, With just moving into the house and on a limited budget, why not just replace the slate above the hole and repair/replace the ridge tiles where required, if a roofing contractor were to price for every fault on a roof then they would price themselves out of work majority of the time. There can be things that are wrong on a roof which is still water tight, its just deciding at that time how much you can afford and the best option in moving forward. The roofing contractor should be able to guide you and advise the best course of action. Hope this helps Regards Brian

Answered20 April 2021

Traditional Slate Roofing

Rating: 4.7 out of 5

Scunthorpe

Hello the second option is a fairer solution being the hole is very small and with the ridges being re mortared this will prevent water ingress . Although I have not seen any pictures the first quote seems a little costly , not sure if scaffold is involved though Hope this helps

Answered20 April 2021

Anonymous user

I think there both pulling the wool over your eyes. In over 40 years of roofing I’ve never heard of sarking tape. Gaffa tape maybe but that doesn’t stick. Its not the end of the world having a hole in the felt if your slates/tiles are in tact. Do you remember the days before felt was used?

Answered21 April 2021

Anonymous user

The other answer was good. Just wanted to add that option would run out at £.300.

Answered21 April 2021