Roof Quandary and to Repair or not to Repair Information, help and tips on many areas of roofing including trusses, tiling, venting, insulation etc....

[AdeD75]

Hi all,

I am having a loft conversion and complete re-roof done later this year - work hopefully starting in Oct, but still TBC.

In the meantime, I have a bit of a quandary. We've lost a few tiles in recent weeks - one from just under the ridge, a couple midway down. There are others that are clearly slipping and may soon go. We already have an attic room up in the roof space, so I am a bit concerned water will make it through and cause damage (not so worried about that room as it will all be ripped out, but concerned that damage may occur to the rooms/celings below).

It would of course make sense to get the tiles replaced. However, we have a high roof that always needs scaffold for such work - it will likely cost £1-2000 to get this done, which am loathe to do considering the whole roof will be replaced relatively soon!

Thoughts? Am I likely to get serious water ingress with a few missing tiles, or should I hope for the best and get some buckets ready?! Equally, will the old membrane under the tiles keep us dry for a few months?

Further details if needed:
- Victorian semi with red clay tiles
- Steep roof pitch - close to 45 degrees
- Old membrane underneath - the semi-rigid tar type stuff. Looks a little fragile, with a few holes in places (but I can't see what it looks like where the tiles are missing specifically).

Thanks for your guidance - any thoughts appreciated!

Adrian

[collectors]

Catch 22. If you can get a hose up this high "somehow", give it a test & see if you get a damp patch in the loft room. If there is some sort of membrane underneath you should be ok until later when you do the extension. But don't blast the water up the tiles, let it come down from above.

[AdeD75]

Thanks, collectors. There is bitumen sarking underneath, so I think I will hope for the best. Not sure I can get a hose up high enough to test for leaks - at least, not without potentially disrupting more tiles. Why hasn't anyone invented a tiling drone that can replace tiles without scaffold yet? :-)