Roof repair advice

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spanishbuddha

Airman
26
5
Oct 26, 2021
I have recently moved into a 100yo house. The felted slate tile roof seems in very good nick and the survey at time of purchase found no problems. Recently we developed dampness in a bathroom and a roofer had a look and did some repairs to pointing around a chimney at a corner of the house and adjusted the lead in some way. There was exceptionally heavy rain for days before the damp appeared in the bathroom and he said he thought rain was getting in under the tiles at the edges when it was very windy. He said he was 95% sure this would solve the problem which was obviously chronic as there was some damage (rot) to some of the wooden beams in the roofspace, just at the corner of the house, but 'nothing serious'. The latter has alarmed me somewhat and I went up to roofspace for a closer look. The main beams seem fine and are obviously treated, but there is some rotten wood right at the corner, underneath where bricks from an unused chimney begin and also behind an adjacent gutter. I suspect the fascia board is rotten and can see the white gutter through a small hole in it, again confined to this corner of the roof alexandria roofer. One foot away from this area, the wood seems sound.
Apologies firstly for my somehwat vague and ill-informed description of the problem. I have no expertise or experience in this field (or diy in general!) and hence am looking for some advice and hopefully reassurance. Does this sound like a major problem which I need someone else to look at for a second opinion, or does a little rotten wood under an otherwise very stable-seeming chimney require no intervention at this stage other than to fix the leaking roof causing it? I am awaiting rain to see if the latter has been successful but regardless have concerns about the wood damage. Roofer seemed knowledgeable and trustworthy but I have no idea about these things.
 
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I have recently moved into a 100yo house. The felted slate tile roof seems in very good nick and the survey at time of purchase found no problems. Recently we developed dampness in a bathroom and a roofer had a look and did some repairs to pointing around a chimney at a corner of the house and adjusted the lead in some way. There was exceptionally heavy rain for days before the damp appeared in the bathroom and he said he thought rain was getting in under the tiles at the edges when it was very windy. He said he was 95% sure this would solve the problem which was obviously chronic as there was some damage (rot) to some of the wooden beams in the roofspace, just at the corner of the house, but 'nothing serious'. The latter has alarmed me somewhat and I went up to roofspace for a closer look. The main beams seem fine and are obviously treated, but there is some rotten wood right at the corner, underneath where bricks from an unused chimney begin and also behind an adjacent gutter. I suspect the fascia board is rotten and can see the white gutter through a small hole in it, again confined to this corner of the roof. One foot away from this area, the wood seems sound.
Apologies firstly for my somehwat vague and ill-informed description of the problem. I have no expertise or experience in this field (or diy in general!) and hence am looking for some advice and hopefully reassurance. Does this sound like a major problem which I need someone else to look at for a second opinion, or does a little rotten wood under an otherwise very stable-seeming chimney require no intervention at this stage other than to fix the leaking roof causing it? I am awaiting rain to see if the latter has been successful but regardless have concerns about the wood damage. Roofer arlington va seemed knowledgeable and trustworthy but I have no idea about these things.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
 
Good luck. I'm not a roof guy either. I do know my stepfather had a roof issue that he refused to have repair and it just got worse over 15 years to the point the ceilings collapsed from all the water damage. Please get it inspected before it gets bad or the mold starts spreading.
 
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
Find someone who has had extensive renovations done to their home. No matter what was done, but a contractor they gush about the quality and cleanliness of their work.

THAT contractor will know the best roofer around and there is your best recommendation for a roofer. My contractor has the best contacts when I need something done He does not do. And we got His name from a coworker who had him remodel their home. We have used him to do work on our 65 year old home. He has done 8 small to medium projects for us. But I am in Oz!
 
It's possible the unused chimney is the cuprit. If the mortar between the bricks has failed, water could be getting in there. We had that problem at our old house. The chimney needed to be replaced. Among the problems was the clay flue tiles had collapsed which allowed water to reach the inner layers of brick.
 
Agree with the above. Water will find a way in if the chimney isn't fixed properly. I don't know how much rot you have but with continued dampness it will only get worse. A roofer may have limited ability to fix brickwork or timber structure so get a reputable biilder to look at the situation. Better to fix it properly now than to deal with a bigger mess later.
 
Find someone who has had extensive renovations done to their home. No matter what was done, but a contractor they gush about the quality and cleanliness of their work.
THAT contractor will know the best roofer around and there is your best recommendation for a roofer. My contractor has the best contacts when I need something done He does not do. And we got His name from a coworker who had him remodel their home. We have used him to do work on our 65 year old home. He has done 8 small to medium projects for us. But I am in Oz!
THAT contractor will know the best roofer around and there is your best recommendation for a roofer. My contractor has the best contacts when I need something done He does not do. And we got His name from a coworker who had him remodel their home. We have used him to do work on our 65 year old home. He has done 8 small to medium projects for us. But I am in Oz! try this company for roofing www.roofersofarlington.com
thank you so much for your suggestion
 
Agree with the above. Water will find a way in if the chimney isn't fixed properly click. I don't know how much rot you have but with continued dampness it will only get worse. A roofer may have limited ability to fix brickwork or timber structure so get a reputable biilder to look at the situation. Better to fix it properly now than to deal with a bigger mess later.
also thank you for your suggestion. sorry for the late response
 
Funny coming back to this thread. We just had gutters replaced in front, 59 years old tile, by the Third bidder.
First two wanted to replace some tiles, gutter guards, some other work.
Third noted the gutters had a bow Up in the middle and were quite deteriorated. Suggested deeper gutters, increase fall angle to drain quicker and fix some attachment points of pole wires. Thinking outside the box got him the job. Very satisfied.
 
Funny coming back to this thread. We just had gutters replaced in front, 59 years old tile, by the Third bidder.
First two wanted to replace some tiles, gutter guards, some other work.
Third noted the gutters had a bow Up in the middle and were quite deteriorated. Suggested deeper gutters, increase fall angle to drain quicker and fix some attachment points of pole wires. Thinking outside the box got him the job. Very satisfied.
Great minds think alike.
 

View: https://youtu.be/WnWO76sf7og Funny coming back to this thread. We just had gutters replaced in front, 59 years old tile, by the Third bidder. First two wanted to replace some tiles, gutter guards, some other work. Third noted the gutters had a bow Up in the middle and were quite deteriorated. Suggested deeper gutters, increase fall angle to drain quicker and fix some attachment points of pole wires. Thinking outside the box got him the job. Very satisfied. www.peachtreerestorations.com

thank you. i got my solution
 
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