adding copper strip to ridge tiles to remove moss

[Fergus McMenemie]

I have a shallow pan tile roof with over one inch of moss on portions of it. I recently discovered that the combination of moss and frost are destroying some of the tiles. I have tossed on a pile of "weed and feed" which seems to have been very effective at the killing the moss. But I want to add a copper strip along the ridge of the roof to make sure the moss does not come back. In the end I have decided to use a length of 8 mm small bore heating pipe which I will hammer flat. My question relates to the best way of attaching the copper strip to the ridge tiles. The options are to:- drill and screw to the ridge tiles drill and screw to the mortar between the ridge tiles some kind of glue something else I have not thought of

I suspect that the first two would prove unreliable and destructive once moisture and frost get into the screw holes. Glue seems the only other option but I generally have little luck with gluing things. What sort of glue should I use. Also should I glue the copper directly to the tiles or should I use a series or say plastic straps to hold the copper in place (the straps would be glued).

Thanks in adance.... Fergus

[Andrew Gabriel]

Not sure how you concluded the moss would have been involved.

Yes, that will be a one-off effect, but you will have nicely fertilised the tiles, which I imagine will promote the growth of all sorts of things.

Just strip the cores out of some T&E. You don't need anything as large as a copper pipe. A length just stretched from end to end each side of the ridge will probably do (but probably far enough down not to be in contact with the ridge tile mortar which will corrode it).

[Ian_m]

Waste of time, been there done that, didn't even get the T-shirt as they say....

In my last house the non-sunny side of the roof suffer major moss problems, leading to blocked gutters and even other plants moving in eg grass. I placed a "run" of 2.5mm copper core from some old electrical flex across the uppermost tiles after reading somewhere about moss and lichen not liking copper. Possibly made a slight difference on the tiles the wire ran across but within a year or two moss was back across the whole of the roof.

I ended up just sweeping the piles of moss off every couple of years.

[Doki]

It'll be gone fairly sharpish. Eutrophicating the nearest water course...

[Anne Jackson]

The message from [e-mail] (Fergus McMenemie) contains these words:

I own the only company recommended by Marley for the installation of copper ridging. We also supply Marley with copper ridge for new builds.

Contact my grand-daughter Amanda, who runs the office, if you want any advice.

[Fergus McMenemie]

It will hopefull hit my grass lawn on the way:-)

[Fergus McMenemie]

Well a combination of frost and brids picking through the moss for bugs etc occasionally results in chunks of it

[Fergus McMenemie]

A combination of frost and birds picking through the moss for bugs etc regularly results in chunks of it coming loose. The underside of the chunks lying on the ground are lined with little flakes of my roof tiles. I put two and two together...

Yes. I read that adding the copper will not clear a well established bed of moss. The weed and feed is to clear the ground. A pity you dont seem to be able to buy moss killer on its own.

Sounds great. But how do I attach the copper and hold it in place. Have you done this? Do you simply rely on a good fastening at each end of the ridge and tension? The ridge is about 15m long.

Regards!

[Anne Jackson]

The message from [e-mail] (Fergus McMenemie) contains these words:

We use Armillatox - and elbow grease. Don't be tempted to use a power washer, as some of the cowboys do.

We use special fixings, but that's for the copper ridge...

[JohnW]

You can - look for Ferrous Sulphate. Much cheaper...

[JohnW]

PS - but be very careful using this - it can result in a pretty permanent rust stain on concrete, etc. But when you have this applied, re-infestation seems much reduced. :-) I've a "rust" patch on the corner of a paved area that is still clear of moss, relative to the rest, after over a year.

It worked fine on my pebble drive, clearing pretty impacted moss and, since it doesn't have a fertilizer added, doesn't encourage grass and weeds, which are a worse problem. Much cheaper, also...

[Andrew Gabriel]

Products containing it also give dire warnings of making sure you don't walk it indoors onto carpets of get it on your cloths, where the stains will be permanent.

[John Colloff]

On Tue, 8 Jan 2008 10:11:25 -0000, JohnW wrote after:

Would you be kind enough to let me know what proportion of dilution works best please? I got the ferrous sulphate but there were no instructions for using it diluted with water. e.g. level teaspoon or tablespoon with 1 pint of water (?) or whatever today's metric equivalent is.

Thanks in advance, John.

[JohnW]

Around a handful or so per watering can :-)

Perhaps asking on uk.rec.gardening would be of more help? I've go it in liquid form and I think there's a dilution chart on the bottle but I can get to it now, since it's at the back of the shed... AFAICR, I simply added a few caps to a watering can and it worked, but I could easily do a repeat application in the event of a problem, so wasn't too bothered about the dose, given the place I was using it.

However it DOES make a very effective paint for concrete (Iron Oxide) so be careful where you use it - try somewhere not too visible as a trial. It's used to make new concrete planters look like old iron ones...