OT: Mortar on ridge tiles is crap

[Davey]

We had a roof tile slip from it's supposed attachment with a ridge tile at

5am a few days ago.

I'd normally have a go myself, but I'm no good with heights, so we had a roofer come and fix it, confirming worst case scenario ... the mortar mix which is holding our ridge tiles on has a poor cement content and is crumbling, and our guttering is full of bits of failed mortar which has come loose and fallen off.

All the mortar work on our 9yr old roof needs to be re-done now.

__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4049 (20090501) __________

The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

[Franko]

postage stamp??

[Owain]

My mum's roof tiles were laid on pink plaster. Lasted 20 years though - is that :-) or :-(

Owain

[<me9]

I repaired part of my roof a few years ago (replaced lead valleys that were too long -- 4m in one piece!). As I has further work to do I bedded tiles at the junction where I intended to continue the next year with a weak mix -- about 6:1 -- and it's still going well 9 years later[*], much longer than the original builder's (NHBC registered!) bedding lasted.

I must get up to finish the job before I'm too old!

[*] It has weathered a bit on the apex of the gable, but again, less than that in the mortar between the bricks.

[The Natural Philosopher]

well the task of getting mortar to the baking hot roof is so onerous that lots of roofers reuse it long past its sell by date.

[Davey]

Our house is still covered by the NHBC warantee, but I suspect it's not worthy of wiping my arse on to be honest.

I asked the roofing guy to collect some of the mortar that had collected in the guttering so I could show it to an NHBC inspector, if I can get a claim to go that far. There are some sizeable chunks (the size of a relay race baton) of the stuff and it snaps with ease. Disgraceful on a 9yr old house. One of the guys said that a good storm and most of the ridge tiles could come down.

I see myself with a rather large bill to pay for the house to be scaffolded and all the mortar replaced. It's not covered by insurance, and I will be VERY suprised if the NHBC pay up for it. Gutted, as it were.

Time to get the yellow pages out and get some quotes.

__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4049 (20090501) __________

The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

[Stuart Noble]

database 4049 (20090501) __________

And all for the sake of a litre of pva

[Invisible Man]

database 4049 (20090501) __________

Do houses come under the sale of goods legislation? If so is the vendor of a new house liable for things that fail well before what is a reasonable life expectancy? You could try UK.legal.moderated

[Roger R]

When I came to do this I went to Wikes and found there were a number of options of PVA and I was not sure which one to choose. What type do you recommend?

I chose a non frost proof one in a gallon plastic container and added about a cup of it to each bucketful of mortar. It was quite liquid stuff and so the amount of water needed for the mix was almost nothing. Is this how you would use it?

Roger R

[Stuart Noble]

Ideally you'd paint or spray a 4:1 solution on to the brickwork and do the mortar as normal, or you can add it to the mortar if that's more practical. Either way the pva stops the bricks soaking up the water.

[Onetap]

Liability for negligence continues for 15 years or 5 years from the date of the negligence being discovered ISTR.

[Andy Champ]

Worth a go. We got a new bath out of it some years ago. Cheapskate builders had painted the wall then tiled on top - saved the edging I suppose - except a tile fell off and punctured the bath...

Andy

[Davey]

Exactly. For the sake of a little more work or material, the have made a cockup of our entire roof.

__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4050 (20090503) __________

The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

[Davey]

Well, I have submitted an "enquiry" via the NHBC website. I'll have to wait and see what happens. If the NHBC crap out, then I will have to get the job done myself, stump up for it and then see if I can take the builders (national beginning with a P) to the small claims court under the reasonable life expectancy clause of what I believe is a trading standard (??).

If I have to go down the legal route, would it be of benefit to get someone in and pay them to do a survey on the roof before any work is undertaken? If so, would a surveyor or roofing contractor be best?

Here's some snaps I took of the roof to show what a state it's in. Bear in mind this house was built in yr 2000.

__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4050 (20090503) __________

The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Davey" saying something like:

Holy Shite! That's fecking awful. I hope you caught the bastard who vandalised your alarm box.

[Peter Parry]

Not quite so simple. Where the action is commenced in relation to a breach of contract, the limitation period will normally be six years for a simple contract and twelve years if the contract is executed as a deed.

Section 14A of the 1980 Limitation Act provides that the claimant in an action for negligence now has the benefit of an extended limitation period where he or she is unaware of the relevant facts necessary to make a claim. The extended period is three years from the date when the plaintiff first had the knowledge required for bringing an action for damages, with an absolute limit of 15 years from the date of the negligent act or omission.

If a previous owner had ever commented upon the state of the roof the extended period would not apply.