I was scraping moss off a single storey extension roof last weekend and noticed that one tile has a hole in the top surface. The hole doesn't go all the way through so I am inclined to fill it to stop water getting in and freezing.
What would make the best filler for this application? - the tile is of the interlocking cast (are they some form of concrete?) variety.
I know tile replacement would be best, but I suspect I'm more likely to increase the amount of roof damage than reduce it!
Wicks do a roofing mastic at a good price - seems to stick to anything and never sets hard. I've used it for sealing a variety of things. It's silicone rubber based.
And after its set some kind of elastic rubbery paint in the colour of the roof to disguise it, after all it will help stop the water getting back in for a while. It seemed to work on a neighbours roof, but that was some years back. Brian
Most roof tiles are only nailed at around every fifth course, so if you're lucky, all you have to do is slide a couple of tiles up at the top of the damaged one and lift it out (you'd use the same method to remove the nails if the tiles were fixed at that course), renew the tile and then slide the other tiles back over it - job done.
On a single storey roof, you shouldn't have much of a problem with damage, access etc and the job is done for the next 30 years or so - and far better than buggering around with the ubiquitous bodge-job of mastic! [1]
Just very recently I 'assisted' [2] my sister-in-law's husband on a similar job on their moss-covered, 40 year old single storied extension - and spent more bloody time in trying to get him to fit copper strips at ridge level as a long-term job to kill the moss than replacing the couple of busted tiles and a bit of leadwork.
[1] In my opinion and experience, you'll do most damage when your walking (or crawling) over the roof rather than replacing a tile or two - and after you've used the mastic, the likelihood is that you'll be back up there replacing the tile quite soon anyway.
[2] I actually did the bloody job as it turned out and both SiL and SWMBO reckoned it was great fun watching two rickety and arthritic, grumpy old pensioners climbing ladders and crawling about the roof, arses sticking in the air and moaning about our aching joints - but the bottle of Jack Daniel's anaesthetic that they produced after we finished the job worked well to relieve the aching joints - and SWMBO even 'volunteered' to do the driving home so that I could have bigger doses of the medicine. (vbg)
And I must reluctantlt admit that, that experience made me realise how bloody glad I now am that SWMBO 'persuaded' me to open my wallet and fork out a few grand to have OUR roof replaced back last year by some rather fitter and younger tradesmen!
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