advice on roof problem

pegasuspub

Hi im looking for advice on a problem with a 30 year old slate roof bungalow with teak/wb plywood-fascia and soffit.. some time ago i noticed water leaking from the soffit into the external light fittings and causing them to fill up,i have since noted water stains on the outside walls where water is coming down from the soffit on the outside wall,and this problem seems to be getting worse.i asked a roofer to look at the roof and he replaced about 30 slates,this has not fixed the problem and i can now see traces of the stains in several places on the back of the house and two places in the front of the house, he looked at the felt inside in the attic and said it seems ok,the house is located near the sea in an exposed location but i never saw this problem in the past,, the rain water appears to be dripping down along the outside wall from the soffit....has anyone seen this before,thanks.

DOCARCH

Form your description it does sound to me like a roofing felt and possibly a slate spacing/headlap issue.

What type of roofing felt is it?

If it's a bitumen type (black) felt, I suspect the roofing felt may have perished (within the eaves) along the line where it meets the fascia (and hangs over into the gutter). This would not be seen from an inspection within the roofspace/attic as the problem may be right down at eaves level.

Basically the roofing felt is your second line of defence in terms off protecting the house from water coming in. If the slate is breached and/or rain water manages to get through the slate - this could be as a result of missing slate or could be as a result of the slates not being correctly fitted in the first place - it hits the felt and runs down into the gutters.

If the felt is perished at the eaves, the rain water does not make it to the gutter and ends up in the eaves and the only way out, for the water, is to run down the walls.

At the worst point, where water is running down the walls, really the last couple of rows of slate should be stripped back and the felt inspected in that area.

Maybe get a better roofer to look!

pegasuspub

thanks for your reply,
how long should a slate roof last ,is there any lifetime.

DOCARCH

The slates should last 50 to 75 years, but, if not fitted correctly or to specification, in particular for your location (i.e. by the sea/exposed to the wind?), the slates may be fine, but rainwater may still be getting in around and under the slates (by wind driven rain).

Slick50

Have you any lead flashing? if this has worked loose, it can chanel water inside the roof, or into the soffit either.

galwaytt

Slick50 wrote: »

Have you any lead flashing? if this has worked loose, it can chanel water inside the roof, or into the soffit either.

Yep - and is it a hip roof ? - the hip flasing/ridge flashing could have been damaged in the recent storms.