Wet rafters in attic.

sonny liston

Hi folks,


I had a large leak onto my ceiling recently.
Directly below an area with velux window and tile vents in the roof.
The roofers have been back 3 or 4 times times, trying different things with the velux window & vents. Each time the leaks get gradually better.



I would say the issue is 99% better now. But I still see small damp patches where the felt is nailed into the rafters when it rains. It only happens in the area below the tile vents.


I would never have noticed this under normal circumstances.
Is this normal, acceptable?
Or can it cause long term damage?


Cheers.

listermint

The roofers haven't solved the problem. Nails should not be getting wet. That barrier is a last dance safety barrier for water. It looks to be a first barrier for wherever the waters coming from. Could be a cracked tiles. Poorly fitted or sealed vent cover. Multiple things. But needs to be fixed from above

Gumbo

1. You have to try find where the water is getting past the roof tile.
2. Then that should lead to the nail through the felt.

Water may be penetrating up higher and rolling down, unless there’s a damaged tile above the nail location.

beauf

Gumbo wrote: »

1. You have to try find where the water is getting past the roof tile.
2. Then that should lead to the nail through the felt.

Water may be penetrating up higher and rolling down, unless there’s a damaged tile above the nail location.

Ridge tiles even...

jetfiremuck

Roof leaks are never where they appear. More than likely its way above the roof area where the leak is showing. Could be as far to the ridge tiles as posters mentioned.

Gumbo

beauf wrote: »

Ridge tiles even...

Yep could be anything. The bedding joints etc

BryanF

Felt I’d too tight. It’s getting stopped by the batten, BUT as other have said solve the leak.

If there aren’t velux or vents above the point I the picture, then start with the ridge tiles.

sonny liston

Roofers came back.
I'm pretty sure the leak is coming from a tile vent.

The roofer refitted the tile vent, put some silicone around it. Do these normally need sealing like this?



He also removed some moss.
And put some silicone on the ridge tiles for good measure where there were gaps in the cement between the ridge tiles.


Let's see next time it rains......

Gumbo

Silicone not the best product here. It will shrink over time.

sonny liston

Fairly windy and rainy tonight.
Still seeing some damp patches where the felt is nailed into rafters.
Only happening below tiles vents.


Is this acceptable on a night like this?
I know the roofer is going to push back saying this is normal.


Cheers.

sydthebeat

Looks like an extremely shallow pitched roof, and the reason is being driven back up under the roof finish.

Battens probably too far apart for pitch as well

con747

sonny liston wrote: »

Fairly windy and rainy tonight.
Still seeing some damp patches where the felt is nailed into rafters.
Only happening below tiles vents.


Is this acceptable on a night like this?
I know the roofer is going to push back saying this is normal.


Cheers.

Any "roofer" who uses silicone to fix gaps in ridge tiles needs to be questioned about his qualifications in my view. That is not normal and needs to be fixed asap by someone who knows what they are doing in my opinion for what it's worth.

sonny liston

Thanks for the feedback.



I stuck my phone up into the tile vent(not inside the actual tube portion).
Looks to me like the front of the vent is not flush with the neighbouring tiles and I can see daylight.


Could this be the problem?

muffler

That is most likely the source of your problems

Gumbo

sonny liston wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback.



I stuck my phone up into the tile vent(not inside the actual tube portion).
Looks to me like the front of the vent is not flush with the neighbouring tiles and I can see daylight.


Could this be the problem?

Possible light bulb moment there

Fix this and see how it goes.

sonny liston

Despite aligning the tile vent correctly with the other tiles, the issue is still there!

After the heavy rain at the weekend, I now notice damp rafters on the exact opposite side of the roof to the initial damp I noticed.
I only see damp patches on a width of about 4 rafters, and on opposite sides of the roof apex.
Would this indicate an issue with the ridge tiles which are common to both?

Although the damp only appears towards the bottam, away from the ridge.

Cheers.

sydthebeat

Any idea what the pitch is?

sonny liston

I'd say about 45 degree pitch. Seems regular enough.