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How Often Do Flat Roofs Need Replacing?

When a flat roof needs to be replaced is determined by a number of factors which includes the roof’s exposure to the weather, the condition and age of the roofing materials as well as the construction of the roof. However, with proper maintenance and regular inspection, they should be used for nothing less than 50 years. There are some commonly used types of flat roofs which includes Felt flat roof as well as a GRP flat roof.

Felt Flat Roof

The lifespan of a felt flat roof also varies depending on the quality and grade of the felt roof incorporated. This can make the roof last within the range of 2 to 20 years. More often than not, felt flat roofs are usually installed in such a way to keep the costs down which implies the grades of felts that are mostly used are the economical ones implying a very short lifespan.

In the event whereby a premium grade of felt is incorporated in constructing a roof by professional contractors, will be guaranteed by the manufacturer to last between 10 to 20 years.

One of the major causes of a short lifespan in felts is leaks which should be regularly inspected and repaired once identified. If not, the roof will gradually deteriorate and become a lot weaker due to the action of the sun. However, when a felt roof starts to leak, it’s usually a sign that’s approaching the end of its lifespan and a replacement should be taken into account.

GRP Flat Roof

The GRP flat roof or fibreglass flat roof usually comes with a manufacturer’s guarantee of 20 years and is expected to have a lifespan of a minimum of an additional 10 years.

Unlike felt roofs, they’re more resistant to leaks. However, they should also be regularly inspected for leaks which are caused mostly as a result of installation error rather than the GRP roofing approaching the end of its useful life. If the GRP roof repair does not totally resolve the leak, you should start considering a replacement.

One of the most popular choices for roofing materials are roof slates. There is a number of advantages that a roof slate has, hey can be aesthetically pleasing, they can also increase the potential selling value of the house and many more. Slate is a sturdy and resilient material that delivers waterproofing physical characteristics to a pitched roof. Unlike other roof materials which absorb water slates do not. Therefore, slate is the most resistant towards freezing and water damage.

Find out the pitch of your roof

Before beginning with the fitting procedure, you need to figure out the pitch of your roof. The roof pitch commands how much overlap is essential with each slate. This has been made a lot easier than the early days with the advancement of technology.

Find out the required overlap

Once you’ve found out the exact pitch of your roof accurately, take a look at the slate producer’s description. Each manufacturer will propose the obligatory overlap in order to form a firm and safe slate roof.

Roll out the roof membrane

Firstly, guarantee your joists or trusses are clean of any sheards or old nails that could harm the membrane. You will now have to roll the chosen roofing membrane along the roof trusses. It is always wise to start from one of the bottom corners and keep rolling it along to the other corner.

Secure the roof membrane

Once the membrane has been moved out, use thump nails to protect one edge. You will now have to pull the membrane taut and carefully fix it into position. Do this before adding any nails across the membrane at points of intersection with the trusses for extra stability.

Batten placement

This is done to find the proper assignment of the battens. For this, you will need two full-sized slates along with an under eaves slate. Carefully position the battens on the top of the roof on the top of the overlay. Make sure not to fix them down since it will be easier to move them around and make any adjustments.

Will My Roof Leak With Missing Ridge Tiles?

Your roof is the first line of defence against the elements. Therefore, if you want your home protected at all times, there’s a need to ensure a professional inspection of your home at least once a year. However, there are certain issues that you do not have to wait for a professional to be able to spot by yourself. And an example of this includes a missing ridge tile. This issue is noticeable from the ground level while some tiles may even fall off and notifying you in the process. If you’re currently facing this kind of challenge, you’d probably want to know if the missing ridge tiles can cause your roof to leak. In this article, we aim to answer this question and more. Let’s take a look!

Firstly, there are a number of causes of missing tiles or slates and the most obvious is the weather. When the wind or rain gets very high, it can pull your tiles out of place and even more more, if they weren’t properly installed in the first place. Secondly, there’s also a chance that the nails may wear away. These are the nails that holds your ridge tiles in place, they can rust and wear away, hence leading to missing ridge tiles.

Therefore, the short answer to the question is yes, missing ridge tiles can cause your roof to leak. Even if it doesn’t leave a visible gap in your roof’s covering, it’ll create a break in the roof which weather can easily penetrate. And allowing this to happen makes the other tiles more susceptible to damage which won’t be good for the entire house as well as your pocket. Hence, once you notice a missing ridge tile ensure to have it replaced as soon as possible.

Commercial roofing simply refers to any roofing work, including installation and repair, that is done to commercial buildings. This might include office roofs, shop roofs or commercial unit roofs. Every building needs a roof to keep out the rain!

Since looks aren’t usually the first priority with commercial buildings, lots of commercial properties have flat roofs. These are often made from felt, EDPM rubber or fibreglass. Felt is the cheapest commercial roofing material, while fibreglass tends to be the most expensive. In felt roofs, roofers use an adhesive to stick roofing felt onto a frame. EDPM rubber roofs have a rubber membrane that is laid down and glued onto the roof and coated with a contact adhesive, while fibreglass uses a cut glass fibre mat that is pressed on before a resin and topcoat are applied.

Not all roofing companies will offer commercial roofing services, because generally the buildings tend to be bigger. Small companies won’t have enough tradespeople to work on a roof without making it very expensive for you. Commercial buildings also tend to need more scaffolding to make it safe for the professionals to work, so some smaller roofing companies won’t offer commercial services. Make sure you check a company’s website or social media if you’re looking for commercial roofing – on the Quotatis Directory, our roofers will show whether they do commercial roofing to make your search easier.

How To Clean Moss Off Roof?

Although moss attack on your roof is a less common occurrence, but when they occur they can be very harmful to your asphalt shingles if not attended to. Generally, moss are commonly found in damp environments such as the North slopes, overhanging treses or overhanging regions of the roof which causes shade which enables moisture to be stagnant and moss to develop. If you observe a green fuzzy stuff appearing on your roof, that’s likely to be moss.

The same way algae navigated its way to your roof as they can be airborne and travel via wind, squirrels, birds or other little flying or climbing animals, moss also gets carried similarly. One moss finds its way up your roof, they’ll find spaces between the shingles where they’ll form thick spongy moss which can be difficult to clean off if you don’t know the best way to go about it.

If you’re not a competent DIYer or confident enough to carry out this task, we’d strongly recommend you hire the services of a professional who can guarantee the best results effortlessly.

The best way to go about the cleaning task for both your roof and environment is to incorporate a product called Spray and Forget or Wet and Forget. You can get these at most local hardware stores. Simply put the product into a hose end sprayer and can be applied from the ladder at the edge of the gutter or even from the ground. This method may take a up to 6 months before you’ll start seeing the results but it happens to be the safest. Another method that can be used is bleach and water which is very aggressive but provides a quicker result. However, this is best done by a professional to avoid seriously damaging your roof.

How To Identify Asbestos Roof Tiles

Found in some particular rocks, asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that’s commonly used before the 1990’s as a building material specifically for roofing. This material was banned in the UK as it was discovered to possess harmful fibres which is potentially dangerous to human’s respiratory health when disturbed and inhaled. According to several reports this health conditions include non cancerous lung disease, mesothelioma and asbestosis, which are all untreatable. Therefore, be it in a domestic or industrial setting, there’s the need to know how to identify asbestos and if found, start the removal process as quickly as possible.

While the three types of asbestos used in roof tiles can be quite easy to identify by themselves, a total reverse is the case, when mixed into a tile. Generally roofing tiles that includes asbestos will mostly have colours such as grey, white or blue-white colour, but so does several other roof tiles made from other materials that are totally safe. As a result, the only way in which you can identify if a tile contains asbestos is by looking for an identification mark. These marks are mostly inscribed onto about one in twenty tiles, therefore if you have a strong feeling that your roof tiles contains asbestos, you may have to remove several tiles before you can identify the marked one. Otherwise, the only way you can confirm is by sending a sample to a certified asbestos testing lab. These labs are knowledgeable and possess the right equipment, tools as well as testing kits to determine the levels of asbestos in your premises. With this, you have a better chance of getting quality results than any other means. What’s more? They’ll also recommend expert asbestos removal services if the harmful material is found to be present in your house.

Competent Roofer is a scheme that allows professionals to self-certify that their work is in line with Building Regulations. If you don’t use a registered Competent Roofer, you’ll have to pay your local authority to certify the work, so we recommend you use a Competent Roofer to save yourself extra outlay at the end.