Leaky Flat roof

hughm

Hi, my garage roof leaks in 2 places, 1 right in the centre of the roof and 1 over by the external garage door.

Unfortunately the one in the centre is right on the halogen light fitting so this can no longer be switched on without making a loud POP sound sparking and tripping all the switches.

ANy advice on a cheap and easy way to firstly stop the leak?

Is there sime Ronseal product that i can simply buy for €100 or less that will 'fill' in an gaps that are allowing water ingress ?????

Thanks

Hotwheels

It all depends on what type of flat roof it is, I'm guessing felt?
How big are the holes/cracks? for very small cracks/holes I've used Flash band heating it and sticking it in place.
But repairs like this last only a short time...

Any idea on how long the roof has been in situ, and what was used under the felt (if its felt ya have) , if its plywood not so bad, if its chipboard, then that's a whole different story....

Ideally the part that's leaking should be cut out and repaired properly...even plywood rots if left too long...And the longer its left the higher the repair costs.

Any chance of some pictures to see what the damage is....
Good luck with repairs

hughm

Hi Hotwheels thanks for the interest.

I will take some pics internal and external over the weekend and post them up. I have no idea what the roof cover it is made from. It is NOT material.

The house is from 1958, There is a side passage (which extends from the back of the garage) was covered in i'm guessing 10-15 yrs ago by previous occupant during a small extension. At that stage I imagine the whole lot was recovered as the extension, side passage and garage roof all appear to be covered with the same substance. It is a dull silvery colour in appearance.

The garage roof is bare concrete on the inside. I cannot identify any cracks or holes internally but you can identify where the water ingress is. Drips form and drop down to the floor.

I appreciate that the holes on top may not necessarily be directly above. I haven't examined the topside of the roof. Will do when taking pics.

FunkyDa

I have used Thompsons Roof Seal on my corrugated asbestos garage roof, in the past. It's a type of rubberised paint that will "drape" over small cracks, and subsequently dry as a gap cover. Depending on the size of the crack, you might need to apply several coats.

hughm

thanks funkyda... i presume that it worked then?

that is the kind of paint on solution i was looking for.

Reyman

I have a concrete garage roof and it leaks now and then.

I use Thompson's roof seal and it works well. Two coats should get rid of any problem. It has to be applied in dry weather as far as I remember.

It will probably need to be redone in 5-6 years.

hughm

Thanks guys here are some external photos. I think I can see a few problem areas where the cover is broken etc,

The roof
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/margey/IMG_0981.jpg

Problem area???
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/margey/IMG_0985.jpg

Also breaking up here in the middle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/margey/IMG_0984.jpg

This appears to be a drain pipe
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/margey/IMG_0987.jpg

comments welcome

hughm

Can anyone confirm if the bits in the photos are my leaky bits?

Thanks.

Reyman

Looking at those photos i'm not sure Thompson's roof seal will do the job. It's more of a thick paint which fixes minor leak problems.

I think you need some kind of mastic which will fill fairly deep cracks and set level or above the surface. I should know the name of the stuff but can't remember just at the moment

hughm

thanks Reyman, if you think of the name of the stuff please let me know.

rooferPete

Hi Hugh,

The roof looks like it's had it's day, 2 mm fibreglass underlay with no primer and overheated at the laps, not too old either.

One note of warning :

Any "miracle in a can" that you use will have a very limited life and may cost you more when getting the roof stripped also unless you cover the whole roof chances are even higher it won't work.

There are a few products on the market if you want to try them, some emulsion based and others oil based, the difference being emulsion based can run off if it rains within about 4 hours, the oil based products will take a few days to cure completely.

On a Health and Safety Note :

If you step in the coating when it's wet you can find yourself on the ground at speed, another being wear old clothes you are bound to get covered in the stuff.

Looking at the size of the roof at a guess I would say you need two 20 litre cans (possibly more), take a look at Aquaseal and Colas both do a range of coatings, at a push I would say you may have a chance with Colas All Weather Brush.

Personally I would advise that you get it recovered before the deck starts to rot, if it's chipboard it will collapse between the joists.

.

hughm

Thanks rooferpete and welcome back, I believe you were away for a while.

I very much appreciate your advice.

My options are

1) patch it up for the next 2 years and get it done properly

OR

2) get it done professionally now.

1 is more attractive now as we have blown our budget on an extension but I have absolutely no idea how much option 2 would cost.

Roof is about 16' by 10'. It is concrete. Any idea how much I should pay to get it recovered.

Also can i do my roof without doing my neighbours roof?

rooferPete

Hi Hugh,

Option 2 would be my choice / advice because I know that flat roofs are very difficult to seal even on a temporary basis, you could be throwing good money away on expensive sealers.

As to prices I have always had a rule about not going there for a number of reasons.

Regarding your neighbour, I suggest you speak to them, they may be asking themselves the very same question.

Whatever you do make sure you let them know that you are going to have work done on your roof that will mean joining on to their roof.

Assuming their roof is similar in size to yours it should actually make getting both done at the same time cheaper.

.

hughm

Thanks rooferpete, i guess I need to get a quote. I know another boards.ie member who has a couple of roofers in his family. I will ask give him a shout.

At least if it is too expensive for now, I know what i need to do myself in the shortterm.