Repairing our roof

hi, i'd say it's not a question of "someone with balls" up there.to do a proper job they would have to errect scaffolding with protected sidewalks to start with.if when tiles come off the roof leaks means that the roof has no waterproofing which should be considered,and therefore probably no proper insulation which could seriously adffect your heating costs.IF people are found working on a roof with out the foreseen protection there can be serious consequences not only for them.I would seriously consider getting the whole job done properly also because should you ever come to sell the place a good insulated impermeabilised roof will seriously effect your selling price, apart from health and safety considerations. 

Re-fixing ridge tiles is a relatively simple process - but be careful of the risk of falling! This video .........      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTkocnWCl3c........gives an idea how to do it yourself. Chat to your neighbours - they may know a local 'handyman' who will do it. My roof is unlined [just tiles and battens], and I have easily replaced broken and missing tiles They are the interlocking tiles - they look a bit like these http://www.cunialcyprus.com/marsigliese.html  but are not nailed in position.I replace them from underneath the roof - the tiles just slide in and out easily, with a little lug that catches on the batten that stops them sliding 'down and out'.

How big is your roof Fox?

We bought an old stone house and the roof was the first thing to get repaired.Unfortunately the geometra associated with a well know Estate Agency in Pescara engaged a local team of cowboy builders whose handiwork - after 4 years is starting to let in water so we are now facing another 1,500 euros to have some remidial work done.So be very careful if you do need to employ a builder to do the work.Scaffolding is expensive - your 1,000 euros should just cover that never mind the work and materials.Is there a seismic band already built in ? If not you will need one but I suppose that if you dont want to sell and rent your house you can live in it yourself without one ?I'm not sure what the law is in these cases.

 I know the thing is to put the water proof and or insulation layer in once the tiles are off on the ancient houses. However,people in my Tuscan village who have had their roofs done like this, say up to 20 years ago are now having them start to leak. Why - because this plastic membrane stuff basically degrades in the ferocious tuscan sun. i have a 500 year old roof that I can see daylight through at certain angle because of bits of missing grout and the angles of the coppietc. I have lived under it for 6 years now had one drop of rain once and i poked a stick through and gently eased the coppi back into place and hey-fixed. You might be able to do it from underneath like that.? The Inglese and their agents are neurotic about getting roofs done if you ask me. I should try and live with it for a while but if you do take the tiles off and reposition them more evenly I would think twice about the ubiquitous rete or nylon membrane. The ancient roofs were designed to work without it and they do-very well. PS around 4000euros strikes me as a good price for that job and you cant really do it without ponteggio and permessos and its dangerous to send people up without the scaffold's safety,balls or not! If this price includes the scaffolding then its an absolute bargain-the scaffolding is a huge part of the costs for roofs.  shas

I think that the best thing that you can do is to get a few detailed quotes and compare figures.

You would be much better having the roof repaired properly, with insulation and waterproofing. The logistics of having a " quick fix " may be okay, if it's just a holiday home used for the summer months, but if for living on a long term basis then it would be false economy just to save a few thousand.

 any full roofing work here might well be subject to new rules regarding efficiency of insulation .. there are heaps of new legislative conditions on how and what can be done... i would think it might even be likely that even a DIA on this sort of work would be subject to any work being carried out to fulfil new norms regarding thermal efficiency.. for sure windows.. and would have thought a roof refit would fall within the same category of workregarding safety...  there are laws in many regions now that also insist on not only the scaffolding...(national) but also a number of fixed points in the roof where safety ropes can be attached so that workers on a roof  can wear safety harnesses and lines whilst working.. these are safety rules that are for sure current here now in Abruzzo and this was not the first region to apply them..so agree with Badger... even without the laws a roof here with no insulation or waterproofing makes so little sense i can hardly believe its contemplated.. how do you sleep under a roof that bakes to plus 50c in the summer or drops to minus temps in the winter...holiday home??? sounds more like hell

We have a 4mm bitumen membrane with cork insulation. Would not recommend plastic as it does degrade quicker. There is always the additional option of getting the builders to put a waterproofing additive into the cement screed as a 2nd line of protection.

as long as if it works for you...  am happy

"how do you sleep under a roof that bakes to plus 50c in the summer or drops to minus temps in the winter...holiday home??? sounds more like hell" Mine has 4+ inches of concrete ceiling below it - so there is no problem [although,  I could lay 6" of polystyrene on it if I lived there all the time - but only as a heating cost reducer]

Fox, your quoted price looks very good value to me. But i'd investigate other insulation methods if I were you as other people have said on here.

Hi Fox Do you still sign on to this website?  Would really like to speak to you about your roof - could you send me a pm as we have a similar  problem.