144 House Near Archi Abruzzo Needs Roof Repairs

libero... italian scaffolding has to be regulation size....you have to be insured to erect it and if you are repairing or redoing a roof to uk spec it will be illegal.... ie will collapse at the first earth tremor.....

self builds here are not easy and any structural work you do especially regarding roofs requires more work than you might believe before going ahead..... ofetn you put in the new roof structure and recover the final layer with the older tiles... but it is the roof structure that is the problem.... that will need a definite check by the local commune to say that it is all to italian spec.... and generally with italian planning permission and registered italian builders

Thanks for your reply
I will be using a scaffolding company to erect it, I was wondering how they charge and how much?
The roof leaks, I wanted the bulders to use a breathable membrane felt and battern then nails the tiles down to stop future movement of the tiles.

libero....

to tell you the honest truth the question of cost is impossable to answer.... i dont think you will be allowed to work off any scaffolding that is erected yourself.....

if its just a retiling job i think you will find that nails and battens are not often used....if its an older property and you are lifting and putting back on the tiles they are generally laid in three layers... some facing up to drain the water...from the ones facing down.... sort of hard to describe.... the problem is you have most probably got wooden roof beams... when they lift the roof you might well find the damp has gone into the beams....then you get into a much more difficult area.... older houses are not built to todays norms and regulations.... there are very strict rules on the structure now of roof building... basically i think the roof has to act as an anchor or support for the walls in the case of an earth tremor.... and also to maintain its integrity... so it doesnt drop on your head....

you will i think be better off getting a local technician in to give a quote on what has to be done.... as in england...dont rely on one... get a couple....neighbours with good solid roofs are always the best ones to ask....for reccomendations....

in any building work we have had done...i think you will find prices pretty much comparable with england..... we have had good and bad... luckily we used the bad ones on minor work and seeing the state of it soon rejected them....we have managed now to get an excellent builder,plumber and electrician..... have a good geometra and get on well with the local commune....so if your roof is a major job then try and get a minor job done by someone first... to check them out.... after all that.... you might try getting to hear of a local who is a builder...get them to come along and see whats to do...they might well run up on your roof... bang a few tiles into place and the whole thing will be fixed in a day....cause sometimes if you try the building company way... youll be sure to need a new roof...l

john is quite right.You cannot hire and erect your own scaffolding,work on your own roof,or build to any other than the specifications set out by the Regione Abruzzo.These will almost certainly have anti sismic requisites.As to even have the work done you will need a geometra to draw up plans including all specifications to submit to the local municipality.You will have to employ an official building company these normally take care of the scaffolding our builders for example rather than charging us a rent for this charged us a forfeitary sum for scaffolding and the erection of and dismantling at the end.This is a delicate matter do not think you will be allowed to do this yourself or with friends etc

We are going through this ourselves at the moment.

The previous posts are correct in that you need planning permission to repair a roof (and a geometra and drawings and a building firm for the application). However, some building firms will let you register yourself as a labourer and work on their scaffolding thus cutting the cost down.

There are also different rules depending on the state of your roof. Part of ur house has no roof. This section must be done according to all the rules mentioned above - anti-seismic precautions etc. The part that has an existing roof is not a replacement, merely a repair and therefore can be done outside these rules.

We have a problem at the moment in that the builders want to replace all of the roof beams (expensive and we will lose much character) as they are not straight and they cannot pour concrete onto crooked beams. We say "then don't pour concrete". If we have an earthquake, I would rather have 50 coppi tiles fall on my head than several tonnes of concrete roof structure! We have yet to persuade them this is sensible but we will struggle on.

I would be very interested to hear if anyone else has had the same problem and what they did about it.

Thanks for all your advice

Our contractor wants us to keep our wooded beams and just replace the rotten one, he points out that a wooded roof is lighter that a concrete one and doesn't collapse in a huge slab and crushing everything underneath :eek: and a vaulted ceiling looks better which suits us fine,
It's just I want to check that I know the cost of Big Ticket Items like scaffolding, diggers and cranes, I working on a very tight budget.
Labour cost I've got three large brothers who could definitely do with plenty of exercise like digging hole, pushing wheel barrow and moving rumble. :D

We had to repair/replace our roof which had suffered from leaks for several years before we purchased the house. The geometra got an engineer to look at the roof and advise re which beams we could re-use and which ones needed replacing to confirm with all the seismic rules. Most could be reused but some did need to be replaced. Therefore it may be worth getting in an engineer to have a look and give an independent opinion. When the builders came to do the work, they moved beams around to ensure that all the new ones were together in one room and therefore the rest of the house still has the old more characteristic beams. Some are 'odd' shapes but any curves did not present a problem as to fill any gaps between the beams and the flat tiles small pieces of wood (not noticeable)were used to ensure that everything fitted together neatly. Concrete was used somehwere on top of the flat tiles along with the insulating material prior to the curved tiles beign replaced. One thing we did not do, and should have done, was to have the old beams sand blasted to clean them. Don't know why it did not occur to us to do so at the time, I suppose we were too busy thinking of other things, but I would certainly recommend you consider having it done. Fortunately they are not ugly and are all the same colour.
Our engineer was based in Macerata.
Good luck
Anne2

I forgot to add that friends hung onto all their old 'condemed' beams (oak) and got a local carpenter to use them to make a dining table and other bits of furniture.
Anne2

The concrete everybody is talking about is really a 4cm mesh reinforced screed used to give the roof a more "even" fall, but more importantly consolidate the roof as a composite structure that can better take and distribute loads.
Generally anti-seismic requirements will also foresee the insertion of a ring beam at eaves level.... this starts to get pretty expensive.
The scaffolding should be placed all around the roof perimeter with an estimated cost of about 10 to 12euro/m2.

David
[url]www.ourtoscana.com[/url]

I off to sign the final contract on Wednesday thanks for all your help, I will be speaking the to geometra and project manager.
I let you know how I get on.

After 22 hrs drive to Abruzzo got to house emptied the contents of the car into the house at this point I noticed that some of the furniture was missing but other items that the owner said she was taking where still there, no problem I speak to them a the signing in the morning and it was only a really old tatty sofa bed.

At the signing I could be bother to make a fuss mistake number one.
Anyway house is mine, they ask if I’m going back to the house I said I doubt it because I going to take my cousin home back to Venafro, we’ll probably eat and sleep they, mistake number two.

Dropped my cousin off and returned to our house, anyway it’s now about 11.00 pm and we could hear people at the front door.
I open the front door the find the old owner, daughter and son-in-law, looking for bed because they hadn’t finish removing them belonging.
They then try to tell me that I should have told them that I was going to stay at my own house and I ended up apologising, and offering them a bed for the night.

The following morning they start packing all the belonging and filling they very large van.
More of they family start turning up and they start removing furniture that was in the price all hell breaks out we start auguring about what was in the price and what wasn’t
After phone conversation with the agent and showing them in writing in the Compromesso that all her furniture was included in the price, she agreed that all her furniture was staying the furniture she was taking belonged to her son, now it’s really kicks off more phone calls plus checking all the paperwork more phone calls, good job I brought a Italian sim card, after a lots grief she took a wardrobe and couple of Z beds.
The moral of this story make sure you check the wording in any contract and don’t trust frail little old lady dressed in black clucking a rosary.

Hi ya
Just to let you know that the quote for the cost of repairing my roof as now go for 5,000 Euro to 10,000 Euro, because my Project Manager now tell me that it would be better and simpler to replace the whole roof and he would send me the Project with new costing, that was over three weeks ago so he’s in for the Sir Alan Sugar treatment next time I out there :mad: .

But the good news is that a neighbour who is also a builder agrees with me and the Geometra that the repair is the best option.

Only problem he’s to busy at the moment to do the work himself, but will give us any help and advise in he’s spare time, a neighbour and friend of his cut the grass, trim the olive trees and took the rubbish away and they refuse to take any money.

I’ve found that all the locals are so friendly and helpful; I’m looking forward to spending more time in Abruzzo :) :) :) .