Hello, I own a Victorian terrace that I am looking to get a new Spanish tile roof put on. I have converted the loft a few years ago with numerous velux windows installed. I have had a few quotes now and seem to be getting conflicting information from company’s regarding the windows. Due to the new roof laths being 1inch instead of the tradiontional 3/4inch I have been told by some companies that the windows would need to be removed and I will be left with a 1/4 gap around the windows inside. Other companies have told me they can taper the laths down at the veluxs to fit around the existing velux windows without the need to remove them. I gave this information to a company that told me the window would need to be removed and they said they had never heard of this and it would cause a gulley towards the velux and cause leaks. Obviously I would like to avoid removing the velux windows if possible as I have the loft room decorated to a good standard. Any advise would be great. Thanks
I'm a carpenter not a roofer, but I cannot imagine a scenario where tapering battens to fit existing Velux locations would be a feasibly good idea. It's not much grief to remove the windows without much damage, just have to go inside and run a Stanley knife along the plasterboard that's slotted in and remove the screws on the outside. Yes it's a small pain, but you will then get peace of mind that you'll have no water ingress. Basically it comes down to which company will guarantee you have no rain coming in after their re-roof.
I'm with Jord,always better to remove the windows, you might need a replacement flashing for the window though, hard to say without being there to have a nosey. Be careful, Velux changed their windows a few years ago,new ones easier flashing & installation, so make sure you know which ones you have. Tapering battens to fit existing Velux windows is a bad idea.
Why remove the windows though? Any good roofing company would be able to complete the job effortlessly.
You might get way with leaving window in place, just the flashing to sort,depends how it was all done.
Oh no not more conflicting info agh. Seems a lot of disruption for an Baton that is 1/4 inch thicker but what do I know
Why would you want to change a Welsh Slate roof to replace it with Spanish Slates? Welsh Slates are far superior to Spanish Slates. If the roof does need re-doing why not save all the good slates and buy second hand to replace the bad ones. A roof with reclaimed slates will last just as long if done properly.
Pick a roofing company you are comfortable with rather than price driven, go with their knowledge, and ensure you have a written guarantee off them. Whether you take advice off a building forum or not, it's not us doing the job for you.
Hi thanks for the response. The roof replacement is more to do with recent leaks which have come to light due to having the loft converted. I’m looking for the roof to be redone with the breathable membrane which will ensure no water gets through.
Right, hang on a minute. You shouldn't have leaks due to the loft being converted, if anything it should be the other way around. How many Velux did you have installed in your Victorian terrace, how long ago did you have it converted, is there a bathroom up there now, and did the conversion company install vent slates among the old slates when doing the work? More questions to follow.....
The loft was converted last year with no bathroom. There were no vent slates installed. We haven’t lived in the house very long and only when it pours down all day we now notice damp patches in the loft. We have 6 windows installed (4 made up of 2 long windows). To be fair to the house the roof is 114 years old and the loft was never designed to be habited. In hiensite a new roof at the time of the loft being converted would have been a good idea but never mind.
Where in the room are the damp patches located? The reason I asked is that most builders with half a brain would look at a 114 year old house and roof that's about to have half a dozen new Velux fitted and immediately recommend a new roof alongside your conversion, as the bulk of the old roof is about to get mullered, adjusted and tweaked to fit the new, so for the sake of the remaining it would make sense to redo the lot.
All over plus the offshoot of the roof is the bathroom and that also gets damp patches when raining heavily. Unfortunately the builders were less than interested in the car ndition of the roof prior to work.
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