Finished my roof tiling at last.

[ProDave]

Slightly old news as I finished it about 2 weeks ago, but only just got around to writing it up on the blog.

 

The house roof was finished some time ago, but it's the garage roof that has been waiting while I do more important things like cladding, rendering and drainage.

 

So just to show the finished thing here are a couple of pics.

 

There is more on my blog at http://ardross.altervista.org/Wilowburn/roofing-finally-finished/

 

After fitting something like 1800 tiles to this house, I have 34 tiles left over.  I would say the roofing supplier that specified the quantities from the plans, got it about righrt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[worldwidewebs]

Wow - top job! Wish I had the capability to do that 

[Onoff]

That looks fantastic! Must be great to look up at it with what is I'm sure a great deal of pride and satisfaction. I'd love my roof to look like that.

 

So, Electrician, Roofer, Digger Driver, Lanscape Gardener...............you JUST need to learn how to RENDER!

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2016 by Onoff

[ProDave]

... plumber, joiner, kitchen fitter, chief tea maker and several others no doubt.

 

I have tried plastering and rendering and I just can't do it. We can't all be good at everything so I am paying a man that can.
 

[curlewhouse]

That looks a totally professional job! I'd really like to do my own (got to be natural slate as National Park) but my fear is it would take me so long a gale would come along and rip it all off as it must be pretty vulnerable partway through.  Did you just pick up a book and learn or did you get "lessons" ?  I've actually just started reading "Roof Tiling And Slating, a practical guide" by Kevin Taylor with thoughts of at least trying to do the garage......  

[Declan52]

The hardest bit of tiling the roof is all the work setting the roof out to suit your tile width and the amount of overhang you want. Once you have all the laths on its pretty straightforward, assuming your good at heights.

Never ever get on a roof if you are any way frightened by being up there, its not a safe place too be working with wobbly knees.

Getting the tiles up onto the roof ain't much fun either. No matter how you do it it still involves a lot of man handling.

[Onoff]

37 minutes ago, Declan52 said:

The hardest bit of tiling the roof is all the work setting the roof out to suit your tile width and the amount of overhang you want. Once you have all the laths on its pretty straightforward, assuming your good at heights.

Never ever get on a roof if you are any way frightened by being up there, its not a safe place too be working with wobbly knees.

Getting the tiles up onto the roof ain't much fun either. No matter how you do it it still involves a lot of man handling.

 

Just think how much you've saved on GYM membership though!

[ProDave]

I tiled my first roof 30 years ago when I built a garage in a previous house, totally different sort of tile.

 

This one is interlocking concrete tiles. Same technique as present house. I just watched the roofers when tiling the main house and copied what they did for the garage roof.  So when it came to this house I had already done it before.

 

As above the setting out takes some working out. you have to measure the total length top to bottom and work out how many rows of ties you need.  There is a stated minimum and maximum gauge for the type of tile, and as it worked out the best solution was almost on the maximum gauge for the tile I used.  When setting out the battens, it's easy if you cut two bits of 2 by 2 to just the right length for the gap between battens.

 

I have never tried a slate roof, that would ne doubt be harder, or a different skill to learn. the planners here really wanted me to use slate, but I argued no, the houses either side, in fact all but one in this road had concrete tiles so that is what I wanted to use. the compromise is they approved Marley Edgemere Riven, which is a slightly thinner than normal concrete tile with a surface finish to look ever so slightly like slate when viewed from a distance by someone with less than 20:20 vision. 
 

[Declan52]

12 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Just think how much you've saved on GYM membership though!

I did do it the hard way. My wife, dad and wee lad carried the tiles onto the scaffold and I walked them around the roof. Think there was 2250 tiles so by the end of the day I had buns of steel. 

[ProDave]

I carried them up the ladder, 2 at a time was all I could carry. SWMBO stacked them on the scaffold. Later she passed them from the scaffold up to me on the roof.

 

1800 tiles so 900 trips up the ladder at roughly 10ft up the ladder per trip = 9000ft of ascent up that bloody ladder or 3 Munro's up a ladder.

 

My knees knew it.

 

And that's not including the cut tiles, a fair few more trips up and down the ladder (though before the windows were in, I was climbing into the house to cut them upstairs)

 

 

The only reason I did it myself is lack of money. I had a quote of £3000 to tile the roof and I would gladly have paid that if I could have afforded it. At my own hourly rate that's 120 hours. I am sure it took me a lot longer than 120 hours to tile the entire roof.