First Row Of Roof Tiles

[annieigma]

Hi All,
We are about to tile, the battens in place, sarking done. Just noticed that the tiles were are bonding ours to, the first row have no front support except for the facia board, which means they sit at an acute angle, downwards., whereas the next row then don't sit too well on top of them, and you can see up under the second row to the sarking quite clearly, which makes me think if the rain was blowing towards them it might well go up over the first tile and into the sarking/roof cavity. the existing tiles seem to fit together well, whereas our reclaimed ones aren't such a good fit. should we raise the front tiles to get a better seal/join, or cement the gaps when they are laid? Also, had a wasps nest dealt with today in the loft of the main house, should we be putting anything in place to stop them getting into the new roof? thanks
Annie.

[The Builder]

Annie. The first course of tiles should always "look up" slightly. ie they should have a lesser slope that the ones above them. Since there is no tile underneath them, this is done either with a double thickness first batten, or a high fascia board.

There should be no gap between first course and second course. Certainly no pugging with sand & cement.

Easy to do with your new tiling. Your problem is going to be how to marry the new into the old (side by side), since the old ones are looking down, and the new is a lesser pitch. Perhaps you can do something to lift a few of the old so they gradually run into the new, correct pitch. If not, you may have to be "creative" with a piece of lead to join the two sections Not easy, and not attractive.

I tend to have the opinion that wasps, as with mice etc, will always get in somewhere if they want to. Modern sarking felts do make it very difficult for wasps to get in now. Before breathable felts, old-type roof ventilators were always the best way in for insects. You don't have them now.

[annieigma]

Hi Builder,
thanks for the reply. I did consider we would have to taper and lift some of the existing tiles to get to the correct angle. the existing ones seem to have a rubber strip under them with serrated legs, quite flexible, hanging into the gutter, rather than sarking. Also, when we ran a line of tiles, we found the end tile was an 1"short of where the soffit will be, I.E. stopped an 1" away from the wall end. can we buy half tiles, or tiles and a half etc?
thanks again for your assistance,
annie.

[The Builder]

I can't remember exactly which tiles you have Annie. I'm pretty sure they're concrete interlocking ones though.

Most have a 3mm tolerance, allowing you to "stretch" the tiling by 3mm per tile. You'd need to nudge 8 or 9 tiles to get your inch back. Try that first.

If no luck there... you will need some "tile & a halves". Usually available for concrete ones. Remember to ask for Left or Right handed tiles, whichever you need.

If only an inch short, then you won't need halves. I'm guessing that the tiling has perpendicular joints? ie it's NOT "broken bond, as in brickwork, but the perps are all in a vertical line?

Ok so far?

[annieigma]

Hi Builder,
all correct. they are redland 49 ( although some have a different name on but appear to be identical) yes, straight line from top to bottom, and I see what you are saying about tolerance, I can bash them all together and they tighten up. Getting back to the first row problem, do they all usually rest on the facia board, or, as you said, can i put an extra batten on the joists to raise them but leave the facia board where it is, or would this cause a problem visually?
thanks again,
annie.

[The Builder]

A double batten is just an alternative way of doing it, Annie.

You don't want an excessive gap between the tiles and the fascia though, because you need to fix the gutter brackets there.