Gaps between Roof Concrete Tiles

ppp13 on 03/06/2018 - 19:55

Guys, Need your help here.
Got a new house. Recently went up to my roof just to check. Noticed one issue about roof tiles.
When I look from outside of my house - everything looks exactly perfect, I could not observe any problem. But from inside roof cavity, I could see small gaps between the tiles around 1 to 2 cm. These gap(s) present only in certain places of house like mostly edges of the house.

1) I don't think rain water can enter from these gaps but not sure exactly. Is that a problem ?
2) Is it a serious issue? Do I need to talk with my builder ?
3) How would I approach them knowing any how they will try to tell some thing to avoid ?

Please see the pic at https://imgur.com/a/JmijFid

Please guide me what to do if it is a problem.
Thanks

Home & Garden

Comments

  • tryagain on 03/06/2018 - 20:08
    +1

    Some gaps are normal, it is hard to tell from the pics if yours are or arent but if you are worried about rain, go up and check when it's pouring down

  • Ash-Say on 03/06/2018 - 20:10

    That's interesting. I recently checked my roof and there is metal sheet and tiles are sitting on top.

    Why your tiles are directly sitting on roof?

    • BertieBrown on 03/06/2018 - 20:17

      That’s called sarking, it’s a type of insulation material that is placed between the battens and the tiles, so your tiles still sit on the battens that sit on the rafters it’s just that there is a small sandwiched material between the two.

      • Ash-Say on 03/06/2018 - 20:40

        Thanks for clarification.

  • BertieBrown on 03/06/2018 - 20:14
    +1

    They should overlap, as in sit on top of one another so that the water is always running away. Might just be that those tiles need to be pulled down a bit more so that they sit on the tile below a bit more.

    The second pick is flashing, but you could always bend it up a bit more at the back so it stops water from getting in but provided that the pitch is sufficient it shouldn’t be an issue. They look like Elabana profile or similar so that’s good for a lower pitch anyway IMO.

    • ppp13 on 06/06/2018 - 15:37

      Is there any legislation in Australia like how to install tiles. In my case they did not use any material under tiles. And I'm sure that any bird or possums can easily enter into cavity from these gaps. I dn't think I can do this work myself. If I go for some professional how much do you think they will charge. As it is new home, I may have to talk with my builder.

      • BertieBrown on 06/06/2018 - 19:36

        There’d be standards for roof tile installation, for sure.

        Sarking isn’t a standard or mandatory installation (it’s nice to have but not either essential or mandatory), often if a house isn’t sarked (the owner didn’t necessarily pay for it) and/or the builder will then install thicker batts to compensate for the lack of sarked roof.

        I wouldn’t be concerned that the roof isn’t sarked as a possum or rat will easily get through sarking anyway and you wouldn’t see the gaps between the tiles.

        Yeah, it would just be a matter of maybe asking the builder to fix up the flashing around the flue to stop vermin. Shouldn’t be a particularly complicated job. Might be worth just hopping up on the roof and seeing what the overlap is, it’s probably fine though. A handyman should be able to fix you up for the flashing with just some chicken wire or similar, which should deter possums or to re run the flashing without needing to remove a tile.

  • Richardc on 03/06/2018 - 20:18
    +3

    You have a pipe, so they remove a tile and replace with a piece of metal to fit the pipe, usually it's unless there's a extreme strong wind point the gap pushing the rain back, if you worry about it, fill it up with silicon.

    • Kangal on 04/06/2018 - 00:17

      Yepp.
      I'd be more worried about possums going in there, instead of a bit of rain.

      • ppp13 on 06/06/2018 - 15:33

        Yes, I think possums or rats are started living in roof cavity.

  • oscargamer on 03/06/2018 - 20:21
    +1

    Looks normal

  • Elppa8 on 03/06/2018 - 22:12

    A pity there is no sarking as it helps keep moisture and dust out of the roof area as well as acting as thermal insulation.

    As others have said it looks like the tilers have left a tile out for the pipe. What I would be doing is blocking the gap near the pipe with something to keep those pesky myna birds from nesting in your roof.

  • ostsee on 03/06/2018 - 23:00

    Be careful about the birds nest if the gap the too big.

  • keepa on 04/06/2018 - 07:55

    take a look when it's raining on get someone to spray the roof with a hose while you're in the roof cavity. I recently had to repair my sisters roof as it was leaking around where the sparky installed the rood antenna and didn't correctly silicon around the flashing they installed. The hole was much smaller than yours so it might cause water ingress when it dumps. Some sheet flashing and silicon will do the trick.

  • ppp13 on 06/06/2018 - 15:39

    Guys thanks for your inputs. Any legislation on this point like how to install tiles ? Where can I find that. If it is not in legislation then it should be from my pocket only sadly.

  • 4KGrubby on 09/06/2018 - 00:31

    Get someone to spray the hose over those spots while you’re in the roof and check, if it isn’t raining

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