What does an original roof of this age usually hide?
An original roof has usually carried several rounds of repair, and each patch sits on a deck that may have softened beneath it. The technician counts the layers and reads the deck from the attic before deciding whether a repair or a strip is right.
The rafter ends at the eave are the part most often rotted on these roofs, because the water runs off the covering into them. They are probed and replaced where they are soft, and the fascia behind them is checked in the same visit.
How are the old flashings handled on a re-roof?
Original flashing is often lead, galvanised steel or a bituminous strip fixed by an earlier worker. Where it is sound, it can be lapped under the new covering. Where it has failed, a modern metal piece is fitted and the covering is lapped over it.
The chimney and the wall junctions are checked with the same care, since a leak at either is often the one that brought the owner to the phone.
How is a narrow lot's access planned?
On a narrow lot the crew plans where ladders, materials and the skip can stand before the first strip is lifted. A neighbor's drive or gate is kept clear, and the days when the work is noisy are agreed with the neighbors in advance.
Materials are brought up in the order the work needs them. A missing fixing on a tight lot means a return trip, so the list of parts is checked before the crew sets out.
How are the chimney and the gable details handled on an older house?
The gable ends and the chimney on a 1920s or 1930s house are often finished in brick or plaster with a flashing that was fitted before current practice. The technician checks the mortar, the flashing and the wall junction, since each one can carry water into the framing.
A repointed chimney and a new flashing are often sound for many years, but the owner is told the age of the flashing and the condition of the mortar on the scope. The record makes the next check easier to plan.
What does the owner keep from a visit on an older house?
The owner keeps the scope, the photographs of the deck and the attic, and a short note of the flashings that were kept and those that were replaced. For an older house that record is the one thing that tells the next technician what has already been done.
A copy of the licence record and the certificate is kept with the file. Both are checked on the day they are received, and the date of that check is written beside them.
