Almost every owner of a private house or apartment on the top floor at least once encountered the problem of a roof leaking. In addition to damaging walls, ceilings and furniture, this phenomenon can cause electrical short circuits, as well as the formation of mold and fungus. If the roof leak is not fixed in time, then the plaster may become unusable, which will entail the need for repairs in the apartment or house. These factors are not the only ones that make you think about repair work or replacement of roofing.
Main causes of leaks
Before you start repairing the roof, you need to deal with the root cause of the leak. Wear of the material caused by its aging can lead to this problem. Over time, even the highest quality roofing becomes unusable. After 8-10 years, the roofing material, laid in 3 layers, will gradually begin to collapse under the influence of temperature, sunlight and precipitation. The surface will be covered with cracks, into which moisture will penetrate, which will cause even more destruction. This applies to slate tiles, which have their own resourceservices.
Roof leakage can occur due to mechanical damage. They sometimes occur even on a new coating. Such defects usually appear suddenly, most often after a storm, heavy rain or wind. The roof is sometimes damaged by branches and foreign objects plucked from other roofs.
Additional reasons
Roof leakage may occur if the rules for placing insulation layers were not followed. In this case, condensation appears.
When waterproofing joints, installers sometimes make mistakes, this is especially true of the joints of the chimney with the roof and other protruding parts of the roof. As a result, water begins to seep into the interior.
The same problems can appear if the drainage system is not properly designed. A roof leak occurs when a beam of different diameters was used for the lathing device. In this case, a skew of the roof is formed, the material shifts. Improper installation of skates also causes leakage.
Fixing a leak in the slate roof of an apartment building
If a slate roof is leaking, you can try to repair small cracks. They are cleaned of debris and dirt using a brush or rinsing with a stream of water. Leaving the place of repair for drying, it is necessary to prepare a mixture of PVA glue, M-400 cement and asbestos. Asbestos can be obtained from slate sheets or purchased new. When rubbing asbestos on a grater, you need to protect yourself from inhaling small particles by wearing a respirator.
The composition is prepared from three parts of asbestos, two parts of cement and PVA glue with water. The last two ingredients are added in a ratio of 1 to 1. The composition is well mixed and brought to the consistency of sour cream. If a slate roof is leaking, it will be easy to fix it with the mixture described above.
Before applying the composition, cracks should be lubricated with a primer of water and PVA, combined in a ratio of 3 to 1. A repair mixture is applied to the treated areas in two layers. The total thickness of each of them must be equal to 2 mm or more. Such repairs are recommended to be carried out in dry weather, because the asbestos layer must dry naturally, gradually gaining strength.
Slate roof repair with modern materials
If you are faced with the question of how to fix a roof leak, then you can use modern waterproofing materials like Hyperdesmo. In this case, the roof will last longer than when using the first repair method. The place cleared of moss and dirt must be treated with one of the following means:
- gasoline;
- acetone;
- white spirit.
This will reduce the oiliness of the surface. When cleaning areas of the repaired roof in winter, use a blowtorch or gas burner to dry. The surface is primed with a solution of the same sealant, to which xylene should be added in a volume of 5 to 10% of the total mass.
The sealant itself must be applied manually or withusing a pistol. In the first case, a spatula is used. After 6 hours, fiberglass should be laid on the layer and treated with sealant again. To increase the life of a slate roof, it should be painted with special paints.
Slate roof overhaul
If the spot repairs did not help, then the roof will have to be replaced. In this case, it is necessary to start work with the dismantling of old sheets of asbestos cement. This removes slate nails and other fasteners. The sheets can then be lowered to the ground. The rafter system is inspected, because fungus can form on it and the process of wood decay begins due to leaks. Particular attention should be paid to the rafters, as they act as the main load-bearing structures. Elements that have undergone putrefactive processes must be replaced.
Work methodology
Major overhaul of the roof of an apartment building at the next stage involves the laying of steam and waterproofing. After that, you can start laying asbestos-cement sheets. These works are carried out, starting from the lower corner of the slope. Particular attention must be paid to the direction of the wind in the area and overlap on the leeward side. Sheets should be stacked in one wave on the previous ones.
After completing the laying of the first row, you can proceed to the second, making an overlap of 10 cm. This is true if the roof slope is more than 25 °. With a smaller slope, the overlap increases and can reach 20 cm. On roofs withwith a minimum slope, the joints are additionally filled with silicone-based sealants.
Recommendations from a work specialist
If a slate roof is being replaced, then the fastening of the material to the lathing should be carried out using slate nails, which are characterized by a galvanized hat and a rubber washer.
Before hammering in nails, a hole should be drilled in the slate. Its diameter should be slightly larger than the diameter of the nail. This will prevent cracking of the fabric. In the course of laying, it is necessary to carry out work on waterproofing those places where the slate adjoins chimneys, grooves, valleys and ridges. To extend the life of a new roof, the surface should be painted with acrylic compounds.
Repair of roof joints
Roll materials or bitumen are traditionally used to repair joints. But the tightness of the knots can be restored in a simpler way that any home master can handle. The principle of such work is the application of plastic mastic and reinforcing geotextile. Repair of joints with flashing ensures the restoration of tightness, elasticity and strength for a long time.
The technology is based on the use of Hyperdesmo mastic and bitumen-polyurethane composition. The indisputable advantage of this technique is the possibility of its use on any surface with a different shape. The mastic can be applied with a roller or a brush, so its laying is carried out in the most inaccessibleplaces. Flushing is a patch of two layers of mastic, between which a reinforcing fabric is laid. If the roof joint is leaking, then it can be repaired using this technology without starting an open fire, which eliminates the risk of fire.
Stages of work
Before applying the mastic, the surface is prepared. To do this, the roll coating is cleaned of the powder, which does not hold firmly enough. It can simply be swept away. The concrete is treated with a primer, and the brickwork is plastered and dried. All nodes must be cleaned of dirt and dust, and any chips and large gaps should be covered up.
Mastic is applied in two layers, between which the time is kept from 3 hours to a day. The reinforcing geotextile is rolled out over the freshly laid first layer. After complete drying, mastic of the desired color is applied to the treated area.
Conclusion
If you will be repairing the roof, the price of these works should interest you. After all, sometimes the owners of private houses and apartments entrust this business to professionals. Repair and installation of a soft roof from a single layer of economy class material is carried out at a price of 300 rubles. per square meter.
If standard class materials are used in the work, then repairs cost 430 rubles. per square meter. Roof repairs, the price of which can reach 550 rubles. per square meter, sometimes involves the need to make a cement-sand screed.
