By employing a suite of products from Redland – the UK manufacturer and supplier of pitched roof systems – contractors and consultants have reportedly saved the residents of a block of 30 apartments from years of leaking roofs. Kearton Place in Caterham, Surrey, was built in the mid-1990s and has been managed on behalf of the freeholders by Richard Mason for the past 18 years.
“I’m very pleased with the result and the way it has worked”, said Richard, head of major works at the Croydon-based property consultancy HML. “We’ve had continual problems with the roof and leaks in six of the top floor flats.”
The roof had been a problem since it was first occupied, with leaks and condensation, but ten years of piecemeal repairs had made little difference, so Richard had brought in The Tiled Roofing Consultancy, which soon found multiple causes: a combination of poor workmanship and inadequate supervision. Chris Thomas of The Tiled Roofing Consultancy drew up a detailed specification for the replacement roof, using Redland products throughout.
“The choice of tile was set by two considerations – the very low pitch of the roof, just 16o, and the need to match the existing tiles visually”, he said. “The Regent tile is one of the few products to do both and I knew it from experience to be a good, reliable product.
“From there on it was simply a case of using the appropriate Redland systems and components”, said Chris.
This decision pleased Darren Byard of Oakland Roofing, the Sevenoaks-based contractor working on the project. “Redland products are always good quality and well-researched”, he said. “The specification did most of the work, so the job went very smoothly. I hadn’t used Regent Half Tiles before but I would use them again because they are very handy for the lead valleys. There’s less wastage because you don’t have to make any small cuts to achieve the rake.”
The roofing details included replacing the mortar bedding with the Dry Vent Ridge system together with the Redland Dry Hip system, with Kro-Clips fixing the cut tiles. Installing Kro-Clips on the hips simplified inspection because they are fixed before the dry hip system is put in place. At the eaves – with a traditional open loft space – he specified 10mm Redland RedVent Eaves Vent, with Extension Trays into the loft space.
The Cloaked Verge System was installed where the module sizes provided a sensible fit. The system is said to provide high resistance to wind uplift, is maintenance-free and provides a neat finish to the verge. It employs a one-piece concrete tile to continue the tiling over the gable end and is mechanically fixed, eliminating the need for mortar bedding.
Lead was used at the top-edge abutments if it was not ventilated, but if ventilated, the Redland Top Edge Abutment Vent was installed. Ventilation tiles were installed to terminate soil pipes and bathroom extract fans.
“The new roof has brought the building back to life, and now the roof has been brought up to 21st century standards and should not need any major maintenance for the next 50 plus years”, commented Richard.
