# Leaky Roof!.....but do i have a bigger problem?



## Stey C (Feb 14, 2011)

The roofs leaking pretty badly at the mo and pools of rainwater sits at the back of the garage for hours as a result of this after rainfall. I cant even keep my detailing stuff in the garage anymore, and my haynes manuals doubled in size! 

Only problem being before its fixed/replaced is that it looks like asbestos, but i dont know if it is asbestos or fibreboard.

Here are some pictures.










































Opinions/help would be appreciated.

Ste


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

Looks like the old asbestos roof, but not 100% sure, if it is, you can use a p3 mask and suit to remove, the stuff in these tiles isn't the real bad asbestos..

Or you could paint the inner and outer joints with roofing mastic, should stop the leak..


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## Stey C (Feb 14, 2011)

I could try some Isoflex liquid rubber to seal all of the joints, but its the cracks and flakey bits that are worrying... are they not a health risk? 

Could the roof not be covered on home insurance even though its off property?


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## DiscoTD5 (Feb 12, 2010)

Cant say for sure but from the photos it looks like cement board, can you see any fibres that look like glass showing on the broken joints? If you can it may well be asbestos. And roughly how old is it... If it asbestos you can remove it yourself and dispose of it at a refuse site, just do as the previous post say but wet it and don't break it in to small sections. 

You can get "professionals" in but it will cost a small fortune!

It may be best to try and seal it 1st to see how you get on..


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Looks like fibre board to me, but cant be positive.
How old is the roof?
If your Council house the council will have to remove it if it was there when you took residence and if its asbestos.
If your private and it is asbestos then mask and suit and double bag it and find your nearest council tip thats registered to take it. Nothing to pay them just that they will have a cargo container for it and need to phone first to make sure that its not full or very nearly full as you would have to take it back if its full when you get there as it wont get emptied often.
To cut down on dust you could possibly get some cheap tetrosyl and slap that on.
Just a thought.


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## Stey C (Feb 14, 2011)

DiscoTD5 said:


> Cant say for sure but from the photos it looks like cement board, can you see any fibres that look like glass showing on the broken joints? If you can it may well be asbestos. And roughly how old is it... If it asbestos you can remove it yourself and dispose of it at a refuse site, just do as the previous post say but wet it and don't break it in to small sections.
> 
> You can get "professionals" in but it will cost a small fortune!
> 
> It may be best to try and seal it 1st to see how you get on..


i cant really tell, it looks like really small chipboard type bits, as in the fourth picture but i cant see anything i would class as fibres. The garage was build 70s-80s and hasnt had the roof changed since. I have contacted the garage company (grimston garages) and they said they stopped using asbestos themselves in the early 80s.

Using the correct PPE i could probably replace it myself with something more suitable, but i wanted to know for sure if it was actually asbestos.

Its the chips and flakey bits that are worrying me more than anything as i spend quite some time in there working on the car, and it only takes one fibre to do the damage


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## DiscoTD5 (Feb 12, 2010)

Asbestos was used until the mid 90's unfortunately the only real way of knowing is to have it tested.

You could try and "encapsulate" it basically sealing it with paint to stop any loose fibres escaping. I'd use some sort of rubberised roofing paint as it will help with any leaks.

If you go on the HSE website it will give you some guidance on it, word of warning the way they word it, it comes across a tad OTT and scary!!


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## Stey C (Feb 14, 2011)

Thats a good idea actually, liquid rubber the outside totally, then use chipboard on the inside across the joists from front to back and make it look uniform instead of an eyesore!

Plus its all encapsulated, will just have to inspect the total damage first.

Some a£Sh£le kid ran over the garage roof a while ago which i think is what has made the cracks in the roof, especially the ones that are half the length of the garage!


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## evobaz (Aug 28, 2007)

The roof on my garage is asbestos sheets. They have started to leak this winter and i'm in the process of trying to paint the full roof with Isoflex liquid rubber paint. The cheapset place I found it was B+Q (£35 5ltr tin) and looks like i'll need 3 tins to do the full roof. At the moment i've done about 1/3 of the roof, just the areas I could reach from my step ladder. Next job is to use some scaffold boards to spread the weight and get on top of the roof and paint the rest. The Isoflex seems to have done the job on the buts that have been painted so far. If you go down this route then either apply the paint on a warm day or heat it up first as its *thick* as fook. JUst doing this as a temporary measure as I have plans to build a new garage.


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## Steve valentine (Aug 7, 2010)

qstix said:


> Looks like the old asbestos roof, but not 100% sure, if it is, you can use a p3 mask and suit to remove, the stuff in these tiles isn't the *real bad asbestos..*
> 
> Or you could paint the inner and outer joints with roofing mastic, should stop the leak..


Any Asbestos is potentially deadly, Asbestos is Asbestos, there is no nice Asbestos.



stolen from another site said:


> here is a great deal of myth and misunderstanding regarding asbestos one that seems to perpetuate (and is even perpetuated on the site masona provides a link to) is the relative risks posed by Blue, Brown and White asbestos (or more properly crocidolite, amosite and chrysotile (and not chrysolite as stated on the aforementioned website, chrysolite is a mineral, but it is not asbestos).
> 
> In the dim and distant past when we began to realise that asbestos was causing health problems one of the chaps that was asked to investigate and report to the govenment was a Professor Peto. The laws that were subsequently enacted to ensure safety were largely based on his recommendations. Peto is still actively researching into the causes and effects of asbestos on health and is probably the worlds leading authority on the subject.
> 
> ...


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## Bungleaio (Jul 18, 2010)

Definately Asbestos - I would say chrysotile but you would need it to be tested to be sure. 

Asbestos wasn't banned completely in the UK until 1999.


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## rich1880 (May 26, 2010)

Hi

I qualified as a building surveyor, if I was asked to look at the roof I would be pretty sure that it was asbestos. Obviously this is only a problem if it is broken up. If this was mine I would either replace the roof, you could use steel profile sheeting, or paint a rubber type paint as someone else has mentioned, I would then possibly look at adding a false ceiling and getting a little insulation.


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## rich1880 (May 26, 2010)

Oh and to clarify, although all asbestos isn't good for you, there are certain types catagorised as type 1 that are 'more' hazardous to health than type 2. Your roof would probably be type 2, but would need to be checked and for what it would cost to ceck its easier to just remove it properly.


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## Bungleaio (Jul 18, 2010)

rich1880 said:


> I qualified as a building surveyor


Slightly OT but I'm hopefully nearly qualified too, sitting my final APC assessment in may, Christ there's a lot to know/remember!


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## R7KY D (Feb 16, 2010)

+1 for Chrysotile , It looks very similar to what we had when we had our asbestos survey done in one of our warehouses , We only need to label and manage the risk , Although we did need to remove some roofing sheets to make way for some clear roof tiles , It isn't one of the nastiest one but should still be treated with a bit of respect , Try not to break the sheets and wear a mask , Getting rid of it may cost you a few quid though


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## rich1880 (May 26, 2010)

Nice one Bungleaio, its a long slog but worth it in the end, I did mine at Northumbria and enjoyed every minute of it!


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## Stey C (Feb 14, 2011)

Thanks again for all the information, were looking to replace it ourselves in the summer months using full PPE. The roof will then be replaced and insulated as well as the whole garage being painted and im going to fit some cabinets at the far end for my detailing stuff and mechanic equipment


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## Jinksy. (Jun 30, 2010)

I actaully replaced a entire aspestos roof identical to that, basically we put a flat off on it, 2 layers of under sheet, 1 of green mineral then it was mopped and then shingle put down. its the best way of doing it


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## Bungleaio (Jul 18, 2010)

rich1880 said:


> Nice one Bungleaio, its a long slog but worth it in the end, I did mine at Northumbria and enjoyed every minute of it!


I hope so, can't say I'm enjoying it.too much at the moment, I've been doing about 25 hours of revision a week since January, I never did anywhere near that much for uni.

I'm hopefully being assessed at Coventry as it's only a few miles away, Cheltenham and Leeds are my other choices which will make it a bit more stressful as they are a fair distance to go for an hour interview.


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