The roofing work that gives bodging a undesirable name

The origin from the word “bodging” may be the old custom of sealing the headlaps of roof tiles by trowelling on lime-and-horsehair mortar in the inside. This conventional course of action stopped rain or snow being blown in, whilst nevertheless allowing the roof to “breathe”.

It is obvious how, from this kind of noble beginnings, the term “bodge” later came to refer to a clumsy bit of plastering or other repair work, and thence to its current use for any kind of unfavorable work. It’s also ironic that 1 of the biggest bodges close to now could be the sealing of roofs against the items in the in the – only the modern day bodging, instead of using dollops of lime and horsehair, is to spray the whole flat roof repair with foam.

I wrote about this practice several months ago, pointing out that spraying foam onto the undersides of slate or tile roofs is really a unfavorable idea. It is advertised being a cheap alternative to a correct roofing overhaul, but is very much a short-term product or service the foam makes it hard for ones slates or tiles to ever be re-used, and increases the likelihood of condensation within the rafters and battens, hence hastening the procedure of wood rot.

The National Federation of Roofing Contractors, which represents the responsible end from the roofing industry, even publishes a Technical Bulletin on a subject, which items out the risks that foam under-coatings pose to roof timbers. The Bulletin advises how the foam need to not make contact with any from the timbers, which – since the process involves spraying foam more than the battens – is clearly not possible. A spokesman for your NFRC told me that the only situation where he could recommend a foam under-coating would be to extend the life of an old dilapidated building, just like a farmer’s barn, for another few years until it was demolished. He stated the system was unsuitable for domestic properties, because it interferes of the two crucial principles of beneficial roofing course of action – that a roof ought to be in a position to move, and that it needs to be in a position to breathe.

The foam under-coating marketplace has naturally been very upset by my comments, and insists there were no reported cases of condensation or wood rot. This can be hardly surprising, as even if any from the industry’s shoppers have been in the habit of climbing ladders and crawling around on there flat roof repairs on their roofs to check for problems, they would be unable to determine much – the foam stops tiles being lifted inside the outside, and the battens are hidden by foam on the inside. The condensation and rot are taking place out of sight and out of mind.

Apart from denying the existence of any problems, the foam sprayers are also not more than generating fanciful claims for their product. 1 organization was recently pulled up by the Advertising and marketing Standards Authority for falsely claiming that the procedure was “Government approved”, and “Recommended by Chartered Architects and Surveyors”. Adverts for foam under-coatings also regularly claim compliance from the Building Regulations, that is certainly difficult to comprehend – my copy with the Building Regs makes it clear that where insulation follows the pitch of a roof, there should always be a clear ventilated 50 mm air gap in between the insulation as well as the roof covering. So should you are thinking of obtaining your roof under-coated, then think again. And should you have already had it done, and feel how the merchandise has been mis-sold to you, then you can need to discuss it as part of your local authority Trading Standards Office.

The roofing employment that gives bodging a undesirable name – Check Out flat roof repairs and flat roof repair