Roof Valleys: Ridge & Hip Tles, Roof Verges, Lead Flashing

Roof Valley Construction – Ridge tiles, Hip tiles, Roof valleys, roof verges, Lead Flashings: Everything You Need to Know About Roof Repairing

At least once in your lifetime, you will have to go through roof valley construction. But, the process might not be gruelling for you if you become familiar with certain important parts of it. When your roofer is epc3einingit to you, you surely don’t want to sound clueless. This article will help you to get a pretty rough idea about what roof valley construction is all about. Since you will be living under the “roof”, it is important that you at least know the fundamentals of it. Read on to find more.

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Roof Flashing Advice

You will find roof flashings in most of the outer parts of a house. Apart from the roof – doors, windows, walls and porches have it. In order to have a waterproof roof, you need roof flashing. In the absence of a flashing, rain water will pass down the chimney and eventually vanish from sight after getting access to the roof. Houses with pitched roof are also prone to rain water getting access to the interiors of the house. If you have adequate roof flashing, it will see to it that the joints are water–repellent.

In the past, usually roof flashings were built from lead sheet.(lead roof flashing). Lead was preferred because this metal has the ability to shape itself into various forms without splitting up. But, now due to its price and the threat of lead pollution, other materials like plastic, rubber and zinc sheet are made use of. Keep in mind that if it’s a new house, then the lead flashings need to be placed prior to tiling the roof. If by chance, the flashes are substituted because of being worn out and leaking, then at least two tiles need to be gotten rid of on each side.

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How to repoint a roof verge

When the border of a pitched roof makes contact with the triangular upper part of the wall at the end of a ridged roof, it is called a verge. In order to keep away wind and rain from entering the tiles, the tiles need to be mortared. If/when the mortar atop a verge vanishes or starts to collapse; the water running across frantically throughout the roof becomes inevitable. To avoid this occurrence, it becomes crucial to re-bed the roof verge with mortar.

Repointing a roof verge is not rocket science. You can do it by yourself or get outside help. First what you need to do is – get a hold of all the necessary materials like sand, cement and equipments.

Now, take a hard brush and clean the debris.
After that, with the help of a cold chisel, get rid of the damaged mortar.
Next, use the 3:1 ratio and mix in three portions of beach sand with one portion of cement.
Keep on adding water to this mixture till the time it becomes absolutely smooth.
Now, make sure to apply the new mortar on each every part of the area where the ld mortar was.
Now, all you need to do is waiting till it gets completely dried.

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Open Roof Valley Vs Closed Roof Valley

In order to understand roof valley construction completely, you need to know about the difference between an open roof valley and a closed roof valley. If the roof valley which is going to be put in place is a closed valley, then the person who is repairing your roof will place the roofing shingles on top of the roof deck. Then, he will enlarge the asphalt shingle to shut the entire valley area. In case of an open valley, you will need to get an extra layer of lining inside the valley.

No one but you can decide which kind of valley you want for your roof. While making a decision about that, do consider factors like cost, then entire look and of course – the functionality. If your roofing contractor can, he will get rid of the metal which means you don’t have to pay for it while installing a roof valley. Also, keep in mind that at times open valleys are prone to storing water and thus causing roof leakages. And, closed valleys are sometimes known to direct water towards the shingles. In short, it really depends on the construction of the roof valley.

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What are hip tiles?

A hipped roof is one where two sides come in contact with each other at a specific angle. The intersection point of these is known as the hip. The semi round tiles that place themselves over the hip perfectly are known as hip tiles. Instead of using mortared ridge tiles, you can easily work with hip tiles.

Bear in mind that heavy wind can knock off the mortar –meaning the mortar might crumble and subsequently the hip tiles will come off. If you are observant enough, you will notice this from beneath the roof. In case you haven’t gotten the hip tiles replaced in a few years, it might be time to get a roofer and check these out.

What are ridge tiles?

A ridge is the place where the two sides of a roof meet up with each other. To make sure that the ridge is completely resistant to water, a ridge tile is used. You can either get the roofer to re-bed it with mortar or use a dry ridge fixed system. In certain types of ridge tiles, the mortar bedding will remain concealed and it will stay inside the ridge tile. Usually ridge tiles come in round shapes and place themselves on the peak of the apex and hen mortar is applied on them to keep them in place.

Although there are plenty of different types of ridge tiles out there, the semicercular half ridge is the most popular one. Know that if the mortar is incorrectly applied or if it falls off, then there is a very high chance of the roof getting blown away. So, hire a an experienced roofer to avoid the roof falling on top of your head while you are asleep.

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