# Forum Home Renovation Roofing  Roof Tile Repair Advice Needed

## PhoenixP

Hi Guys,
I have just recently moved into a house and have noticed some work that needs to be done to the roof.
I want to do the work myself but am unsure of what products would be best to repair, repoint & seal the roof's capping tiles.
I have attached pictures of the damaged tiles and any advice in replacing & repairing the damage would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.  :2thumbsup:

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## PhoenixP

Oops i cant add the attachment yet as the file is too big.
I'll try to get the pics up soon.

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## Bloss

It is possible to do it yourself using a flexible pointing compound (Flexipoint is one brand - there are many others). 
But . . . roof work is dangerous and re-pointing roof tiles and eaves on gable ends etc is fiddly work so my suggestion is that you get some quotes from someone who does it for a living. 
Not only will the job be better, and done faster, but they will also know about the rules on roofing that for some time now have required ridge tiles (capping) to be wired to the roofing timbers, the placement of weep holes etc. 
There are some good sites to look at should you want to have ago yourself, but as I said IMHO this is one where DYI is likely to be false economy. 
See the various information pages at http://www.flexipoint.com.au/ which will get you started.

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## PhoenixP

Well i'm a complete noob to this and dont want to do a dodgy job. 
Here are the pictures and hopefully it gives you an idea of whether its worth doing or leaving it to the pros.
I had a quote yesterday and he said that it will cost somewhere between $600-$700 to fix it.

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## Dean

Hopefully not $600-$700 for that one little bit? 
I re-patched my roof cap tiles with a bucket of "TilePoint" - flexible tile pointing stuff. About $60-$70 from Bunnings. Its not a permanent solution but hoping it will last a few years until I can get the roof re-done properly.  
So far its holding up fine  :Wink:

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## PhoenixP

> Hopefully not $600-$700 for that one little bit? 
> I re-patched my roof cap tiles with a bucket of "TilePoint" - flexible tile pointing stuff. About $60-$70 from Bunnings. Its not a permanent solution but hoping it will last a few years until I can get the roof re-done properly.  
> So far its holding up fine

  
$600-$700 was quoted and it was about 5 or 6 of the capping tiles which isnt visible in the pictures. 
I'll head off to Bunnings tonight and grab myself some Tilepoint and see how that holds up. 
Thanks for the advice Dean and have you got any tips or hints on the best way to apply the Tilepoint?

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## Dean

> $600-$700 was quoted and it was about 5 or 6 of the capping tiles which isnt visible in the pictures. 
> I'll head off to Bunnings tonight and grab myself some Tilepoint and see how that holds up. 
> Thanks for the advice Dean and have you got any tips or hints on the best way to apply the Tilepoint?

  Well, if the whole ridge tile is lifting off, then you are suppose to cement it down first, then apply the TilePoint over this. If its just patching up some small sections, then the Tilepoint should be ok. The Tilepoint instructions do say to fill large holes with cement or some bedding material first (off memory). I have used a bit of tilepoint for larger gaps and no problems so far.  
As for applying it, well you can use a trowel or just whack some gloves on and use your hands and fingers to fill and smooth it off. Works fine. Just make sure its not going to rain the day you apply it all and thicker layers will take longer to dry so maybe apply these in several steps. 
Note: this is unqualified advice... I'm just telling you what I did. It has worked ok for me. Most of my patch-ups were just sealing up cracks in the bedding mortar and a few smaller areas where the mortar had crumbled away etc.  
The TilePoint comes in various colours too so see if there is one that matches  your tile colour (or is at least close).

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## PhoenixP

Excellent. I'll give tilepoint a go as the ridge tiles aren't lifting and if that fails then i can fork out $600 to get a pro to do it.

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## crackerwoody

from the photo it looks like its been resprayed, if thats the case then check with the previous owner to see if its still under warranty, if it is make them recap the whole thing

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## crackerwoody

if its all as bad as that one section, youll need to rebed and repoint the whole thing, and probabably grind the caps back to get it looking half decent. and btw $600 to just disguise it is a complete rip off.

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## Bloss

> from the photo it looks like its been resprayed, if thats the case then check with the previous owner to see if its still under warranty, if it is make them recap the whole thing

  Small print in most warranties like this say not transferable, but maybe worth a try if the company still exists. 
So long as the capping is reasonably solid this looks suitable to be re-pointed with Tilepoint or other flexible acrylic pointing compound after just pushing any loose pieces back into place. 
Follow the destructions on the container especially for cleaning the area to be repointed and you should be fine. 
Careful clambering around  that roof though - it's dangerous out there . . .

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## crackerwoody

unfortuneatly, this the sort of job where trying to do it yourself with no prior experiance, and using something as unforgiving as acrylic mix over unsound and painted pointing, will result in a far more complicated, expensive, and unsatisfactory repair job by a proffesional in about two years. i have a huge file of "diy capping" disasters ive had to fix.

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## MrFixIt

> It is possible to do it yourself using a flexible pointing compound (Flexipoint is one brand - there are many others). 
> But . . . roof work is dangerous and re-pointing roof tiles and eaves on gable ends etc is fiddly work so my suggestion is that you get some quotes from someone who does it for a living.

  Crossing the road is dangerous, you just do it with care.  :Smilie:    

> Not only will the job be better, and done faster,

  There is no guarantee of this - see the post on "where do you find tradesmen"   

> but they will also know about the rules on roofing that for some time now have required ridge tiles (capping) to be wired to the roofing timbers, the placement of weep holes etc.

  True, but may be insignificant for a small job such as this.   

> There are some good sites to look at should you want to have ago yourself, but as I said IMHO this is one where DYI is likely to be false economy. 
> See the various information pages at http://www.flexipoint.com.au/ which will get you started.

  I completely tiled the roof on my extension not too long ago. Capping is not too hard to do it does require a little patience if you have not done it before. Repointing the capping with the acyilic materials is easy. I was doing it the hard way initially, with cement and tiniting that cement. When I was told about the acrylic stuff, was I pleased.  :2thumbsup:  
If it is a small job and you are comfortable (and SAFE) working on the roof then give it a try. Saving $600-$700 less the cost of materials is well worth the small amount of effort required. 
That saving could be applied to other things like, er...umm...ahh, more tools  :2thumbsup:  
BTW it doesn't have to be a *perfect* job as the pointing is not too noticable from the ground, just be clean and tidy and you should be pleased with the result.

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## Bloss

I had a place done recently for under $200 - two and a bit hours and a good job. 
He says: "Well I'm a complete noob to this and dont want to do a dodgy job." 
But we all have to be 1st timers sometime - I offer advice and suggest caution because I don't want to see the first time be the last time.

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