Moss on roof - removal of

[gigigarton1962]

Anyone have any idea how much it might cost my elderly mother to have the moss removed from the roof of her 3 bed bungalow? I'm worried the quote she has received is a little on the high side. Thank you.

to do it safely will involve either a cherry-picker or scaffolding, so they aren't cheap.

Does £650 sound unreasonable?

why do you want to remove it?

If they use a powerwasher or scrapers, it is likely that the tiles will be damaged.

It is possible to kill the moss and prevent regrowth by fixing copper strip )like lightening conductor) along the ridge so that rainwater dissolves enough copper to affect the moss. A reputable local roofer can do it.

It is possible to spray a roof with Armatillox (sp?) which will kill it for about a year.

Avoid unknown doorstep sellers and look for a company with a real-life business address that you can go and look at; not a mobile phone number and a white van.

Why does she want to remove it ?

If this has originated from a random person knocking on the door then I think you need to consider if it actually needs removing.

I have randoms knocking in my door offering all sorts of maintenance services that I know I don't need.

We've just moved into a house with a fair old a mount of moss (in small clumps) on the roof tiles. Does anyone know what actually happens if you just leave it?

IME it sometimes falls off in storms.

In my house, because of wind direction (coastal) it usually blows off the gable end onto my car, and not into the gutters.

It is on the northern side of the roof, otherwise the blistering hot sun would dry it out and stop it growing.

in my house it attracts things that scuttle about on the roof at night - working on removing it!

it also blocks gutters when it does fall off.

in the UK it will always be on the north side.

So, aside from it falling down and blocking the gutters, there's possibly no harm done in leaving the moss on the roof? Or have I got the wrong end of the mossy stick?

if you have only just moved in, I'd leave it for a bit. Maybe, like me, you will not get gutter problems.

On roofs with shallow pitch, it sometimes leads to damp getting in through the joints. You will notice this if you look round the loft in rainy weather (like now). It seems to me that concrete tiles are worse than clay tiles or slates.

If you do decide to take action, get recommendations for an established local roofer, who will be familiar with local conditions. I suspect he will be opposed to moss removal.

The more often you do something to a roof, the quicker it goes wrong.

if I had a significant problem with mine, I think I'd go for the copper tape.

A house near to us has recently had its mossy roof pressure washed. Took two days to clear it but looks great now. However, I thought that pressure washing took off a thin layer so I wonder if their tiles many be damaged as a result.

Our neighbours recently had their 4 or 5 bed house done for £750. Seemed to involve a couple of guys & a pressure washer and was all done in a day. Apparently, they treated the roof with something to prevent the moss re-growing. Quite a shallow pitch so the guys just stood on the rood rather than use scaffolding or similar. It all sounded a bit odd to me,

Thanks PigletJohn - sounds like very good advice. I haven't noticed any fallen clods of moss on the drive, so maybe they are all in the gutters. I'll send DH up to check.

Thanks again.

@PigletJohn

why do you want to remove it?

If they use a powerwasher or scrapers, it is likely that the tiles will be damaged.

It is possible to kill the moss and prevent regrowth by fixing copper strip )like lightening conductor) along the ridge so that rainwater dissolves enough copper to affect the moss. A reputable local roofer can do it.

It is possible to spray a roof with Armatillox (sp?) which will kill it for about a year.

Avoid unknown doorstep sellers and look for a company with a real-life business address that you can go and look at; not a mobile phone number and a white van.

Apologies for bumping an old thread but I would be very grateful for your advice @PigletJohn if you’re still about or any other wise mumsnetters who may know about roof moss. We have a bungalow with a concrete tiled roof, have left the moss for years but concerned as it seems to grow in the tile joins, worried it will create bigger gaps between tiles causing leaks, husband not bothered as he thinks there is another tile underneath. Depending on who you ask some say remove moss others say don’t bother, I’m not concerned about the look more concerned if it may be causing damage. We were quoted £1200 to remove/treat a small 2 bed bungalow & extra garage roof, that seems very high to me, tradesman says the treatment would keep the moss off for 10 years, I don’t believe him.

When you say that concrete tiles are worse than clay tiles or slates, do you mean generally for moss growth or for damp getting in through the joints?

concrete tiles are rougher so stuff grips it

I have slates. A bit of moss on the north face but it tends to wash off in rainstorms.

There might be felt under your tiles, to catch any water penetrating between the tiles. Go in the loft and have a look.

p.s.

I very seldom have moss problems, but Armatillox seems to be off the market now. You can get a product called "Wet and Forget" which you dilute in water and spray on. I hear there is a stronger chemical but I can't remember its name.

Many thanks for replying @PigletJohn.

Sometimes the Magpies like to pick at some of our moss, this ends up on the floor which is great just wish they could do the whole roof

Husband says there is some kind of membrane in loft under tiles, he thinks I’m worrying over nothing but I think it’s best to be safe than sorry.

@PigletJohn

p.s.

I very seldom have moss problems, but Armatillox seems to be off the market now. You can get a product called "Wet and Forget" which you dilute in water and spray on. I hear there is a stronger chemical but I can't remember its name.

Sorry cross posted before you mentioned treatments. When we got the bungalow we did have the moss scraped off & treated along with some dodgy roof repairs, stuff didn’t actually need doing & poor materials were used, the mortar is still flying off the ‘buttered’ ridges when the weather warms up. The moss didn’t grow back for a couple of years, the man yesterday seemed to think the last guy used water as he said the treatment he would use lasts up to 10 years.

Don’t believe the 10 year comment. That’s not really possible in my view.

A single high pressure application jet won’t bother modern concrete tiles. They are pretty bomb proof. Stone tiles or slates might be more brittle. It is annoying when moss gets into gutters. Magpies do throw it around too. We get it landing on the orangery glass roof.

I was worried when I saw so much moss on my new bungalow purchase roof but my roofer said to leave it. Gutters were blown off in Storm Arwen so I was able to inspect them very closely!

We’ve just paid close to £1,000 to clear and treat our 4 bed and garage. Our loft has previously been really damp in the winter but we have seen a big improvement since the roof has been cleaned.
Ideally don’t use a company that pressure wash as this can damage the roof.

@culturemulcher

We've just moved into a house with a fair old a mount of moss (in small clumps) on the roof tiles. Does anyone know what actually happens if you just leave it?

I was under the impression that, as it absorbed so much water, the weight -and it freezing in winter-can cause damage.

www.roofingmegastore.co.uk/blog/stop-moss-growing-on-roof-tiles.html

It’s more about retaining water and the water being unevenly distributed to areas where you don’t want it. This is info from a surveyors web site.

She hasn't had someone come round and knock on her door, offering to do the work, has she?

Moss does no harm up there, and is a good wildlife habitat. The only thing that needs doing periodically is to clear out the gutters. I wouldn't bother with removing the moss, it will only grow back again anyway.

We hired a cherry picker and used a stiff brush last summer after a very dry spell. Obviously, it will regrow but it was the first time we've done it and we've lived in our house for 25 years.

We had the moss removed from our roof and a treatment applied to prevent re growth. 3 bedroom house and garage £450.

Just make sure whoever is doing it isn’t using a jet/pressure wash as this can damage the tiles and force water underneath which can freeze and expand in the cold.

The guy we used scraped it off, cleared the gutters and did a minor roof repair while he was up there