Roof type query

[chimpsmostwelcome]

ok, roofer has been to assess the roof. It is shot at (as I feared). He's going to come back tomorrow to do a proper quote (it's peg tiles) but he said that most people these days are moving away from peg tiles as they are prone to frost damage. Has anyone here heard that?. Not that I'm doubting him, he did come recommended but I though best to call upon the wisdom of MN on this one.

DP owns a building company so I asked him if peg tiles are prone to frost damage and he said they are.

There are modern alternatives which have a similar look from companies like Rosemary Tiles but they tend to be slightly harder on the eye and heavier so you must insure that your roof can take the additional weight.

If at all possible replace your damaged tiles with second hand peg tiles which have no signs of damage. It may prove more expensive but will retain the correct look of your property.

thanks Amandoh, I wouldn't have though of that, and as it's a very old house, quite an important point.

When you say it's a very old house, what date do you mean? Are you actually risking spoiling the look and devaluing the house quite badly by putting on the wrong tiles? Should you be getting a specialist historic roofer?

The SPAB suggests not buying second hand tiles - they say that they'll usually be the good ones from someone else's shot roof, and so are ready to go themselves in the next couple of years. They suggest buying new ones that are genuine replicas of the old ones.

I have to say that some of the peg tiles on our roof are 17th century, and seem to be going strong!

The house dates to late 1700's, and not listed. To be honest, I want out of here and can't see anyone wanting to buy given the state of the roof. I will ask him for a quote for both sorts of tile - he should he round soon.

I'm so cross! Bloody roofer phoned at 430 to say he now couldn't get to me till tomorrow. Of course I was nice as pie to him on the phone...grrrrrrr

If you're trying to sell and its late 1700s, sounds like you need it to look as charming / impressive as possible on the outside, to get people through the door and ready to overlook any minor flaws on the inside.

How about going for the reclaimed original tiles since they'll look spot on and you won't need to worry if they do blow in a few years time

It'll have to be the cheapest method, whatever we do - will have to have scaffolding etc which bumps up the price....wish we'd never moved here! Silly really, given other peoples problems but it does make me very unhappy living in a house which needs a lot doing to it, and having no money to do it!