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Roofing
Bottom row of tile slanted down in to gutter is this normal?
Recently had an old roof replaced from old clay tiles to new modern concrete tiles. The bottom row of tiles is slanted down in to the gutter at a steeper angle from the rest of the roof. to me it looks like a gap, but the roofer we hired says the top of the tile meets the underside of the second row, and it’s the pitch of the roof where it meets the wall head and falls into the gutter. Also says this is normal and that it happens constantly when changing roof coverings. he said “Sometimes the bottom row can be lifted but it’s a complete bodge and would never do it, plus it opens the eaves to birds nesting and destroys the felt run off into the gutter. ”
Does this sound normal and would other roofers do this?
I don’t appear to be able to attach photos, but if we said the roof was at a 45 degree angle, where 90 would be horizontal and 0 is vertical, the bottom row is more like 25 degree, so significantly steeper than all the rest.
5 Answers from MyBuilder Roofers
Best Answer
The bottom row of tiles should line up with the rest of the roof. The reason for the tiles slanting down towards the guttering is because the facia is lower than the pitch of the batons on the roof so there’s no support under the bottom tiles, causing them to drop.
To stop this from happening the pitch should be checked by running a straight edge down the batons ensuring the facia sits in line with the batons, also an extra row of batons can be nailed on the very bottom of the rafters, directly behind the facia, which will provide more support for the bottom tiles.
Answered 21st Dec 2019
what do building regs say as this job is required to be signed of by building control,
as you have increased the weight on your roof trusses significantly planning may also be required.
good luck Alex
Answered 21st Dec 2019
As Alex said what have building control said as you have increased the weight ten fold on your roof rafters now going for cheaper concrete tiles you should had really put back clay tiles as then you wouldn’t necessarily have to go through building control etc as you put a like for like roof on just newer.
I would get them in anyway to assess if you need to support the rafters with the extra weight on there now.
Also this is normal and very common and to fix it you have to basically have to bodge your fascia board adding batten on top or put new fascia board on that wider but this could cause issues with the course of tiles above so probably why your current roofer hasn’t done this.
your roofer had done his job correctly from what your describing there not much he can do it’s a common thing that happens and not really a issue worth moaning over.
Just a question though if you don’t trust your roofer & his advise & option why did you hire him seems a bit silly to me?
How can you trust somebody option over the internet instead?
Answered 23rd Dec 2019
The bottom course of tiles should in fact be slightly pitched up as doing this puts the pressure on all tiles or slates going up the roof. This can happen if timber facia has either rotted away or dropped or simply installed wrong. The best way to resolve this is to remove guttering, install a facia cover board if you can still achieve a good fixing and replace guttering.
Answered 28th Dec 2019
The problem is the bottom row of tiles is not supported to the level of fascia board and needs new supports to bring them back level
Answered 29th Apr 2021
