Fiddlers on the roof

roof problem, casteloconstruction, dampfixpt,

Fiddlers on the roof

Posted By Castelo Construction Lda in buying property in portugal, damp house, property problems, refurbishment March 3, 2015

Don’t let anyone up on your roof!

Remedial or new construction work involving going up on someone’s roof has long been the territory of the con men and rogue traders.

I always think of the hugely successful international opera about Russian villagers and their universal longings — love, wealth, freedom and home “Fiddler on the roof” Its an opportunity to fiddle a home owner out of their money.

As most people don’t have access the very long ladders or are afraid to go up on a roof it can be a very easy option to overcharge the home owner or charge for work that is not actually done or is over estimated. I have come across this situation many times in the UK.

Here in Portugal we don’t tend to encounter the “Fiddlers on the roof” as the roofs here are less steep that the UK and are usually stronger so they are easier to access.

They do have one major recurring problem however.

Very rarely do people who go up on your roof remove the roof tiles temporarily so that they can work without breaking them or do they replace the tiles that they break.

Take for example the guys who installed my MEO satellite dish. One of them came and asked me if I had a tube of silicon sealer in my garage. Immediately I knew that they had broken some roof tiles and were going to stick them back together with the type of silicon sealer that you use in a bathroom. This type of sealer is TOTALLY USELESS for carrying out this type of roof repair and eventually the roof would leak and water would discolor our ceilings underneath. The MEO “engineer” would have been long gone.

What I did when they had gone is to go up on the roof and replace the two tiles near the chimney that they had cracked. Which brings me on too some very good and free advice.

If you are having a new roof or a new house built or if you have just bought an old house. Buy 10 roof tiles (exactly the same make and dimensions as your roof) Put them in the garden out of the way and just let them age over time. That way when someone breaks one or a tornado blows some tiles off your roof you can replace them without the new roof tiles standing out like fluff on a billiard table.

The picture below is of a repair we did to a roof that was leaking after someone adjusted the TV antenna. The roof tiles are about 100 years old, baked in the sun and very fragile. We had to take off and realign 6 square meters of tiles to make it watertight again we also replaced 80 tiles that were damaged.

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About Castelo Construction Lda

Castelo Construction Lda are builders in Central Portugal. We have 12 years’ experience of working with and delighting clients in Portugal. Tel 00351 927168247 or kelvin@casteloconstruction.com If you need an English speaking builder for renovation or new build work we will provide free estimates, fixed prices and carry out your work to a very high standard. Many of our clients are not in the country full time so rely on our regular photographic updates and written reports. They are always surprised when they make inspection visits. New Construction and Refurbishment of Portuguese Property It’s exciting for both our team and of course our clients to mark out on the earth the site of a new home. We will have been with them during the design process and have spoken to the architect many times so we will be comfortable with what we are about to do. For many clients, this stage is a little daunting as it’s hard to see without experience just where the house is going to be in relation to other things on the property. Once the foundations are dug out the house normally looks smaller than they thought, As the pillars and foundation wall start to go you get a much better idea of scale. You can see with your mind’s eye the location of the kitchen, bedrooms and so on. Once the walls are up and the first floor is in place the rooms start to looks smaller again (something to do with the light absorbing properties of the bricks) once the walls are plastered the rooms look a lot larger and it starts to feel more like the home our clients imagined building. As the build progresses we are involved with many specialist subcontractors and it is our job the get them on site at the right time so that the trades do not overlap and time is not wasted. Once the roof is on and tiled it is traditional in this area to have a dinner on site. Everyone who is involved in the build is invited to share a suckling pig dinner with local bread, oranges and of course wine. This is a great way for the clients to enjoy some local hospitality and meet the craftsmen who are building their new home. We also invite the near neighbors so that they get a chance to see what’s going on (when the house is at a very basic stage) and it gives our clients a relaxed opportunity to make their acquaintance. As we always accompany our clients to choose, kitchens, tiles, bathroom fittings or whatever they want. We can help with translation and of course negotiation! As the house is coming to completion we always have them professionally cleaned so that when we hand over the keys it feels more like a home than a building site. 2 months after the house is finished we are back to check for any small faults that may need attention and of course we are available to help and advise should that be needed. Central Portugal builders