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Some good luck
I didn't plan it this way but, as luck would have it, the size of the tiles I used meant that a whole number of tiles would fit in such a way as to give just the right overhang at the gable end. I would have been prepared to accept a few centimetres difference, but if the last tile had protruded, say, 20cm from the gable end, I would have had to cut them. And cutting tiles is a horrible job.In addition, because I was constrained to use Marley interlocking tiles (to match the main roof), I didn't have to interlock the tiles, as they're designed to lock together in straight lines. And this meant that I didn't have to use one-and-a-half-size tiles at the ends either.
Battens and more battens
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| Counter-battens on the ceiling plywood allow the felt to `sag' slightly, creating a vertical channel for any water that gets under the tiles to run away |
It's worth bearing in mind that the
entire weight of the roof (including that pesky snow) will be carried by the fastenings that secure the counterbattens to the joists. So screws or decent-sized nails are in order.
I felt that
It's difficult at this stage to visualize exactly where the gutters will be, so I left the felt much longer than it needed to be, and trimmed it to size later. Felt needs to be installed from the bottom up, so that each new piece covers the edge of the lower piece, and thus prevents water being able to ooze between the felt edge. Ideally the felt needs to be continuous across the ridge, because this is a place where wind-blown rain droplets can otherwise get under the felt.When installing the felt, I made sure it butted up against the house wall as firmly as possible, and then I sealed any small gaps with a really thick layer of bitumen. Ideally, water would never get into that edge because the flashing will keep it away; but where water ingress is concerned you can't be too pessimistic.
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| The felt is laid on the counter-battens. It doesn't really need its own fastenings, because in the end it will be held firmly between the battens and the counter-battens |
Tiles go up at last
If all the preparation has been done carefully enough, the actual tiling is simple enough, particular when you don't have to do any cutting. Although I'm generally not a big fan of nails (they're too hard to get out if you make a mistake), tiles need to be secured by nails, not screws. The reason for this is that if you need to get a single tile out, because it's been damaged, for example, this will be very difficult if it's screwed down -- there will be another heavy tile resting on the screw head. With nailing, you might be able to wiggle the nail out by wiggling the tile.
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| The tiling itself is straightforward, provided that the batten spacing is accurate |
After getting all the tiles in place, I sealed up the edge nearest the house with bitumen again, just to be on the safe side (and I had some to use up, anyway).
Not very flash
I won't dwell on the subject of flashing, because I'm not very pleased with the self-adhesive aluminium flashing I used, for reasons of cost and time saving. It doesn't look bad as such, it just doesn't look authentic. And I have a feeling that it will peel off in time. With the proper primer applied to the tiles and masonry it seems to form a reasonably strong bond. But we'll see what effect a British winter has on it.Approximate costs
| Roof tiles | £80 |
| Timber battens and counterbattens | £50 |
| Aluminium flashing and primer | £20 |
| Felt | £10 |
| Sealant, nails, etc | £10 |
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| Total | £170 |
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