Thread: Roof Leak: How to Fix ?

Originally Posted by DrAndy

you keep saying it is difficult to find someone, but I can't see why

because all they do is a shit job and they don't want to come for fixing small things. The neighbor had the same problem, they only came because they were fixing a number of other things and the neighbor is very unhappy about the whole situation.

I will call Monnier next week to see if they have someone serious with the right equipment to inspect the roof. Even my architect tells me about all the nightmare stories in Bangkok with builders fucking up everything. It's really that bad.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

I will call Monnier next week to see if they have someone serious with the right equipment to inspect the roof.

They are good but pricey. Also, beware when they they to tell you about all the things you will need to buy to fix the problem.

I spent all morning fixing the electricity problems, re-wiring some cables that went everywhere, putting them away from water leaks as I had a few light bulbs go already

ok a few pics from the night it rain:

a new leak, much more than the other one


the old leak


this is the steal beam where the small leak is spreading on different spots,

I was able to clearly identified the source of the leaks when it was raining,

This is the new leak, we can clearly see the tiles with water leaking from them, why are they are leaking ? not at the right place ? they are the only ones to be apparent, I note no tin foil again. Coincidence ?

Originally Posted by Butterfly

a new leak, much more than the other one

May have missed it in the thread but what is the pitch on your roof. If your roof is relatively flat and the rain is accompanied with high wind, the water may be coming under the roofing tiles.

This is the source of the old leak, I asked previously about that black thing, I have no idea, I suspect some sealant tape between tiles or roof connection, obviously not working. No idea if it's how it supposed to be installed.



and this is the actual leak when it was raining,



and the water spreading from the metal beam

Originally Posted by Butterfly

I note no tin foil again. Coincidence ?

Of course not.

Originally Posted by Norton

They are good but pricey.

here quality is always cheaper, so I would rather pay more for a professional, than a builder with no clue who would probably overcharge me just because he can. That's why I would rather deal with product vendors than those builder cheats, they all seem to be worthless in Bangkok, and the good ones are too busy with their current project.

Originally Posted by Norton

May have missed it in the thread but what is the pitch on your roof

Pitch ? you mean the angle ? I would say about 40 degree, it was also very windy that night.

I think you'll find CMN only has an outside bog, so when it rain he climbs on your roof and pisses through your tiles.

Fucking troll

Originally Posted by Norton

The aluminum foil is only a heat reflecting material and has nothing to do with the leaking.

that's what I don't understand, there is no opening, only tin foil. What would they want to keep all that heat in the roof ? it's not like we have cold winters in Thailand. Also I don't see a ventilation unit to make air go through. Maybe to install one if they do the inspection.

Originally Posted by Norton

Should not be getting rain up under the tiles unless the tiles are laid incorrectly.

You can clearly see in the pic that the top of the tile is wet, so water is coming down and the water is spreading from the tiles, but they do seem to be firmly in place. Should I try to move them or is that a catastrophe waiting to happen ?

Originally Posted by Butterfly

that's what I don't understand, there is no opening, only tin foil. What would they want to keep all that heat in the roof ?

A whole other issue we can discuss at length later.

The immediate problem is leaking tiles. Wouldn't try to remove any tiles from the attic. Catastrophe in the making. Wait until you get a proper roof inspection and get out a bunch of pots and pans to catch the water in the mean time.

Do you have a pic of the tiles from the outside of the house? Curious to see tile type.

Ok just applied the expending foam, but not too much, on both end of the steel beam so the water doesn't drop from it, and a little bit where there was a small opening and the water was leaking. Will see how long it will last.

For the bigger and serious leak, I will need to have Monnier to come over, if they accept such a job, but since it's a big company with a name, I would expect they will. Not sure when though.

I must have lost 50kg in water when doing work on that roof, it's so hot, close to 50 C

at least I lost some weight, so it was not all lost. Next project, closing the service trap.

Splilid is right 1 Inspect source 2 It may be asmll hole but apart from furnishings any water into these electrics is a hazard and would prob invalidate any insurance 3 Local labour for a few $ a day can no doubt do a temp fix 4it take me half an hour if I had a matching suitable tile 5 then redo damage inside renew the foil treat the wood and perhaps a spot of paint pm if youneed more help

ok so it rained last night and there was some good news, the annoying small leak where I put the expanding foam stopped

The bad news is that the water was diverted to another bigger leak, so I have another leak and it seems bigger. It's actually progress because I could actually see the source of the leak more clearly. It's a broken tile and I could clearly see it. I even removed the broken part from below as I didn't want it to fall eventually.

So hopefully Monnier will come around and do a full inspection. There is still the second leak that wasn't fixed with the foam, and there again I suspect a broken tile as I saw a broken piece inside.

Ok so I called Monier as suggested here, they are the builder of the roof

as I expected, they refuse to come, for different reasons, mostly because they don't intervene on my kind of house. Apparently I am not the only one who called. A number of projects have had similar problems in Bangkok and they all called Monier to intervene, but they don't intervene, hundreds of calls apparently. Projects in ThongLor etc... have the same problem, they need tile replacements but they won't do it. Instead you have to call your contractor (usually after he did the runner) and ask him to intervene.

I suspect this has nothing to do with technicals but all about kickbacks and the way they work here, that is the contractor is fully responsible for fixing, installing and purchasing the tiles with his markup.

I am fucked, so it's back with the expanding foam plan, glad I tried that one on the small leak first

BF, for a seemingly intelligent person, you are not making any sense

the foam will not work

the tiles need fixing

get a builder

it is a simple job

Originally Posted by Butterfly

I am fucked, so it's back with the expanding foam plan

Good thinking. As you seem to find more and more broken tiles, hope you have a good supply of foam. When you're done the place will look great.

Originally Posted by DrAndy

get a builder

it is a simple job

not that simple, apparently. You are thinking of non-finish house, then yeah, it would be easy. Even Monier said it wasn't easy job.

I am thinking of any house with tiles, finished

all the builder has to do is get up on the roof, extract the broken tiles, slip in the replacement ones and voila!

I have done it myself several times before on different houses. You already know the area that has the problems, so that makes it even easier

Monnier was talking crap, for their own agenda

Originally Posted by DrAndy

all the builder has to do is get up on the roof, extract the broken tiles, slip in the replacement ones and voila!

I agree, it sounds easy. But apparently not for them, or it's too easy and there is no money to be made

The house is more than 15m, I think it must be 20m or 25m, so you still need a big ladder, or 1 week of bamboo setup

Bamboo scaffolding goes up in half a day

you have a high house 15m +, that is 4/5 stories!

as for no profit, all they have to do is quote you how much they want!

These kind of problems make me glad I have a tin roof.