Continuing work on the roof at Trencal

18th February 2008
Monday morning and more materials delivered







16th February 2008
The "supervisor" is up on the roof today







But she wasn't too happy getting up there!






15th February 2008
The whole new roof surface is completely covered with asphalt. This is "welded" down all around the edges and where each strip joins the next.





The original tiles are then re-laid on top of the asphalt.







12th February 2008
This first part of the roof is easier to work on because there are two "big bags" of sand on the roof, and the builders can mix the mortar up there. The next sections will be more difficult as all the mortar will have to be lifted up by bucket.




With the roof completely clear of tiles a 3 - 4cm skim of mortar was laid over the whole roof.






New lead flashing, wider this time to give greater protection, was laid in the gully where the two roof falls meet. Before the plumbers laid the lead (it is traditionally a plumber's job) the builders created a smooth mortar base to prevent future cracking.




11th February 2008
The first job is to completely clear the tiles off the roof. This exposed the roof surface which is a simple construction of "bardos" (flat bricks) laid on (probably) narrow brick walls and pointed up with "yeso" (lime). There is no asphalt or any other weather protection.



In fact the roof has stood up very well over the years, but there are clear signs of small holes in the bricks and cracks in the yeso. This is almost certainly where the water has been getting in.





Lead flashing was used in the original construction to line the gully where the two roof slopes meet by the chimney. There was no mortar under this and over the years it has moved and cracked. Under the lead it was still quite damp and this is where a lot of the water had also been getting in.