I have some cladding over the top half of my house. I want to run some
co-ax through a point in the middle of the cladding. I either need to
(a) remove the tiles or (b) drill through them.

Pictures are at:
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/1203/20022010932.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1213/20022010933.jpg

I tried removing the nails to remove the tiles, but the nails won't
come out. Is there a proper way of removing these tiles? A proper
tool?

Is it possible to drill through these tiles? They are synthetic, but
don't feel like concrete. Even if I could drill through them, I have
no idea what is underneath, e.g. a membrane, bricks, who knows?

If anyone could provide some guidance I'd be grateful.

Dan

Dan Gravell explained on 20/02/2010 :
I have some cladding over the top half of my house. I want to run some
co-ax through a point in the middle of the cladding. I either need to
(a) remove the tiles or (b) drill through them.

Pictures are at:
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/1203/20022010932.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1213/20022010933.jpg

I tried removing the nails to remove the tiles, but the nails won't
come out. Is there a proper way of removing these tiles? A proper
tool?

Is it possible to drill through these tiles? They are synthetic, but
don't feel like concrete. Even if I could drill through them, I have
no idea what is underneath, e.g. a membrane, bricks, who knows?

If anyone could provide some guidance I'd be grateful.

Dan

could you not go all the way down, then back up under the eaves?

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

On 20 Feb, 17:13, Cicero wrote:
They look like Marley Eternit slates / cladding - about 3mm thick. If so,
they're easily drilled using ordinary HSS bits. The rest of the roofing
structure should be conventional felt on battens.

The nails might be copper and should come out like any other nail but you
might crack the slate around the nail. A direct pull would be best rather
than levering them out.

I tried pulling straight out, no dice. I'm on a step ladder too, which
doesn't help.

So if I drilled through what measures should I take with regards water
penetration?

On 20 Feb, 18:26, Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

could you not go all the way down, then back up under the eaves?

Good point. To explain more, the co-ax is coming from the ground
floor, not from the roof. It's a communal aerial system that I am
splitting on my side (I've already tested the split, which gives
satisfactory results).

Thanks,
Dan

Dan Gravell formulated the question :
I tried pulling straight out, no dice. I'm on a step ladder too, which
doesn't help.

Snip or saw the bent end off, which would allow you to then lift the
tile to get some better purchase on the nail.

So if I drilled through what measures should I take with regards water
penetration?

If you drilled, you would certainly get water ingress. Any sealant used
would not last long.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

Dan Gravell wrote:
I have some cladding over the top half of my house. I want to run some
co-ax through a point in the middle of the cladding. I either need to
(a) remove the tiles or (b) drill through them.

Pictures are at:
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/1203/20022010932.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1213/20022010933.jpg

I tried removing the nails to remove the tiles, but the nails won't
come out. Is there a proper way of removing these tiles? A proper
tool?

Is it possible to drill through these tiles? They are synthetic, but
don't feel like concrete. Even if I could drill through them, I have
no idea what is underneath, e.g. a membrane, bricks, who knows?

If anyone could provide some guidance I'd be grateful.

Dan

Be careful, they look like asbestos slates to me.
Don

On 21 Feb, 11:22, Donwill wrote:

Be careful, they look like asbestos slates to me.
Don

Ye-ikes. I'll put my drill away then.

I'll have a go at cutting the nails and then replacing. There are only
about five or six tiles that need to come off.

In message
, Dan
Gravell writes
On 21 Feb, 11:22, Donwill wrote:

Be careful, they look like asbestos slates to me.
Don

Ye-ikes. I'll put my drill away then.

I'll have a go at cutting the nails and then replacing. There are only
about five or six tiles that need to come off.

Don't be scared, wrong type of asbestos


--
geoff

John Rumm wrote:
Dan Gravell wrote:
On 21 Feb, 11:22, Donwill wrote:
Be careful, they look like asbestos slates to me.
Don

Ye-ikes. I'll put my drill away then.

I'll have a go at cutting the nails and then replacing. There are only
about five or six tiles that need to come off.

The are made from a fibre reinforced material, but the fibre is not
necessarily asbestos. You can still get them today and the look the same.

It depends when they were installed, I think asbestos was still being
used as a fibre in slates in the 60s, I still think he should be
carefull just in case. Google for advice and at the least wear a
particle mask when drilling Dan.
Don

Dan Gravell wrote:
On 21 Feb, 11:22, Donwill wrote:

Be careful, they look like asbestos slates to me.
Don


Ye-ikes. I'll put my drill away then.

I'll have a go at cutting the nails and then replacing. There are only
about five or six tiles that need to come off.

This might help Dan:

http://www.aic.org.uk/asbestos_cement.htm

Good Luck
Don

Thanks for the extra info everyone. House went up in the early 80s,
before '84.

Yeah what John wrote about the clips/nails appears to be true, they
just won't come out.

If I were to drill, what's the best sealant to use?

Dan

On 22 Feb, 15:50, John Rumm wrote:

Silicone...

Form a drip loop on any cable that is not entering from the underside of
the hole, and drill your hole at a slight upward angle from the outside.

So the options a
1) Remove the tiles, tough work
2) Drill through the tiles: chance of death in twenty years, plus I
would need to get a new ladder I think

I'm just wondering... I know it's frowned on generally, but in my
situation would others try going through a PVC window frame instead?
It is another option. I would keep well away from the glass of course,
it would be in the 'frame' part of the window.