I've been intending to install dry verge caps for a while but thought
I'd get a couple of firms round to give me a quote to see if diy was
worth the effort.

One of them told me they could nail the caps into the ends of the laths
through the mortar that fills the gap between the ends of the tiles and
the asbestos board underneath. The other insisted that the end tiles had
to be removed, additional 'lath extenders' installed, the mortar
replaced and the caps fitted into the extenders. So I'm confused.

Clearly the second method would be more complete, but is it totally
necessary?

Does any missing mortar have to be replaced/re-skimmed?

Just how much loading is there on an individual cap when they are
interlocked?

We have the equivalent of five gables (98 tile ends) so there's a lot to
do. Firm number one wanted £800, number two wanted £1800.

Anyone any thoughts on this, including diying it?

TIA

--
F

On 13/09/2010 16:12 F wrote:

I've been intending to install dry verge caps for a while but thought
I'd get a couple of firms round to give me a quote to see if diy was
worth the effort.

One of them told me they could nail the caps into the ends of the laths
through the mortar that fills the gap between the ends of the tiles and
the asbestos board underneath. The other insisted that the end tiles had
to be removed, additional 'lath extenders' installed, the mortar
replaced and the caps fitted into the extenders. So I'm confused.

Clearly the second method would be more complete, but is it totally
necessary?

Does any missing mortar have to be replaced/re-skimmed?

Just how much loading is there on an individual cap when they are
interlocked?

We have the equivalent of five gables (98 tile ends) so there's a lot to
do. Firm number one wanted £800, number two wanted £1800.

Anyone any thoughts on this, including diying it?

TIA


Anyone?

--
F

On 15 Sep, 13:10, F news@nowhere wrote:
On 13/09/2010 16:12 F wrote:



I've been intending to install dry verge caps for a while but thought
I'd get a couple of firms round to give me a quote to see if diy was
worth the effort.

One of them told me they could nail the caps into the ends of the laths
through the mortar that fills the gap between the ends of the tiles and
the asbestos board underneath. The other insisted that the end tiles had
to be removed, additional 'lath extenders' installed, the mortar
replaced and the caps fitted into the extenders. So I'm confused.

Clearly the second method would be more complete, but is it totally
necessary?

Does any missing mortar have to be replaced/re-skimmed?

Just how much loading is there on an individual cap when they are
interlocked?

We have the equivalent of five gables (98 tile ends) so there's a lot to
do. Firm number one wanted £800, number two wanted £1800.

Anyone any thoughts on this, including diying it?

TIA

Anyone?

--
F

You've got to remove the mortar and extend the battens. I fitted dry
verge on a new roof, and the caps are nailed with annular nails
through a spring clip, which is fixed to the side of the batten. The
nails are really held by the clips.
If you just nailed into the end of the batten the fix would be weak.
I'm not sure how you extend the battens though.
Simon.

On 15/09/2010 15:43 sm_jamieson wrote:

You've got to remove the mortar and extend the battens. I fitted dry
verge on a new roof, and the caps are nailed with annular nails
through a spring clip, which is fixed to the side of the batten. The
nails are really held by the clips.
If you just nailed into the end of the batten the fix would be weak.
I'm not sure how you extend the battens though.
Simon.

Thanks: that's the kind of thing I wanted to know.

One of the guys mentioned plastic extenders but didn't go into detail.

Though I built three out of the four roofs myself 25-30 years ago, I
really don't think I want to be stuck up a ladder removing and refitting
tiles to fit the caps. I'd more happily just nail them through the
(crumbling) mortar but that doesn't sound like a good idea.

Looks like I'm going to have to take the wheelbarrow down to the cash
machine with £1500 looking like the best price so far. Two men, two
days, the edges of 98 tiles: does that sound reasonable?

--
F

On 15 Sep, 15:54, F news@nowhere wrote:
On 15/09/2010 15:43 sm_jamieson wrote:

You've got to remove the mortar and extend the battens. I fitted dry
verge on a new roof, and the caps are nailed with annular nails
through a spring clip, which is fixed to the side of the batten. The
nails are really held by the clips.
If you just nailed into the end of the batten the fix would be weak.
I'm not sure how you extend the battens though.
Simon.

Thanks: that's the kind of thing I wanted to know.

One of the guys mentioned plastic extenders but didn't go into detail.

Though I built three out of the four roofs myself 25-30 years ago, I
really don't think I want to be stuck up a ladder removing and refitting
tiles to fit the caps. I'd more happily just nail them through the
(crumbling) mortar but that doesn't sound like a good idea.

Looks like I'm going to have to take the wheelbarrow down to the cash
machine with £1500 looking like the best price so far. Two men, two
days, the edges of 98 tiles: does that sound reasonable?

--
F

OK, in bodge city, what about patching up the mortar, soaking it in
thinned-down SBR (or PVA) to solidify it, then very long screws into
the batten ends. Assuming you know where the battens are !
The nail / screws are hidden by the next cap along.
Simon.

On 15/09/2010 16:05 sm_jamieson wrote:

OK, in bodge city, what about patching up the mortar, soaking it in
thinned-down SBR (or PVA) to solidify it, then very long screws into
the batten ends. Assuming you know where the battens are !
The nail / screws are hidden by the next cap along.

The battens are right under the spring clips that are nailed into them
and that curl over the tiles to hold them down. I know that because I
put them there when I built the roofs!

On reflection, I think it's probably best to get someone in to do it.
There's no point in going down the bodge route and so to do it properly
it's going to be a long time at the top of a long ladder and/or working
off a pitched roof. If it takes two guys two days on scaffolding, and
they do it day in day out (so they're not going to be sussing it out as
they go along), it's going to take me a lot longer. Discretion...
valour... etc.

Thanks for the help, though!

--
F