Technical Updates

"Leaking clay tile roof."

The Problem with Clay Roofs

Directive No: 2007/Roof/001

As a design-build specialist, Meridian Homes® inspects properties at various stages of construction – including on completion. Using our hard won experience, we have been able to identify the source of problems and implement a system to tackle the issue of leaking clay tile roofs.

Issue

Leaking clay tile roof.

Observation

  1. Common problem of leaks of main clay tile roofs.
  2. Usually at junctions, end-edges.

Investigation & Discovery

  1. Causes
    1. Poor angle of roof pitch.
    2. Unsuitable tile profile. Roof tile profiles are all imported, and there are some profiles that may be unsuitable for local use due to the nature of rains here(heavy & prolonged, driving rain).
    3. All local installations for indoor use should employ the use of sisalation (alum foil). However, it has its own inherent weaknesses in the current widely-used methodology of installation.
    4. Overflow conditions. Many reasons may cause this overflow situation and the solutions can be found either in detailing or in the overall roof design.

Challenges

  1. Common poor practices.
    1. Chicken wire underlay to support thin sisalation is poor because of rust, and there is little support left. Also, rust can seriously undermine the sisalation material over time.
    2. Rockwool: there is raging discussion in the West on carcinogenic properties of rockwool as a material.

Postulation

NA

Remedy

Many solutions can be incorporated to prevent a leaking roof. A major invention developed by Meridian Homes® is found in our 2nd Roof® (patent pending) system which amongst others, incorporates improved methodology, new system components, and detailing to overcome the many problems employed in local roof construction.
Apart from the system invention itself, 2nd Roof® requires the training of installers at ground level so that they understand and appreciate the technicalities of this system. They are also trained on the use of various proprietary sub-products to achieve a 100 per cent water-tight roof. Many construction-based systems fail at ground level because of poor training, and are often compounded by poor supervision.

Long Term Solution

Updated in Meridian Homes® Operations Manual: 2nd Roof® (patent pending) is a Standard feature in all projects.