Need competent roofer for leaks.

[giddyup]

The last heavy rain showed up a couple of leaks from tiled roof. The roof has quite a steep pitch so need someone with experience. Had one young guy fall off previously, fortunately only suffered a sprained ankle. Prefer someone from Dark Side if possible.

[Kerryd]

Eeeeee - define "competent". As in, professional from a company that specializes in such things or a "handyman" that seems to know his shi* ?

I'm on the darkside as well (Khao Noi area).

A friend in the village knew a guy that did home repairs. I had the guy fix a big problem with my water tank as well as the electrical cable to the doorbell (the one that disappears into the cement post and reappears somewhere in the "hot space" under the roof).

I had a small roof leak (which I'd forgotten about as it hadn't rained in ages) but when the rain did come, that small leak had developed into a torrent somehow. I called the guy and he got up on the roof with some silicone and found the problem. Somehow a tile had broken in the crease between the main and carport parts of the roof. He also found a little plastic "goose" (some little decorative ornament) in that crack. Maybe dropped by a bird or thrown by a kid.

Anyways, he cleaned the mess up and laid in a whack of silicone. On the way off the roof he squirted some silicone onto a few bolts sticking up from the metal roof over the patio.

I think I paid 300 baht. (Plus the silicone.) That was a couple months ago and I've watched it like a hawk every rain since then and not a drop.

Only problem - he doesn't speak much English (at all). But he has a translation app on his phone (and I had one on mine as well) and it all worked out.

Edit - if I need any work in the future, be it electrical, plumbing, tile, etc, that I can't do myself, I'd call this guy again without hesitation.
 

Edited July 1, 2020 by Kerryd

[Peterhua]

Make sure you buy a couple of extra buckets to save the leaking water. You could then use the water for showering or washing up. That should help reduce your water bill.

[giddyup]

1 hour ago, Peterhua said:

Make sure you buy a couple of extra buckets to save the leaking water. You could then use the water for showering or washing up. That should help reduce your water bill.

I'll save a bucket for you to stick your head in.

[giddyup]

2 hours ago, Kerryd said:

 

Edit - if I need any work in the future, be it electrical, plumbing, tile, etc, that I can't do myself, I'd call this guy again without hesitation.
 

I can get the missus to talk to him. I'd appreciate it you can PM me his number.

Edit: Does he have his own ladder?

Edited July 1, 2020 by giddyup

[Kerryd]

PM sent.

[thaibeachlovers]

Need competent roofer

LOL. Competent and any category of worker generally don't go together in LOS, at least for us, as all the competent ones work for major corporations or companies. I did everything myself including fixing holes in the roof as it was just disappointing having to pay someone and then have to redo their work anyway.

 

Are you not able to get into your roof space? If you can, a tube of roof suitable silicone and a gun are cheap enough. Going from the inside has the advantage of seeing the hole easily during daylight.

Be careful though, as some ceilings won't support a person.

[Kerryd]

24 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Need competent roofer

LOL. Competent and any category of worker generally don't go together in LOS, at least for us, as all the competent ones work for major corporations or companies. I did everything myself including fixing holes in the roof as it was just disappointing having to pay someone and then have to redo their work anyway.

 

Are you not able to get into your roof space? If you can, a tube of roof suitable silicone and a gun are cheap enough. Going from the inside has the advantage of seeing the hole easily during daylight.

Be careful though, as some ceilings won't support a person.

Yeah, most of these houses in the various "villages" have gypsum screwed to thin metal brackets for ceilings. It will hole the weight of a cat and that's about it. A skinny cat at that.

The brick work extends a few inches above the ceilings and is often pretty "shoddy" (gives you a good idea of what the rest looks like under the thin coat of cement and paint).

Getting around up there is difficult at the best of times. One slip and you are looking at broken bones (or worse) and an expensive repair job. I've been up there a few times and I'm not comfortable with trying to move around too much.

Just after I moved in to this place I noticed a small hole in the ceiling in one room. Got up into the ceiling and saw it must have been from a small leak somewhere near the peak of the roof. Too high to get to from inside so I ended up taking a old plastic plate and putting that over the hole. Any water dripping collects on the plate and evaporates eventually and the hole is covered.
(Repairing a hole in a sheet of gypsum is not easy.)

One day I may get ambitious and get up there with some putty and fill the hole - meh, maybe not. 
The leak only seems to happen when it's a really heavy "blowing" rain, driving the water back up the roof. Seems that when it's a "normal" rain, even if it's on a slant, it's not a problem (usually). Probably won't be a problem unless something else happens (like some dick gets on the roof for some reason and breaks some tiles).