Algae, Moss and Removal of Litchen.

Most people think moss can be removed with a jet wash on top of the roof. Well it can but your roof will suffer the consequences! This procedure can cause damage to your roofs tiles and potentially invalidate your manufacturers warranty if you still have one.

First of all you need to take a look at your roof and see what type of tile you are dealing with. This one below is a concrete pan tile roof. The tile its self it a Marley – Ludlow Plus

The best way of removing moss is when it is dry. The dryer the day the better the end result. After the moss has been removed the roof can be treated to kill the moss growth and prevent new growth coming back in the future. If the roof isn’t treated the moss will inevitably come back in time as the roof weathers.

Concrete Tiles, Pan & Small

Concrete tiles are available in many colours and styles. They can even be made to look like slate or clay tiles. The concrete tiles interlock with each other and are laid over wood laths (battens). Most of them will not be nailed down but rely on their own weight and interlocking design to hold them in position and prevent them from falling of the laths.

The concrete tiles are made to shed water and not be water proof. This is why it is important to keep these types of concrete tile roofs free from algae and debris so they cannot hold or absorb moisture. . If water is allowed to collect it can fill up the gutters or valleys and get into the insulation or wood beneath the tiles and cause leaks to your eaves course which is known as your roof line. Visit Marleys & Redlands website for technical information on all concrete tiles. We are just alliterating there technical terms.

Concrete tiles are designed to be porous to keep there weight down. This has it good points and bad points. Good points they are lighter which means easier to man handle up onto the roof. Bad points is that the tiles absorb water becoming more heavier and putting more stress on your roofs, rafters, purlins and wall plates.

All concrete tiles and ridge and any other concrete product have a shiny glazed factory finish when new. This special coating is designed to repel the water and stop it soaking into the tile. Over the years of being exposed to the sun this coating weathers and gradually wears off. This now makes the concrete tiles very porous creating small divits in the tile allowing it to hold water. The divits are created by mainly the frost/ice and freezing temperatures. Water gets in the divets, freezes and the ice expands and contracts causing the tile to weather. This is the perfect scenario for the build up of moss spores. These tend to collect on the interlocking part of the tile, blocking all the channels free flowing from water.

Layton Roofing & Building Specialists can remove moss.
Contact us on 01905 26296 or 07980324227

Moss Removal

The build up of moss and algae is very common on houses which have been built in the mid 60’s. This particular time period concrete tiles were a new product and cost effective. Most new houses were constructed with a concrete tile. All re-roofs were replaced with a concrete tile due to low cost. A sand faced concrete tile will attract more moss due to its rough fininsh

A roof covered in moss will in time generally hold allot of water increasing the roofs weight and then can cause damage to your roofs structure if rafters are undersized. This tends to happen on Victorian terrist houses. Under heavy rain the moss can fall down the roof, filling up your guttering which can then cause blockages and an ongoing maintenance issues.

The Process

Layton Roofing & Building Specialists are experts in moss removal and gutter maintenance. We use a variety of tools to carefully clear your roof of any moss, lichen and algae tile by tile without causing any permanent damage to your roofs structure and bedded verges & Ridge
Once your roof moss has been removed it will look like new again. You can expect your roof to last on average 5 years but this is depending on the age of your tiles and how badly pitted the faces are.
Thank you for reading and if you have any questions or queries about moss removal please contact us

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