I'm a builder, I would do a full inspection of the loft first, the holes where not caused by you, it's just very old felt, on thing I would say, never spray up words towards the ridge tiles, always spray down towards the gutters, so angle your turbo thing in the direction of the gutters
I agree, ideally, the best way to powerwash a roof and to take less time would be to be above the roof ridge and as you say wash down towards the gutter as the roof tiles will do what theyre made for, and no water would get inside the loft nor created any holes in the lining. I actually think the holes inside the loft lining werre already there and the owner of the prop has had a free repair service!
scrape it with a scraper, wire brush and soft brush, if the customer wants the tiles to look new…… buy new tiles or concrete paint after cleaning ( not that i recommend concrete paint its just a lot cheaper )
I've just watched this closely and hears my 2 cents, first of all. With that many holes in the roof lining ill bet you didnt cause not one of them ! The tiles on the roof take most of the force from the turbo nozzle and what water gets behind it shouldnt put holes in it! That roofs been patched up allot so there was a problem there to start with. The lady mentioned that water got in through the boiler exhaust pipe, now that one could have been caused by rinsing down the roof and some water going down the pipe, you can actually see the dirty pipe in the vid. Think you did a great job there for your first one, next time take lots of pictures and inspect everything.
I would agree with this, I don't have the pressure wash experience, but that bungalow was built around the 1960s and the sarking felt is original. I am an experienced builder and have a similar bungalow with the same felt and lots of holes as the felt becomes brittle with age.
The chap carrying out this work is inexperienced. If the homeowner took legal action against him - this video alone would lose the case for him. Too many inexperienced clowns doing this unnecessary work on peoples homes...
I’m a plumber ( often in roof spaces) and there’s plenty of lofts with random tear holes just like those in the older felt a long time before roof washing was a thing , it had a lifespan of 20-30 years but extreme conditions can cut that time dramatically
I would agree with this, I don't have the pressure wash experience, but that bungalow was built around the 1960s and the sarking felt is original. I am an experienced builder and have a similar bungalow with the same felt and lots of holes as the felt becomes brittle with age. Besides that issue, nice work on the cleaning.
Only advice I will give you before you do any roof cleaning is go around the property take pictures of any broken tiles or damage already on the roof, go up into the loft before you start the job as well, and if you notice any damage or anything take photos before you start, if any customer complains u can prove the damage was already there before you started. Nice work on the roof clean👍 Hope you have plenty more in the future.
Hi mate, from what I see you did fine. I would be surprised if you caused the damage to the roof. I've cleaned a lot and not had that before. Potentially, when resting the turbo nozzle on the tiles before pulling the trigger, you get a build-up of compressed pressure, as you know. And there is the slightest possibility that is what may have caused the damage. I would expect to see broken tiles or clear signs of damage from the outside though if that was the case. Anyway... get shot of the bin lid thing you were using looked like cheap tat lol buy mosmatic they are worth it 👌
Hi Jake, that damage was probably already there. Always a good idea to take a look round in the roof space before pressure wash. Lots of pros and cons to pressure washing roofs and water will always find a way to ruin your day lol. Keep up the great work 👍🏻
Evening guys, firstly can I say, fair play to you for posting the end of this video, I think that’s really good of you. I’ve always been out of the idea of pressure washing roofs for lots of reasons, but mainly due to any chance of things like this happening. I scrape and it works really well. I got my system for GVS also and I’d highly recommend it. Take care buddy.
morning.... as a fully quailed roofer of 35odd years I would say that non of the holes in the roof were caused by yourself. the undefelt is know as 1f a hessian and bitumen build up that is very very old and falls apart when people go into the loft and rub/nudge against it. modern day felt is like paper and heavily breathable to allow heat to dissipate correctly from the property. please forgive me for putting my 50ps with in...... but dont shoot water near any roof sill vents ,headworks,chimneys especially as they are all acting like a candles wick into the property and allowing the possibility of wart ingress.. keep on doing what ya doing as every day is a school day..... hope thus helps and remember....... be kind to yourself
@edenandmeadow And there speaks the voice of experience. Well said and some excellent advice given. B.S 747 PART 1F sarking felt it was.......I remember it well. I suspect he will carry out pre-inspections to the roof spaces on the next job......
Love this video I've been doing this for 7 years I would like to give you advise use a ladder standoff and put it on the tile it give you stability stop your ladder wobbling and never put your ladder on the gutters you could pop a joint out of place but love the vid
It is really helpful for people to see things that go wrong, not just perfect things, so thanks for that. I use a pressure washer at home but have to be so careful (and don't use it on the roof which is even steeper and higher than the average 2 or 3 story house) and even on a bit of fence it has made a hole. It is just too powerful for some jobs I'm afraid. Also a lot of houses have loose tiles so I wouldn't feel safe using a powerful pressure hose
You couldn’t have made them holes Jake you just blasted a tile surface. That old tar felt is very brittle but you couldn’t have done it. When roofers put battens on they can often rip the felt with their boots. Felt is just a back up not the waterproof surface. Like you said check the felt first take photos it will cover you.
Never had that happen, probably age of the roof. ( Did you lower the pressure on the p washer?) but most likely week or already failed liner. Maybe be worth inspecting the roof liner on qoute if possible could be a good idea. But I watch how you washed the roof and it seemed good, I use a twin turbo nozzle but also use a turbo devil disc cleaner which is awesome.
I use a heavy duty plastic hand clip to lock the trigger down on my pressure washer. I don't clean roofs but do use my washer often and have arthritis so use the spring hand clips which work great.
Thanks for sharing such an honest video of success and failure. IMO I can't see how you could have caused the visible damage inside the roof but fantastic job to remedy for the customer. Possible you caused some minor issues as you were learning but far more experience heads have commented on technique. All in that looked a very stressful experience, I feel your pain. (especially trying to handle +35ft of extended pole for any length of time)
Great job matey! That clearly wasn’t your fault at all. As you said in the video a scaffold every time will help. Don’t get to down with the armchair critics in the comments. These guys forget they started somewhere as well when cleaning roofs. Lovely job in the end mate and it’s a great service to offer to build the business. When I do roofs I pay my labourer more for that roof clean than I would on a general gutter or driveway day. Keep going mate 👍🏻🫡
I almost always try to push the softwash when it comes to roofs and play the long game for the results for this exact reason you can never garuntee there won't be any damage I tend to biocide and then re apply with a brush on wfp to make sure it's penetrationg the biofilm for best possible results 👍
WoW..what a big job..That wand will cause shoulder problems..Just for my 2 cents if you do any roofs in the future to get a cheaper soft wash system and use 6% SH it would take you a fraction of the time and save your hands and shoulders as well but I applauded you for doing that big job with a wand..good luck!
I would say those holes in the felt were pre existing as its old and will perish over time but because of the extreme pressure the water has penetrated through the tiles upwards and leaked straight into the loft through any holes in the felt This is why I don’t think it’s a good idea to clean a roof in this way , roof tiles like this aren’t meant to withstand pressures like this I’ll bet this happens all too often Nice to see you went back and addressed the issue 👍
Hi there enjoyed your video. The reason the loft had water ingress is because when pressure washing a roof you need to wash from ridge down making sure not to let the water spray up under the tiles at all. A roof should be waterproof even if there was no felt as normal rainfall will just cascade down the roof providing roof has been tiled correctly, try to avoid trays flashings etc. I was a roofer for many years so that would be my two pennith.
Sprayed wet & forget on my roof,slowly over several months the roof become clean like a new roof. That was 4 plus years ago and roof still looks new no moss and no need to jet wash. Also works fine on the patio.
@@geedub2019 yes diluted as per instructions with a garden sprayer. There are some small businesses round our way that have set up offering a similar service.
Wet and Forget , like many patio cleaners is BAC50 based, if I'm not mistaken (only 5% or 10% solution?). You can buy 5 L of concentrated BAC 50 (a 50% solution) for about £30 retail, and it can be diluted to make as much as 125 L of working fluid!! Some folk insist that DDAC works better - but its more expensive and I personally havent found it to work any better.... BTW I use BAC50 for my patios/paths and for cleaning gravestones. It does take time to show results, however - as the lichen etc slowly dies and gets weathered away by wind and rain. BTW Just be careful to never get Bac 50 in your eyes!!!
Hi bud to stop the moss running to the drains disconnect a section of gutter at each side and set you're sheeting under that this also helps with the weight of the moss in the gutter, we never high pressure wash them always low pressure as low as our machine will go. People say it takes this and that of the roof if you are careful it will only lift the top layer of moss you will work out distance. It will take 50 60 years of a roof is the things I hear none of us will be here to see it and its rubbish if done properly
Nice job Jake, don't beat yourself up about the felt it was already knackered but defo look out for that next time. I clean a lot of roofs with skyscraper and biocide. I leave jet washing roofs to the guys who have the time to clear up the awful mess & don't mind risking their liability insurance.
It sounds backwards but I believe you're supposed to start at the bottom and work your way up, and then give it a rinse afterwards, otherwise you can end up with a huge pile of heavy wet moss as you get near the end that can cause damage, flooding or be harder to move. Just got further in the video and noticed that you are doing that later
What you say is right but it's not the point here. Some are trying to know if the pressure equipment can cause infiltration through the tiles ... and if yes, could we avoid it (by directing the nozzle to better angle ..?.. or by using a lower pression..?).
What i can definitely see is that you are an honest man. Im no pressure washer cleaner im a plasterer with experience in a lot of things them holes were fro rotten felt old past its life time you done well top job ii would definitely recommend you if you lived in South Wales
We tend to use a cat ladder and a tower for safety purposes and always jetwash down start from top and jet against the tile weather strip not into some roof tiles are way too worn for jet washing especially concrete and we tend to spray roof with polyurethane after treatment a good tiled roof will stop 99.9 % of water a lot of old roofs didn’t have felt just cement bodging so modern membranes are mostly for moisture from property but can stop leaking from cracked tiles but not for a long time
Ive blown tiles off a grade 1 listed building . Its always best to aim downwards . From the tip of the roof aiming down . Cat ladder is the safest method without braking further tiles in the job . Absolute perler mate 👌🏼
As people have mentioned do a pre-loft inspection with video and photo evidence of any current damage (actually show them this footage as they may be completely unaware) Also get them to sign something that says they’ve seen the pre inspection damage. (Maybe get a marker pen or Small piece of tape to mark the original damage spots so it can be much easier to determine after the work is complete if any damage that doesn’t have a mark on would’ve been caused by you)
Excellent video, 🙏 thanks for exposing some of the problems even though I don't think they were caused by your work. That is precisely why I haven't done anything of this sort to my roof yet, I was worried about leaks especially mine being so old.
I think them holes were already there in the first place. Tape wise bitumen tape would stick better i think, its like glue the stickyness of it. You have done a good job on that roof 👍 i think if you take anymore roof jobs on def take a look inside the loft before and take photos and the show the owners.
Fit a pressure gauge and have the pressure around 90 bar to start with , that way you'll always be around the right pressure you'll need mate, also recommend and turbo devil so much easier
Are you not allowed to use chlorine in that side of the world? In the US I own a roof cleaning company. That would have been done in 2-3 hours with minimal effort due to the use of chemical. Still nice work!
Also bud, theres no wah you caused them holes in the felt, but you can use a product called flexacryl to stick the patch to the felt, its an instant repair compound, we use it all the time for sealing holes in guttering and flat roofs, it sticks to anything and has fiberglass grains in it.
The WetJet 14" Flat Surface Cleaner is also available on the lawn and power website. It is only rated up to 11 lpm. The nozzle orifices are probably too small for your machine. Luckily they are the standard 1/4” size so you could replace them to get the correct flow for your machine. I was actually looking at this FSC to pair with the lawn and power 3100 pressure washer which is 11pm.
i do this job and my hat is off to you. your arms gonna be dead for days. its a horrible feeling i think you just stretch every tendon its hard going.. pro tip. hotbox, pressure gauge for the pressure washer and a small surface cleaner. save you a hole lot of pain. it just scress on the of the wfp
Well done Jake. An awful lot of effort put in there for the end result, my next door neighbour had his roof cleaned from moss and lichen and it was just sprayed with a chemical and a couple of weeks later just brushed down towards the gutters. i think power washing old tiles isnt the way to go and any glaze which the tile had left (probably none in this case ) would be finished off from the washing you gave it. i would be staying clear of roof jobs myself after this one. Great clip overall i have subscribed to see what you come up with next. 🙂
Hey mate, for future reference, You were kind of advised wrong by the roofer, you should really cut a slice into the existing felt going across and ideally pass the dpc from inside the roof at the top and outside at the bottom, as if the rain did go through the tile, water would still gather on your dpc the way you have laid it. Good luck in the future mate
Been in the business myself for 25 years, although in Belgium. That lining is detoriated from age. You simply cannot blast that with your nozzle, that is impossible. If it was, the the roof lining was already prone to outer damage because of gaps and broken tiles. Next time, do a pre-work inspection, also on the inside, to prevent things like this happening. And if something occurs, have it repaired by a roof-specialist, don't go DIYing with tape and plastic sheets....
The moss was the only water proofer that old roof had. Looks like that would be the last of the roof washing there's enough siding and driveways to wash. And with your set up you could do drains as well. Kits for drains are easy to come by and drains are a quick and easy job that makes damn good money.
Thanks for the video, my old roof felt perished and looked very similar. I doubt it was your doing but offering to have a look in the roof or asking the condition seems prudent, particularly if the property is 50’s - 80s and still on the original roof. I was up in the roof of a property the in-laws are buying and the felt membrane is also shot to shit. Great to see your patch work, it looks like a great temporary fix that I might need borrow and perform in due course!
Tie a string around the top end of the trigger and handle leave a little bit of a slack on the string, just slide the string down to keep the trigger on!...slide string back up to have it off.
All I can add is that if you’re going to continue doing roofs, definitely inspect them from the loft. We’re in a 30’s semi and have no felt or membrane whatsoever. If we had it pressure washed it’d definitely leak.
I have done a few roof cleans, but always recommended to scrape Mose off and then biocide after. Pressure washing looks great but seriously it’s a risk. The biocide should work well and can slowly change the colour after its rains.
We do not now offer any pressure washing on roofs, only traditional scrape & Bio. We had an absolute disaster on one luckily some of my pals are roofers and we got it fixed for next to nothing, could have gone into the thousands tho. Really you need a steam set up or hot water so u can get the pressure right down, should be around 100bar. Fair play tho looked graft & yeah u need a tower to make things easier and safer 👍
Why do all you guys in this part of the country pressure wash the roofs instead of use soft wash technique like we do here in the states? I soft wash all sorts of roofs. Hell a lot less work and a lot safer for all materials. It kills all that stuff .
@@BRExteriorPro problem we have here in the UK is that it's a lot damper so the moss can be super thick. There's now also apparently laws which prevent hypo being used on live moss, the one we are working at the moment is so thick moss it's like a carpet
@@JPHeath yeah that's crazy. It was definitely an interesting video but I've always wondered that like do these guys not know soft washing? 😆. Maybe get a long pole with super strong brush or scraper on it and pull the moss down. Then shoot some sodium hypochlorite on it maybe?
@@BRExteriorPro yeah that's exactly the technique I use with my company, apart from we use Biocide for softwashing instead of hypo. We do sometimes use hypo it depends how bad the tiles are
If you want a foot pedal I have left one on a job in Redditch I did before Christmas you can have it if it's still there customer said he put it to one side
Tip , get a couple of thick cleaning brushes from the shop and stick them in the gutters. Stops the need for you to clean the gutters out afterwards and keep it out the drain
I well agree with @neverlandio: The holes are one thing and the infiltration is another one. To me Jake is not responsible for the holes (obviously) so he should not fix them, but he seems to be responsible as for the infiltration. So the question remains: Why some will use exactly the same equipment and seem to provoc no infiltration, when Jake apparently did ?.. The answer could be that the water did not get in through the tiles (otherwise there’d be water here and there in the Atic and espacially around the holes which does not seem to be the case), but somehow it did get through the boiler pipe (as neverlandio points it).
You can hardly be blamed for the integrity of the roof, it looks quite old and has had quite a few seasons building up all that moss! My suggestion would be to cross that path of roof integrity with the customer first and ensure you have a disclaimer in place for any water ingress that may occur! If you have a contract signed before work begins and one that has you covered legally for such things! Good luck for your new business! That extending jet wash is a great tool when you have a good roof! Before you showed us that, I wondered how you were going to jet wash the roof and I thought about ladders all over the roof, which would be cumbersome! Great tool when used on a solid roof! I hope your customer paid for the repairs? Next up, the neighbour?
I think you should start from the top and work your way down..... And also wet the WHOLE roof first... just to get it wet before you start the actual cleaning, tthat would probably make the moss come off a little easier AND your not pushing water UP the tile. Water naturally runs Down over the next tile....good luck on the next one ....and this one ended up coming out damn nice. Lessons learned.
I feel if you were located at the peak of the roof and shooting the pressure water in a downward position. Which doesn't force water up under the shingle.
As with other comments; thanks for sharing the unvarnished truth about your first roof cleaning mission. Even with power tools, no job is ever easy. I'd also agree about the loft space and the holes in the sarking. My loft is bone dry, and also has random holes. Probably not very unusual in a 40+ year old roof. Nevertheless, you did the right thing by offering to make the repair. I'll be nipping down to the local builder's merchant to get the DPM to repair my loft holes before attempting any cleaning of my scabby looking tiles. Best of luck with your business!
done this for several years, employed multiple lads and had fleet of vehicles, going at a roof with high pressure water is a claim waiting to happen, it's a dumb idea, use chemicals and low pressure rinse offs. quicker, easier, cleaner and safer.
I cant see me holding that pile to long with my fibromyalgia. I painted a shed last week, and my two arms still a week later are numb. I also recall my brother in-law trying this on an older house and the inside felt ruined. Not something he was expecting, so to be honest when I saw the felt damage I was not surprised. I think it may be worth checking the loft beforehand. And if damage is there, well you will know it's not you. And for that amount of pressure to get through, the roof and do damage to the felt. There has to be gaps bigger than the eyes are seeing.
soft wash is what needed to be done..never a good idea to apply pressure on a roof..nor on sidings of a property like vinyl or stucco..over all the roof looks great just gotta be careful with that pressure..wish you guys much success and keep rocking
I'm curious if you did the other side the same way after the first side resulted in so many issues. 15 holes. That is a heck of a lot and a proper licensed roofer likely would've charged thousands of dollars to repair those holes. At this point, if I were you, I would be very worried about those patches coming off and whether they are in fact water proof. Overall, I know the jost was difficult and the top looks nice but clearly if the lining falls apart, the customer will likely be at a point when replacing the roof is needed. I'm not sure if the tiles could be reused. Explore other surface cleaning discs, pretreat the roof with cleaners and possibly turn the pressure down on the washer if using a high pressure system.
How is that loft ventilated? That roofing felt looks like the non-permeable stuff that used to be used. At my place, it has lots of holes that I assume were punched by the roofers when the installed it, as ventilation. I saw some condensation on the material so I followed advice and cut a hand-size flap near the top for more ventilation.
Things happen to gain experience which you learn from so well done I'm just starting up and tge thing i am struggling with is hiw to correctly price jobs up to cover time and materials so any advice appreciated
you need to invest in a rotary sprayer like you had, but a more expensive one on wheels. All this don’t pressure wash a roof is nonsense. The rotary sprayer I have described can’t jet under the tiles which is the concern of many. Also you can pretreat the roof with a chemical wash then return a few days later & removal is easier. 😊
There’s no way you busted that roof felt, sure it was your water getting in, but that old slaters felt had holes in it long before you started cleaning, and yes I have had plenty of experience in the roofing trade.
Definitely needs re felting. You didn’t cause any of those holes. Unfortunately water probably did get up under the tiles and in through those holes, but you did a cracking job on the food for your first go! 👊🏼
Remember, the tiles are not waterproof. It’s the Lehman underneath the tile will protect the water from going onto the plywood or the deck here in the United States anyway.
Love the video could you tell me what pressure washer you use and what psi and flow rate lpm looking at starting myself and would you recommend a seller much thanks
@@tittyrino It is a totally unnecessary expense. And do explain how moss and algae will damage all roofing systems.? The roof on my house is approaching 80 years old and has never been cleaned - and it is perfectly watertight. I clean the gutters once a year - and the amount of moss in the guttering is at most minimal. So no damage here. Pressure washing my roof would cause much more damage....
I agree. All that needed doing was cleaning the gutters of moss etc and that small area of roof where moss was growing. And that could be done with gentle scraping.
@@scienceexperimentsforhomee261 When you know - you know. Roof cleaning is not necessary. And all this nonsense shown in this video is just a glorified fashion trend by customers that have more money, than they have common sense. All the lads are doing is jumping on the bandwagon and trying to get rich quick on it. Pretending they are some sort of tradie with skills. what a lot of hot air and baloney.
@@martin2466 this actually comes up on building surveys. The moss and other organic matter can definitely cause damage to a roof and maintaining it is recommended.
Jake fairplay to you fella. After this house, did you do another house? Just bought my gutter sucker. I've been thinking of doing roofs. Thank you for your video. Respect ❤
It's strange that the "nice lady" didn't check the loft before you did the job. You have learned a valuable lesson, record evidence before it is needed. Job well done.
"Just going to patch these holes like they've done previously." There's the problem, "previously" but good on you for taking care of someone else's problem.
Nice clean work on the roof, just a shame it caused the felt issues. Me & my hubby live in one & ours was built in the 1970s identical roofing & he gets up with ladder's walks the roof to the top with the hose pipe & works from middle of roofing & just hoses it off & it still lightens the colour of tiles & other times before Moss builds up to quickly, he waits till the sun as burnt it dry & brushes it off in sections & lines the base of the property like you both did. Shame it went as it did as your both clean worker's & take everything around you into consideration, as there's some right cowboys out there who couldn't care less.
You can’t be sure the turbo nozzle is what caused those holes… they could have been there before you started and the excess water gave them away… do an inspection with pictures and you shouldn’t have any issues.
Do you no what a would of done picked all the Moss up around there just to be a good tradesman but all in all good job a part from one slip up we all have to start somewhere 😊
Hi. can you help me please. Could you tell me what sizes of nozzles you use in the Surface cleaner? We have regulated the flow and pressure of our machine. but it throws too much water. We are using 25020... thanks. Greeting from Spain.
I'm a builder, I would do a full inspection of the loft first, the holes where not caused by you, it's just very old felt, on thing I would say, never spray up words towards the ridge tiles, always spray down towards the gutters, so angle your turbo thing in the direction of the gutters
Exactly
I agree, ideally, the best way to powerwash a roof and to take less time would be to be above the roof ridge and as you say wash down towards the gutter as the roof tiles will do what theyre made for, and no water would get inside the loft nor created any holes in the lining. I actually think the holes inside the loft lining werre already there and the owner of the prop has had a free repair service!
And how aiminhg downwards do you get the moss along edge of each tile out, if you don't aim up into the overlay edge?
I’m 2 minutes into the video and I was thinking this could only be the thing you could do wrong haha
scrape it with a scraper, wire brush and soft brush, if the customer wants the tiles to look new…… buy new tiles or concrete paint after cleaning ( not that i recommend concrete paint its just a lot cheaper )
I've just watched this closely and hears my 2 cents, first of all. With that many holes in the roof lining ill bet you didnt cause not one of them ! The tiles on the roof take most of the force from the turbo nozzle and what water gets behind it shouldnt put holes in it! That roofs been patched up allot so there was a problem there to start with. The lady mentioned that water got in through the boiler exhaust pipe, now that one could have been caused by rinsing down the roof and some water going down the pipe, you can actually see the dirty pipe in the vid. Think you did a great job there for your first one, next time take lots of pictures and inspect everything.
He was presher washing up the way. Can’t do that
I would agree with this, I don't have the pressure wash experience, but that bungalow was built around the 1960s and the sarking felt is original. I am an experienced builder and have a similar bungalow with the same felt and lots of holes as the felt becomes brittle with age.
The chap carrying out this work is inexperienced.
If the homeowner took legal action against him - this video alone would lose the case for him.
Too many inexperienced clowns doing this unnecessary work on peoples homes...
I’m a plumber ( often in roof spaces) and there’s plenty of lofts with random tear holes just like those in the older felt a long time before roof washing was a thing , it had a lifespan of 20-30 years but extreme conditions can cut that time dramatically
I would agree with this, I don't have the pressure wash experience, but that bungalow was built around the 1960s and the sarking felt is original. I am an experienced builder and have a similar bungalow with the same felt and lots of holes as the felt becomes brittle with age. Besides that issue, nice work on the cleaning.
Only advice I will give you before you do any roof cleaning is go around the property take pictures of any broken tiles or damage already on the roof, go up into the loft before you start the job as well, and if you notice any damage or anything take photos before you start, if any customer complains u can prove the damage was already there before you started. Nice work on the roof clean👍 Hope you have plenty more in the future.
And make sure you have good third party liability insurance as well.
If see damage in loft to felt I would say to customers that it needs fixed or patched before take on the job.
Hi mate, from what I see you did fine. I would be surprised if you caused the damage to the roof. I've cleaned a lot and not had that before. Potentially, when resting the turbo nozzle on the tiles before pulling the trigger, you get a build-up of compressed pressure, as you know. And there is the slightest possibility that is what may have caused the damage. I would expect to see broken tiles or clear signs of damage from the outside though if that was the case. Anyway... get shot of the bin lid thing you were using looked like cheap tat lol buy mosmatic they are worth it 👌
Hi Jake, that damage was probably already there. Always a good idea to take a look round in the roof space before pressure wash. Lots of pros and cons to pressure washing roofs and water will always find a way to ruin your day lol. Keep up the great work 👍🏻
Evening guys, firstly can I say, fair play to you for posting the end of this video, I think that’s really good of you.
I’ve always been out of the idea of pressure washing roofs for lots of reasons, but mainly due to any chance of things like this happening.
I scrape and it works really well. I got my system for GVS also and I’d highly recommend it.
Take care buddy.
morning.... as a fully quailed roofer of 35odd years I would say that non of the holes in the roof were caused by yourself. the undefelt is know as 1f a hessian and bitumen build up that is very very old and falls apart when people go into the loft and rub/nudge against it.
modern day felt is like paper and heavily breathable to allow heat to dissipate correctly from the property.
please forgive me for putting my 50ps with in...... but dont shoot water near any roof sill vents ,headworks,chimneys especially as they are all acting like a candles wick into the property and allowing the possibility of wart ingress..
keep on doing what ya doing as every day is a school day.....
hope thus helps and remember.......
be kind to yourself
@edenandmeadow
And there speaks the voice of experience. Well said and some excellent advice given.
B.S 747 PART 1F sarking felt it was.......I remember it well.
I suspect he will carry out pre-inspections to the roof spaces on the next job......
Love this video I've been doing this for 7 years I would like to give you advise use a ladder standoff and put it on the tile it give you stability stop your ladder wobbling and never put your ladder on the gutters you could pop a joint out of place but love the vid
It is really helpful for people to see things that go wrong, not just perfect things, so thanks for that. I use a pressure washer at home but have to be so careful (and don't use it on the roof which is even steeper and higher than the average 2 or 3 story house) and even on a bit of fence it has made a hole. It is just too powerful for some jobs I'm afraid. Also a lot of houses have loose tiles so I wouldn't feel safe using a powerful pressure hose
You couldn’t have made them holes Jake you just blasted a tile surface. That old tar felt is very brittle but you couldn’t have done it. When roofers put battens on they can often rip the felt with their boots. Felt is just a back up not the waterproof surface. Like you said check the felt first take photos it will cover you.
Never had that happen, probably age of the roof. ( Did you lower the pressure on the p washer?) but most likely week or already failed liner. Maybe be worth inspecting the roof liner on qoute if possible could be a good idea. But I watch how you washed the roof and it seemed good, I use a twin turbo nozzle but also use a turbo devil disc cleaner which is awesome.
I use a heavy duty plastic hand clip to lock the trigger down on my pressure washer. I don't clean roofs but do use my washer often and have arthritis so use the spring hand clips which work great.
Thanks for sharing such an honest video of success and failure. IMO I can't see how you could have caused the visible damage inside the roof but fantastic job to remedy for the customer. Possible you caused some minor issues as you were learning but far more experience heads have commented on technique. All in that looked a very stressful experience, I feel your pain. (especially trying to handle +35ft of extended pole for any length of time)
Great job matey! That clearly wasn’t your fault at all. As you said in the video a scaffold every time will help. Don’t get to down with the armchair critics in the comments. These guys forget they started somewhere as well when cleaning roofs. Lovely job in the end mate and it’s a great service to offer to build the business. When I do roofs I pay my labourer more for that roof clean than I would on a general gutter or driveway day. Keep going mate 👍🏻🫡
All a learning curv mate! Would love to know what the issue may be. Fair play for recording it all some people would just blag everything was fine.
Nice job! I started in on driveways I have too much anxiety to do houses in case I have some disasters lol, maybe one day.
I almost always try to push the softwash when it comes to roofs and play the long game for the results for this exact reason you can never garuntee there won't be any damage I tend to biocide and then re apply with a brush on wfp to make sure it's penetrationg the biofilm for best possible results 👍
WoW..what a big job..That wand will cause shoulder problems..Just for my 2 cents if you do any roofs in the future to get a cheaper soft wash system and use 6% SH it would take you a fraction of the time and save your hands and shoulders as well but I applauded you for doing that big job with a wand..good luck!
I would say those holes in the felt were pre existing as its old and will perish over time but because of the extreme pressure the water has penetrated through the tiles upwards and leaked straight into the loft through any holes in the felt
This is why I don’t think it’s a good idea to clean a roof in this way , roof tiles like this aren’t meant to withstand pressures like this
I’ll bet this happens all too often
Nice to see you went back and addressed the issue 👍
Hi there enjoyed your video. The reason the loft had water ingress is because when pressure washing a roof you need to wash from ridge down making sure not to let the water spray up under the tiles at all. A roof should be waterproof even if there was no felt as normal rainfall will just cascade down the roof providing roof has been tiled correctly, try to avoid trays flashings etc. I was a roofer for many years so that would be my two pennith.
Sprayed wet & forget on my roof,slowly over several months the roof become clean like a new roof.
That was 4 plus years ago and roof still looks new no moss and no need to jet wash.
Also works fine on the patio.
It's just sodium hyperchloride
@@joeboy4242 don’t care what it is 4 plus years later still clean.
How did you spray it, diluted through a pressure washer? Any info would be interesting cheers
@@geedub2019 yes diluted as per instructions with a garden sprayer.
There are some small businesses round our way that have set up offering a similar service.
Wet and Forget , like many patio cleaners is BAC50 based, if I'm not mistaken (only 5% or 10% solution?). You can buy 5 L of concentrated BAC 50 (a 50% solution) for about £30 retail, and it can be diluted to make as much as 125 L of working fluid!! Some folk insist that DDAC works better - but its more expensive and I personally havent found it to work any better.... BTW I use BAC50 for my patios/paths and for cleaning gravestones. It does take time to show results, however - as the lichen etc slowly dies and gets weathered away by wind and rain. BTW Just be careful to never get Bac 50 in your eyes!!!
Hi bud to stop the moss running to the drains disconnect a section of gutter at each side and set you're sheeting under that this also helps with the weight of the moss in the gutter, we never high pressure wash them always low pressure as low as our machine will go. People say it takes this and that of the roof if you are careful it will only lift the top layer of moss you will work out distance. It will take 50 60 years of a roof is the things I hear none of us will be here to see it and its rubbish if done properly
Nice job Jake, don't beat yourself up about the felt it was already knackered but defo look out for that next time. I clean a lot of roofs with skyscraper and biocide. I leave jet washing roofs to the guys who have the time to clear up the awful mess & don't mind risking their liability insurance.
It sounds backwards but I believe you're supposed to start at the bottom and work your way up, and then give it a rinse afterwards, otherwise you can end up with a huge pile of heavy wet moss as you get near the end that can cause damage, flooding or be harder to move.
Just got further in the video and noticed that you are doing that later
What you say is right but it's not the point here. Some are trying to know if the pressure equipment can cause infiltration through the tiles ... and if yes, could we avoid it (by directing the nozzle to better angle ..?.. or by using a lower pression..?).
What i can definitely see is that you are an honest man. Im no pressure washer cleaner im a plasterer with experience in a lot of things them holes were fro rotten felt old past its life time you done well top job ii would definitely recommend you if you lived in South Wales
We tend to use a cat ladder and a tower for safety purposes and always jetwash down start from top and jet against the tile weather strip not into some roof tiles are way too worn for jet washing especially concrete and we tend to spray roof with polyurethane after treatment a good tiled roof will stop 99.9 % of water a lot of old roofs didn’t have felt just cement bodging so modern membranes are mostly for moisture from property but can stop leaking from cracked tiles but not for a long time
Ive blown tiles off a grade 1 listed building . Its always best to aim downwards .
From the tip of the roof aiming down .
Cat ladder is the safest method without braking further tiles in the job .
Absolute perler mate 👌🏼
As people have mentioned do a pre-loft inspection with video and photo evidence of any current damage (actually show them this footage as they may be completely unaware) Also get them to sign something that says they’ve seen the pre inspection damage. (Maybe get a marker pen or Small piece of tape to mark the original damage spots so it can be much easier to determine after the work is complete if any damage that doesn’t have a mark on would’ve been caused by you)
Excellent video, 🙏 thanks for exposing some of the problems even though I don't think they were caused by your work. That is precisely why I haven't done anything of this sort to my roof yet, I was worried about leaks especially mine being so old.
Check in your loft and beware of Velux window frames which may leak and need replaced.
I think them holes were already there in the first place. Tape wise bitumen tape would stick better i think, its like glue the stickyness of it. You have done a good job on that roof 👍 i think if you take anymore roof jobs on def take a look inside the loft before and take photos and the show the owners.
Fit a pressure gauge and have the pressure around 90 bar to start with , that way you'll always be around the right pressure you'll need mate, also recommend and turbo devil so much easier
Sounds high that's like 1400psi ?
@davegill7614 not really , you running about 1/3 rd pressure you have to have that balance on the pole
Are you not allowed to use chlorine in that side of the world? In the US I own a roof cleaning company. That would have been done in 2-3 hours with minimal effort due to the use of chemical. Still nice work!
Do you put the chemical on first and let it sit or mix into the pressure washer?
Also bud, theres no wah you caused them holes in the felt, but you can use a product called flexacryl to stick the patch to the felt, its an instant repair compound, we use it all the time for sealing holes in guttering and flat roofs, it sticks to anything and has fiberglass grains in it.
The WetJet 14" Flat Surface Cleaner is also available on the lawn and power website.
It is only rated up to 11 lpm. The nozzle orifices are probably too small for your machine. Luckily they are the standard 1/4” size so you could replace them to get the correct flow for your machine.
I was actually looking at this FSC to pair with the lawn and power 3100 pressure washer which is 11pm.
Instead of using pressure why not use a 6% sh mix? Here in the us we use sh on tile roofs as well and if it has bad growth like your moss we broom it.
i do this job and my hat is off to you. your arms gonna be dead for days. its a horrible feeling i think you just stretch every tendon its hard going.. pro tip. hotbox, pressure gauge for the pressure washer and a small surface cleaner. save you a hole lot of pain. it just scress on the of the wfp
@PaulThomas-wk6ku
What nozzles do you use in your FSC for roof cleaning? 15° 25° 40°?
Well done Jake. An awful lot of effort put in there for the end result, my next door neighbour had his roof cleaned from moss and lichen and it was just sprayed with a chemical and a couple of weeks later just brushed down towards the gutters. i think power washing old tiles isnt the way to go and any glaze which the tile had left (probably none in this case ) would be finished off from the washing you gave it. i would be staying clear of roof jobs myself after this one. Great clip overall i have subscribed to see what you come up with next. 🙂
Hey mate, for future reference,
You were kind of advised wrong by the roofer, you should really cut a slice into the existing felt going across and ideally pass the dpc from inside the roof at the top and outside at the bottom, as if the rain did go through the tile, water would still gather on your dpc the way you have laid it.
Good luck in the future mate
Been in the business myself for 25 years, although in Belgium. That lining is detoriated from age. You simply cannot blast that with your nozzle, that is impossible. If it was, the the roof lining was already prone to outer damage because of gaps and broken tiles. Next time, do a pre-work inspection, also on the inside, to prevent things like this happening. And if something occurs, have it repaired by a roof-specialist, don't go DIYing with tape and plastic sheets....
The moss was the only water proofer that old roof had. Looks like that would be the last of the roof washing there's enough siding and driveways to wash. And with your set up you could do drains as well. Kits for drains are easy to come by and drains are a quick and easy job that makes damn good money.
Thanks for the video, my old roof felt perished and looked very similar. I doubt it was your doing but offering to have a look in the roof or asking the condition seems prudent, particularly if the property is 50’s - 80s and still on the original roof. I was up in the roof of a property the in-laws are buying and the felt membrane is also shot to shit. Great to see your patch work, it looks like a great temporary fix that I might need borrow and perform in due course!
Tie a string around the top end of the trigger and handle leave a little bit of a slack on the string, just slide the string down to keep the trigger on!...slide string back up to have it off.
All I can add is that if you’re going to continue doing roofs, definitely inspect them from the loft. We’re in a 30’s semi and have no felt or membrane whatsoever. If we had it pressure washed it’d definitely leak.
I have done a few roof cleans, but always recommended to scrape Mose off and then biocide after. Pressure washing looks great but seriously it’s a risk. The biocide should work well and can slowly change the colour after its rains.
What brand of biocide do you prefer. What do you mean by change color? Is it slowly cleaning or actually changing color?
We do not now offer any pressure washing on roofs, only traditional scrape & Bio. We had an absolute disaster on one luckily some of my pals are roofers and we got it fixed for next to nothing, could have gone into the thousands tho. Really you need a steam set up or hot water so u can get the pressure right down, should be around 100bar.
Fair play tho looked graft & yeah u need a tower to make things easier and safer 👍
Why do all you guys in this part of the country pressure wash the roofs instead of use soft wash technique like we do here in the states? I soft wash all sorts of roofs. Hell a lot less work and a lot safer for all materials. It kills all that stuff .
@@BRExteriorPro problem we have here in the UK is that it's a lot damper so the moss can be super thick. There's now also apparently laws which prevent hypo being used on live moss, the one we are working at the moment is so thick moss it's like a carpet
@@JPHeath yeah that's crazy. It was definitely an interesting video but I've always wondered that like do these guys not know soft washing? 😆. Maybe get a long pole with super strong brush or scraper on it and pull the moss down. Then shoot some sodium hypochlorite on it maybe?
@@JPHeath That was some thick ass moss though
@@BRExteriorPro yeah that's exactly the technique I use with my company, apart from we use Biocide for softwashing instead of hypo. We do sometimes use hypo it depends how bad the tiles are
If you want a foot pedal I have left one on a job in Redditch I did before Christmas you can have it if it's still there customer said he put it to one side
I don't see how roofing felt can last the life of a roof. It's a surprise that a better solution hasn't been developed.
Jake don’t let it put you off done a good job there mate great video too! mistakes is how you learn. Doubtful you made them holes inspect next time 👌
Tip , get a couple of thick cleaning brushes from the shop and stick them in the gutters. Stops the need for you to clean the gutters out afterwards and keep it out the drain
I well agree with @neverlandio: The holes are one thing and the infiltration is another one. To me Jake is not responsible for the holes (obviously) so he should not fix them, but he seems to be responsible as for the infiltration. So the question remains: Why some will use exactly the same equipment and seem to provoc no infiltration, when Jake apparently did ?.. The answer could be that the water did not get in through the tiles (otherwise there’d be water here and there in the Atic and espacially around the holes which does not seem to be the case), but somehow it did get through the boiler pipe (as neverlandio points it).
You done really good never give up on RUclips there Is allways one that think he knows everything keep it up 😊
You can hardly be blamed for the integrity of the roof, it looks quite old and has had quite a few seasons building up all that moss! My suggestion would be to cross that path of roof integrity with the customer first and ensure you have a disclaimer in place for any water ingress that may occur! If you have a contract signed before work begins and one that has you covered legally for such things! Good luck for your new business! That extending jet wash is a great tool when you have a good roof! Before you showed us that, I wondered how you were going to jet wash the roof and I thought about ladders all over the roof, which would be cumbersome! Great tool when used on a solid roof! I hope your customer paid for the repairs? Next up, the neighbour?
I think you should start from the top and work your way down..... And also wet the WHOLE roof first... just to get it wet before you start the actual cleaning, tthat would probably make the moss come off a little easier AND your not pushing water UP the tile. Water naturally runs Down over the next tile....good luck on the next one ....and this one ended up coming out damn nice. Lessons learned.
Great vid and appreciate your honesty regards the job top man.
I feel if you were located at the peak of the roof and shooting the pressure water in a downward position. Which doesn't force water up under the shingle.
As with other comments; thanks for sharing the unvarnished truth about your first roof cleaning mission. Even with power tools, no job is ever easy. I'd also agree about the loft space and the holes in the sarking. My loft is bone dry, and also has random holes. Probably not very unusual in a 40+ year old roof.
Nevertheless, you did the right thing by offering to make the repair.
I'll be nipping down to the local builder's merchant to get the DPM to repair my loft holes before attempting any cleaning of my scabby looking tiles.
Best of luck with your business!
done this for several years, employed multiple lads and had fleet of vehicles, going at a roof with high pressure water is a claim waiting to happen, it's a dumb idea, use chemicals and low pressure rinse offs. quicker, easier, cleaner and safer.
I cant see me holding that pile to long with my fibromyalgia. I painted a shed last week, and my two arms still a week later are numb. I also recall my brother in-law trying this on an older house and the inside felt ruined. Not something he was expecting, so to be honest when I saw the felt damage I was not surprised.
I think it may be worth checking the loft beforehand. And if damage is there, well you will know it's not you. And for that amount of pressure to get through, the roof and do damage to the felt. There has to be gaps bigger than the eyes are seeing.
Bungalows suffer condensation and damp and sometimes people put holes in the felt for ventilation ….. I’ve seen it before
soft wash is what needed to be done..never a good idea to apply pressure on a roof..nor on sidings of a property like vinyl or stucco..over all the roof looks great just gotta be careful with that pressure..wish you guys much success and keep rocking
you probably should have the nozzle pointing down and start at the top and move down quickly.
I'm curious if you did the other side the same way after the first side resulted in so many issues. 15 holes. That is a heck of a lot and a proper licensed roofer likely would've charged thousands of dollars to repair those holes. At this point, if I were you, I would be very worried about those patches coming off and whether they are in fact water proof. Overall, I know the jost was difficult and the top looks nice but clearly if the lining falls apart, the customer will likely be at a point when replacing the roof is needed. I'm not sure if the tiles could be reused. Explore other surface cleaning discs, pretreat the roof with cleaners and possibly turn the pressure down on the washer if using a high pressure system.
Good job, but invest in the moss matic and get ani vibration gloves 👍🏻
How is that loft ventilated? That roofing felt looks like the non-permeable stuff that used to be used. At my place, it has lots of holes that I assume were punched by the roofers when the installed it, as ventilation. I saw some condensation on the material so I followed advice and cut a hand-size flap near the top for more ventilation.
Get henchman tripod ladders I use them for hedging you can stand at 3m high which should be more than enough for bungalows. No need for a tower.
Its the moss over years it seals in between cracks once its removed water seeps in
Things happen to gain experience which you learn from so well done
I'm just starting up and tge thing i am struggling with is hiw to correctly price jobs up to cover time and materials so any advice appreciated
you need to invest in a rotary sprayer like you had, but a more expensive one on wheels. All this don’t pressure wash a roof is nonsense. The rotary sprayer I have described can’t jet under the tiles which is the concern of many. Also you can pretreat the roof with a chemical wash then return a few days later & removal is easier. 😊
There’s no way you busted that roof felt, sure it was your water getting in, but that old slaters felt had holes in it long before you started cleaning, and yes I have had plenty of experience in the roofing trade.
I wouldn't have never got in to this business if I had to clean like that 😅 I hope you all are paid amazing
And that's why you don't pressure wash a roof :(
100 bar maximum pressure, buy a decent turbo nozzle from ac pressure washers and don’t work up the roof that’s how the water can get in.
Exactly what i do after a bit of scraping/picking..nò issues at all...
Definitely needs re felting. You didn’t cause any of those holes. Unfortunately water probably did get up under the tiles and in through those holes, but you did a cracking job on the food for your first go! 👊🏼
Remember, the tiles are not waterproof. It’s the Lehman underneath the tile will protect the water from going onto the plywood or the deck here in the United States anyway.
Love the video could you tell me what pressure washer you use and what psi and flow rate lpm looking at starting myself and would you recommend a seller much thanks
That is a relevent question indeed
How long did this job take. And how come you guys didn't decide to go with any chemicals. Or even simple green to eat away at the organic materials?
Take photos of the roof when you price it and tell the customer you want a Quick Look in the loft if you see day light coming through
Cleanest looking loft space I have ever seen, I'd ALWAYS check them before doing any more roof cleans.
You may get calls for wall damage later as well...thas a lot of water that went through
This obsession some people have with cleaning their roof - is completely daft.
I hope you have good liability insurance.
So you are against a nice looking home ? Plus all the Algae and Moss damage all roofing systems.
@@tittyrino It is a totally unnecessary expense.
And do explain how moss and algae will damage all roofing systems.?
The roof on my house is approaching 80 years old and has never been cleaned - and it is perfectly watertight. I clean the gutters once a year - and the amount of moss in the guttering is at most minimal. So no damage here.
Pressure washing my roof would cause much more damage....
I agree. All that needed doing was cleaning the gutters of moss etc and that small area of roof where moss was growing. And that could be done with gentle scraping.
@@scienceexperimentsforhomee261 When you know - you know.
Roof cleaning is not necessary. And all this nonsense shown in this video is just a glorified fashion trend by customers that have more money, than they have common sense. All the lads are doing is jumping on the bandwagon and trying to get rich quick on it.
Pretending they are some sort of tradie with skills. what a lot of hot air and baloney.
@@martin2466 this actually comes up on building surveys. The moss and other organic matter can definitely cause damage to a roof and maintaining it is recommended.
Would of been there before always pre check inside before a clean. Roof needs to be stripped right back. At least you got clean tiles to go back on.
Jake fairplay to you fella. After this house, did you do another house? Just bought my gutter sucker. I've been thinking of doing roofs. Thank you for your video. Respect ❤
I think she took advantage of you to repair and patch those holes her roof was probably damaged before since you didn’t do a pre inspection
I would try working on the roof with short wand and with harness.
It's strange that the "nice lady" didn't check the loft before you did the job. You have learned a valuable lesson, record evidence before it is needed. Job well done.
Also a lot of leaking can come from the ridge tiles
Buy a pressure gauge and run the machine between 100 and 130 bar, use a flat surface cleaner.
"Just going to patch these holes like they've done previously." There's the problem, "previously" but good on you for taking care of someone else's problem.
Nice clean work on the roof, just a shame it caused the felt issues.
Me & my hubby live in one & ours was built in the 1970s identical roofing & he gets up with ladder's walks the roof to the top with the hose pipe & works from middle of roofing & just hoses it off & it still lightens the colour of tiles & other times before Moss builds up to quickly, he waits till the sun as burnt it dry & brushes it off in sections & lines the base of the property like you both did.
Shame it went as it did as your both clean worker's & take everything around you into consideration, as there's some right cowboys out there who couldn't care less.
You can’t be sure the turbo nozzle is what caused those holes… they could have been there before you started and the excess water gave them away… do an inspection with pictures and you shouldn’t have any issues.
To be fair the finished job looks fresh.
are the holes from rest spots?? holding it two long
Should of gone up the attic first to see what damage was there before starting. Great job though
No chance in a million years you caused that damage mate.Dont let it hold you back !
Do you no what a would of done picked all the Moss up around there just to be a good tradesman but all in all good job a part from one slip up we all have to start somewhere 😊
You can fit scaffolding in a Sprinter van.
Hi. can you help me please. Could you tell me what sizes of nozzles you use in the Surface cleaner? We have regulated the flow and pressure of our machine. but it throws too much water. We are using 25020... thanks. Greeting from Spain.
Soft Wash ONLY, can't believe people pressure wash roof tiles