Tile roof repair

The best thing about tile roof repair is working with history. Like a hundred years worth of old tar dust, bird crap, bird feathers and nesting, and of course, wasps. :smiley:

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lol is true whats up with old tile and wasps ā€¦ they always there.!!

:twisted: Love those wasps!

LOL, I hear yaā€™. Iā€™ve been dealing with a condominum complex lately that has shingles, lots of wood handrails, louvers, etc., and the red-wasps seem to really be attracted to the place. I called the roofing contractor yesterday to do some repair work, and along with a list of materials he would be needing I suggested a can or two of wasp killer.

Now, living here in Houston, what Iā€™m waiting for is my first run-in with killer bees; not!

Iā€™ve got that particular problem (wasp in the tile roof) and was wondering if I might get some input from those who have had some experience with this situation. I am not at all knowledgable about the structure of a tile roof and was wondering how enterconnected the wasp colony could be under the tiles. In other words, are the channels that the tiles form as they go up to the peak of the roof separate from each other or is there a continuous air space under the tiles? Also, is it a bad idea to permanently seal the openings on the end of the tiles at the roofsā€™ edge? Meaning, do you rely on ventilation through those channels? Any feedback on this situation is welcome. the roof has the foam inserts in the openings but theyā€™re old and some are gone and the wasp seem to get past them anyway.Thanks.

Yes there are many ways wasps can get in in a tile roof if its a high profile type ā€¦ as far as ventilation it is totally separate ā€¦ ventilation depends on your soffit vents and exhaust vents like dormers or wind turbines ā€¦ There are birdstops like the ones shown in dennis picture to block the bottom openingsā€¦ for the rest normally led or concrete is used ā€¦ honestly i dont think there is a way of keeping them out on a tile roof ā€¦ specially around pipe vents if you have lets say an ā€œSā€ type tile or valley cuts ā€¦ is just how the tile is designed

(double post)

[quote=ā€œQRFLā€]

[quote=ā€œCerberusā€]:twisted: Love those wasps!
I called the roofing contractor yesterday to do some repair work, a[/quote]

Cereberus just wonderingā€¦ arent you a roofing contractor ???[/quote]

No! I am a roofing consultant.

Thanks, QRFL, for your reply. I guess what Iā€™m asking is whether it is ok to permanently seal the openings in the tiles at the edge of the roof. The ventilation I was concerned about would be between the tiles and the roofing deck, not the attic. We have turbines for that. Can moisture occur between the tiles and roof deck and cause deterioration in the deck if I seal these openings? Once I clear the wasp out I thought I might seal these openings in order to keep them away from the edge of the roof where they become troublesome especially around the entrances. Thanks.

Bill,

The tiles are all open and interconnected underneath. I think you would have to seal all the tiles on the roof to keep out the wasps. They can get in just about anywhere. although the wasps tend to make their nests close to their entrance.
You might seal the tiles near the edge of the roof if there is a major/constant problem there. But donā€™t seal the bottom edge of the tile ( the eave closures ) where it meets the roof edge. If water gets in above the edge of the roof ( cracked or broken tile, or wind blown rain ) it will need to get out.

Dennis,
Thanks for the reply. Thatā€™s a good consideration.
I might still seal just the ones across the front entrance. Thereā€™s at least four nestā€¦hard to tellā€¦on three corners and at the front entrance. Three of us have been stung including myself and luckily not my wife though she did have some close calls. My wife is allergic and carries an epi-pen (perscription injection of adrenalin and ephedrine ā€¦I think) The pest control professionals I talked to say itā€™s a real nuisance to take care of but I have gotten information from several people including an entomologist(sp?) One helpful hint was that they usually donā€™t fly in the dark because they canā€™t see. They will fly not knowing where theyā€™re flying but will still go after lights and strong sweet smells. So 10 at night, no lights, is the time to deal with it. Oh fun.