Of all the different styles and profiles of concrete and terracotta roof tiles that are laid on Sydney Roofs, the Swiss profile must be one of the most frustrating to work on. Not only is it hard to lay, it is difficult to remove and to repair as leaks appear on the roof.
… And the worst thing about these tiles – they leak and the fault is hard to find.
“Monier” must have gone through numerous design revisions with their Swiss profile tiles – because I find so many versions on Sydney Roofs as I go about repairing leaks in the inner west and western suburbs. Some of the older versions have a really bad drainage course (underlap) design that made them prone to leakage. Some have a better designed drainage system. But the shape of the tile make it difficult to channel water away from the under-lap. Looks good – but a weak design. It got so bad that Monier discontinued their Swiss range of roof tiles. You can no longer buy any more new Monier swiss tiles in Sydney.
The other thing is that a tiler can inadvertently chip a bit off the drainage course (underlap) as he is laying the roof and he would never know- until the roof shows up a leak some time down the track.
Then I have to try and find it as shown on the video below.
The video will also show that leaves and debris can easily clog up the drainage course (underlap) and cause water to overflow.
So, if you have a leaking roof in Sydney, it is close to some trees and it is laid at less than 25 degrees…and you have got Swiss roof tiles, then you have a bit of a problem.
