Preparing for the rains in Goa if you have a house with a tiled roof means you have to ensure that broken tiles and rotted timber etc are repaired so that it does not leak. Getting small jobs done is increasingly becoming a nuisance as laborers who will climb on the roof are not that easy to get. And material like timber and tiles and so on are becoming more and more expensive.
People tried to get around this by putting up concrete slabs on the roof, but more often than not these have failed after a few year as the concrete cannot withstand the monsoon after a period of time and tends to leak. People then tried sloping concrete roofs but these haven't always succeeded I believe and water does find its way through these as well. Then ugly asbestos or tin sheets would be put on top of the leaking terraces. This has happened to the small bit of terrace in front of my place as well. Also concrete houses aren't always good ventilation-wise and so often air-conditioners have to be fitted onto them. (On the other hand the disadvantage of a tiled roof is that it becomes more difficult to have an air-conditioner.) I noticed another solution being tried out the other day. Apparently the old red colored building that forms part of the Moira school was part of the property of Acron. (Acron had been having a bad press in Moira, and to remedy this have among other things donated a refrigerated coffin to the Church to make amends) As part of their public relations exercise they have decided to remove the old tiled roof and replace it with a roof of metal sheets. The red coloured sheets, of a better quality than the old tin or asbestos sheets seem to be the latest solution to the expense of replacing timber and headache of getting workers to climb on the roof to repair it. The technique seemed interesting: instead of timber, metal was used for the rafters. On this a wire mesh was fitted. Over this a sort of plastic insulation was placed. And over that came the red powder-coated metal sheets. So is the beautiful but expensive to maintain old red Mangalore tiled house of old now going to be history? I notice that it is the "Delhi Party" as they are sometimes called who seem to be the ones who take the trouble to restore old houses magnificently and in a way that yet makes them functional, while as a rule Goans themselves are in a haste to get rid of their expensive heritage homes. Augusto -- Augusto Pinto 40, Novo Portugal, Moira, Bardez, Goa, India E [email protected] or [email protected] P 0832-2470336 M 9881126350
