The Shed is Shedding...

[punkypossum]

Hi all,

This is probably a very stupid question (at least after the look the man in B&Q gave me when I asked him), but never one to trust a salesman, I thought I'd run it by you as well as this forum usually provides the answer to anything one might possibly need to know...

The felt on the roof of my shed (well, one strip) blew off in the recent storms, now leaving me with bare wood. I'm not storing anything mega-valuable in there, but would still prefer it to stay dry, so something needs to be done. Being a girl and useless at anything that involves hammers and nails, the idea of clambering around on the wall and replacing the felt fills me with horror - especially with this being the exposed side, anything I stick on will probably fly off again within a week.

So, off I wandered to B&Q with the bright idea that there might be some waterproof paint or something that would allow me to avoid felt completely. The man looked at me like I was mad and said there was adhesive if I didnt' want to rely on nails, but apparently felt is a must. Now, the shed is pretty wobbly anyway, I only need one strip of felt, but they only sell rolls for £30 quid, the adhesive is almost £20, so we are looking at £50 quid for a pretty small area on an old shed.

Is the man right? Is there really nothing I can paint it with that would avoid felt (was thinking along the lines of yachting varnish or some sort of tar paint if that exists...)

Any advice highly appreciated!!!

Thanks a lot!!!

 

[Bigsharn]

Being a girl and useless at anything that involves hammers and nails, the idea of clambering around on the wall and replacing the felt fills me with horror

Rubbish, I know plenty of girls that are brilliant at DIY


To answer the question though, felt is your best bet, short of using tarpaulin to cover the gap.

If the shed's falling apart anyway it might be worth looking at a new one, especially if you start keeping more valuable stuff in there

 

[punkypossum]

Sorry, I wasn't implying all girls are useless at DIY - just in my case the stereotype is unfortunately true! As for replacing the shed, it's elderly, but should still have a couple of years left (plus I can't afford a replacement at the moment)...

 

[mr_cellophane]

Varnish won't work because it won't seal the gaps between the boards on the roof.
The only other option is a sheet of MDF and then paint it with a couple of coats of bitumen paint. But felt nailed down will be the best repair. Isn't there a local builders merchant who can sell you a 6ft (or however long you need) piece ? Don't forget you will need it long enough to wrap over the sides so you will probably have to take the barge boards off.
For £50 you could nearly buy a new shed, or a least get a proper handy man to do the job.

 

[punkypossum]

Hmmm, this is what I was thinking. However, as for gaps...the exposed roof bit is actually a solid sheet of wood, rather than planks, i.e. the only gaps are round the edges - provided there was a suitable paint/varnish, my idea was to just put some sealant in there, but it's starting to look as if felt is unavoidable...The builders merchant might be worth a try tho!

 

[ThePainInSpain]

I agree with the above.............

Anything you use will need to be either bonded or nailed or preferably both.

Go with Mr Cellophane's idea by fluttering eyelids at local builders merchant.

 

[snorri]

the only gaps are round the edges - provided there was a suitable paint/varnish, my idea was to just put some sealant in there, but it's starting to look as if felt is unavoidable...

I think the man at B&Q is right.
Another problem at this damp time of year is the near impossibility of getting these gaps dried up sufficiently to allow paint or sealant to bond to the wood.
Even if you had bought felt, it is better to get the wood thoroughly dry before laying the felt on the roof, and it is usual to re-felt the whole roof when you are at it. You would need to buy special nails for fixing down the felt also, but these are readily available from builders merchants, who I find are often cheaper than B&Q.
Perhaps you could find some material to effect a temporary repair until the spring arrives?

 

[slowmotion]

No paint, varnish or gloop will work for long. You just need a piece of felt and a hammer and nails. If it's a shed, using felt adhesive is way over the top IMVVHO.

Where do you find a small piece of roofing felt? Go to the small local garden shed supplier and ask. They always have bits left over after they have erected one. As for wielding the hammer and galvanised clout nails, have a go yourself or ask a friend.

Good luck.

 

[buggi]

Punky... you can do this girl. all the need to do is put the felt in place and hammer in some nails to keep it there. Go and have a look at the other side and see how it lies. I've never done it, or even been up to have a look, but i'm guessing the top of the felt lies over the top of the apex of shed roof and slightly down the other side. remember, water runs down, so you have to make sure there are no gaps for it to run down into, and that's basically it. For instance, if you were laying one piece of felt over another, it would be the top piece that was over the bottom piece, so that the water ran down that one, and onto the top of the other. If it was the bottom piece overlapping the top piece, the water would run down the top piece and under the bottom piece. So that's why i'm guessing that the felt on one side of the roof would need to go over the top of the apex of the roof and lie over the other piece on the other side by a couple of inches. That way the water can't get under.

And then it would also come over the end of the roof on all sides by at least an inch (which is where the nails are probably placed). if after getting up there to have a look, you still feel unable to do it, look in your local paper for handymen. or as said, flutter your eyelids to every man you know. or try youtube.

o yea, and i'm guessing you use tacks, not nails (the ones with the big head like a drawing pin)??? someone on here will say whether i'm right or not.

but i'll be honest, i'm guessing all this, just go up and have a look and you will probably see it's not has hard as it looked. I mean come on, men are simple creatures, it can't be rocket science! They just tell us it is so they can remain useful after vibrators were invented [runs and takes cover while all the men tell me my theory is wrong! ]

 

[zacklaws]

Go for it and do it, its not hard, I often have to do one of mine, but that's only because the roof is rotten and there's no solid wood hardly to get a tack in. There's plenty of sites on line on how to do it, if you Google, "how to felt a shed roof", for example:-

http://www.diy-extra.co.uk/shed-roof-felt.html

Maybe there might even be someone close enough on the forum to do it for you.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

hi punky,

go to a local roofing supplier, they will have odds and ends, especially for a girl in need. you don't need adhesive. just undo the battens at the edges of the roof, get rid of the knackered stuff. then cut new stuff to size (remember to overlap the edges, like roofing slates, by about 3 inches either side), then batten down one end, pull tight, batten down the final end. once done silicone under the edges (this stops water penetrating where the nails will go thru), then nail along the edges every 4 inch with flat head nails. job done and should last longer than the shed.

i've met you and i think you are more than capable and agile enough to do this easy job. plus there are plenty of local cc'ers to lend a hand, if in need, probably only charge a brew & biscuits.

i reckon you'll get the felt from a local roofing firm for next to nowt, in fact i'll be surprised if you get charged. the most expensive part will be the silicone & tbh you could forego that, if in need to save cash, it won't make that much difference.

 

[Globalti]

Shaun's right (others too) B&Q are expensive, go to a local garden centre, builder's merchant, anywhere but B&Q and ask nicely. Someone will have a part roll they can give you along with a few nails. The rougher the place the more likely they are to have what you want and to be willing to help.

Places alike B&Q are counting on the uninformed amateur like you to come in and buy cheap materials at inflated prices because you haven't got the time and don't know where else to go.

 

[billflat12]

Hi
modern roofing products aint cheap shame you couldn't find the piece that blown off or tacked it back down earlier, Depending on how exposed your roof is the adhesive would act as a waterproof sealant for where any felt overlaps " its a tar like bitumen paint " . you can buy specific roofing paint but only designed for waterproofing a porous concrete/asbestos/tiled roof etc. so not really recommend for wood
, http://cgi.ebay.co.u...=item230e307cae
maybe you could get away with some flashing tape usually available up to 30cm wide
http://cgi.ebay.co.u...=item3cb4448012
Otherwise looks like your destined for greatness unless you can find a trusted handyman.
or replace said shed from your local freecycle try the wanted section here.

 

[Arch]

I'm sure tacking a bit of felt down won't be beyond you Punky - but I know how you feel, I think, a sort of idea that it's all bound to go wrong - it's only because you've not done it before. I'm sure plenty of men would feel the same, they might just not want to admit it...

My old allotment shed had four walls built from three different materials, and a rotten felt roof, and my housemate helped me re roof it in clear corrugated plastic. I could have done it, but I'd have mithered about, and bodged it, and he just did it quicker, because he'd been mackling for years. It's just confidence.

If the shed is on its last legs, you might get away with tacking something else over the gap - tarpaulin, thick plastic sheet or something. It won't last well, and it's not ideal, but if you have trouble getting a small amount of felt, then something else would be better than nothing. My old shed had a sheet of plastic keeping the rain out for a few months before it got re-roofed.

 

[Night Train]

Where abouts are you?
I probably have some off cuts of felt that would do the job.

The other thing as a temporary measure is any olf waterproof covering, old shower curtain, plastic sheeting, whatever is available to pin over the gap.
Just need to make sure the layers higher up the slope overlap it so that the water flows over and not under it.

It will, at least keep the worst of the rain out until you can either do a proper job or replace the shed.