Felt roofing - i am unsure

kevinhughes

Hi All,

I am having my roof re-slated which is fine. The upper part of the roof is flat, this is having three layers of bituminous felt applied. The original roof covering is original lead which is leaking hence we are having this replaced along with the slates. The cost of lead replacement was too expensive therefore we opted for felt (recommended by the roofer). The roofer said the felt would be fine. I am having seconds thoughts on felt particularly in terms of it longevity and how it will look. Has anyone had any experience of a felt roof?

Many thanks in advance

savemoney

Felt can last many years depending on weathering. You should get well over 10 years maybe up to 20.

You can get other types of roofing we have EPDM which is a rubber type product thats guaranteed for 20 years, dont think it costs much more and its just glued on the roof

We had a large bay and front porch done 3 years ago

Fibre glass is meant to be the best but a lot more

kevinhughes

Thank you for that, I will have a look at EDPM, I think the roofer did mention this to us orginally but this was around £1500 more expensive I think. The roofer's opinon was felt was better, not sure on this personally will investigate further. Thank you for the posting

alanobrien

Our last felt roof lasted nearly 30 years. Properly done they can and do last a long time and are relatively cost efffective.

savemoney

They can last longer all depends on how much elements have on it and wear and tear. If the grit on them gets lost it tends to go quicker as the grit helps protect it from the sun

knowloads

Felt is no longer used by most flat roofers as it it not as good as EPDM or glassfibre.Many Insurance companies no longer offer insurance for any hot melt system, so most guys are opting for other systems. Up to 40 yrs warranty not unusual for Glass fibre, 25-30 for EPDM. I would not give 10 yrs to felt.

savemoney

Also with felt insurance companies may not pay out if you get a leak if roof isnt maintained properly, thats why we went for EPDM as we had a small leak and plus not proper drainage for flat roof, its very easy to fit by looks of it. They just laid some extra boards on top and rolled glue on and put epdm on and tidied it up