Repairing flat shed roof

khw1

Hello everyone and happy new year.

We have a shed at the bottom of our garden. We didn't install it - I suspect it's a few decades old. It's made of breeze blocks with a concrete floor, approx 5m by 2.5m, maybe a little more or less.

There are timber beams on the top of the blocks with a flat roof that looks like it's a chipboard or MDF type material in panels that's then been felted. It probably hasn't been re-felted for over a decade at least - I read that you should be re-felting reasonably regularly? 

There is now a decent sized hole in part of the felt and now in one wooden panel at least so this is causing a leak that we're catching with buckets for now. The bad weather recently does not help. The felt had stones on it and moss has accumulated across the felt which seems to have eaten away at it which probably hasn't helped. 

Whilst most of the roof seems ok I think redoing the roof entirely is probably overdue and we'd only get more problems if we patch it up.

I certainly do not wish to attempt anything myself so would want to hire someone in. 

Who should I look to hire? Would a regular roofing company take this work on? Do certain companies specialise at this work? 

How long would it expect to take to replace the whole roof and anticipated costs? I know this may be a finger in the air figure. 

What kinds of material should we be looking for a contractor to use? I'd rather they used something far more durable than what's currently there. 

Would they need the entire shed to be cleared to access every part they need to? Most of the shed is full of unwanted stuff so would just need a clear out. 

We are in West London so would imagine there wouldn't be a shortage of contractors. 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. 

FreeBear

5x2.5m isn't that large. A decent roofer could probably strip & replace it in a day. As to cost, prices have gone up a lot since I last had a flat roof done, and London usually attracts a surcharge.

Look around for "Flat roofers" in your area, and ask them to use EPDM - It has a longer life span than regular felt, so should outlast your ownership. Felt will be a bit cheaper, but may only last 15 years.

Martin_the_Unjust

I’d be looking for a handyman, it’s a simple enough job that doesn’t really warrant a proper roofer (and proper roofer prices)

[Deleted User]

Hi,

if timber is mostly sound you could maybe overlay with roofing sheets.

ThisIsWeird

As said above, no particular skill required to do this - tho' knowledge and care is required if using materials like felt and EPDM (not complex, but just needs doing properly.) So, a competent handyperson should be ideal for this. Just check that they do have roofing experience, or can educate themselves beforehand.

As the FrugalMacD suggests, I'd be personally looking to go for roofing sheets - they not only look good, but should effectively last 'forever'. Very quick to install, so that might balance out the overall cost. Ie, more costly material, but quicker and easier to install.

I trust this 'flat' roof isn't? It has a slope?

Albermarle

I trust this 'flat' roof isn't? It has a slope?

I was thinking the same. 
OP most wooden sheds you buy either have a 'Pent' roof that slopes gradually from one side to the other. Either from front to back or from one side to the other.


Or they have an Apex roof like below
Maybe you could consider changing the roof style while you are at it.

GrubbyGirl_2

I can't comment on cost but I had a flat roof done about 12 years ago and had it done with new boards and fibreglass.  It looks as new today as it did the day it was done.  It did cost significantly more but I doubt it will need doing again in my lifetime.

khw1

Thanks all for your help and suggestions. It is useful to know that this might be something a competent handyman could do rather than paying extra for a roofing company to do the work. We will ask friends first to see whether they have any recommendations.

@ThisIsWeird and @Albermarle - it is definitely a flat roof, there is no slope. The breeze blocks are in a cuboid shape, like a fish tank, and then the chipboard has been laid flat, with felt on top. There is timber on the top layer of breeze blocks to enable the chipboard to have been laid (a bit like the first image below). This timber should mostly be OK, so could be reused presumably. I'm not sure we'd worry about having the roof in a triangular shape unless the trade offs with the extra costs made it worthwhile. The shed isn't something we use too often. But if this is much better than a flat roof, it's something we can think about. 

This is not our shed, but an image I found online which is reasonably close to what we have. Our shed is this type of construction and the roof is like the one in the right-hand image (flat roof, felted, complete with a lot of moss!)



It sounds as though chipboard is not a good wooden surface (so there is our problem) but that timber, plywood or OSB is better because these are moisture resistant. Are there many differences between them?

Noted on EPDM as a much more effective top layer than felt. A combination of this and the wood types above sound good. Would roofing sheets/fibreglass work the same way if the roof remained flat?

We're hoping we can find a handyman who can make a sound judgement on this for us, but it's useful for us to know what will work best in case they ask us what we want!

Thanks again all!

ThisIsWeird

What I would do, KHW, is contact a couple (or more) handyfolks via, say, a local Facebook page. Ask for recommendations, and check the results to see if approvals come from a variety of folk.

Also ask friends, neighbs, and keep an eye out for such jobs being carried out in the locality.

Then ask them to pop in and discuss the issue. See what they suggest, and ask Qs like "Is there an adequate slope on my roof...?"

Personally, I'd go metal cladding - box-section.

35har1old

Martin_the_Unjust said:

I’d be looking for a handyman, it’s a simple enough job that doesn’t really warrant a proper roofer (and proper roofer prices)

A roofer likely won't look at it

35har1old

khw1 said:

Thanks all for your help and suggestions. It is useful to know that this might be something a competent handyman could do rather than paying extra for a roofing company to do the work. We will ask friends first to see whether they have any recommendations.

@ThisIsWeird and @Albermarle - it is definitely a flat roof, there is no slope. The breeze blocks are in a cuboid shape, like a fish tank, and then the chipboard has been laid flat, with felt on top. There is timber on the top layer of breeze blocks to enable the chipboard to have been laid (a bit like the first image below). This timber should mostly be OK, so could be reused presumably. I'm not sure we'd worry about having the roof in a triangular shape unless the trade offs with the extra costs made it worthwhile. The shed isn't something we use too often. But if this is much better than a flat roof, it's something we can think about. 

This is not our shed, but an image I found online which is reasonably close to what we have. Our shed is this type of construction and the roof is like the one in the right-hand image (flat roof, felted, complete with a lot of moss!)



It sounds as though chipboard is not a good wooden surface (so there is our problem) but that timber, plywood or OSB is better because these are moisture resistant. Are there many differences between them?

Noted on EPDM as a much more effective top layer than felt. A combination of this and the wood types above sound good. Would roofing sheets/fibreglass work the same way if the roof remained flat?

We're hoping we can find a handyman who can make a sound judgement on this for us, but it's useful for us to know what will work best in case they ask us what we want!

Thanks again all!

Does it have upstands like the photo if so it was hot laid flat roof with possibly stone chips as a finishing layer to keep it cool?