DIY Stable Renovation: Need Your Advice and Ideas!

sujsuj

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi SujSuj.
What a nice project!
Metal cladding for roof? Absolutely. I'm guessing 'box' section and anthracite? 
Your roof design already has a cracking overhang - that's good; it not only offers protection to the walls, but looks more balanced too. Your call, but I'd consider adding extra overlap to the ends, too, tho' it'll be a little extra work. 
We cannot see the main timber structure inside - is it solid, rot-free, and plumb/level?
Anyhoo, some things to consider, but I'm not sure how important they are;
1) you are going to insulate the roof. You must, therefore, research the correct construction for this to avoid condensation traps. For instance, it seems potentially dodgy to me to place metal sheets directly on to OSB - but I may be wrong. For example, with box section roofing, there will be strips of direct contact between the two, with the metal being at outdoor temps, so freezing at times. That means freezing strips of OSB, desperate to attract condensation.
I don't see why OSB sheeting is required at all - The roof gets screwed straight to the rafters and noggins.
Are you going to keep the inside vaulted or flat-ceilinged? For the latter, then I'd say def no OSB, and just add rigid insulation followed by p'board direct to the underside of the joists, allowing the void above to be thoroughly ventilated via the eaves. Add an inspection hatch. Simple and cheap.
2) outer finish. Your stable seems to have an obvious front and entrance, so make that side a real feature, and simply clad the back and sides in a similar metal sheet to the roof - quick, easy and effective. For the front, look at 'garden rooms' that have a mix of anthracite and golden timber - two colours that look striking together. Consider horizontal cladding for the walls, as this, I think, looks best. But surf t'net for ideas until you find a design and layout that looks best - and copy it!
I built a wee 'extension' recently - just to square off a room - and found enough Cedral cladding on Facebook Marketplace - the fibre-cement type - to do the job, for only £30. Changed the colour from light grey to white using SBR and then masonry paint, and jobbie jobbed.
3) ditto insulating the walls - you must avoid condie traps. 

Please take a look at the Tata sheets that have been stored under covers for a year now. I might have chosen the wrong color, as darker shades are probably better for roofing and lighter one for side cladding.

FreeBear

A 2.4 x 1.2m sheet of 11mm OSB is about 20Kg - Fairly easy to slide around, although I wouldn't want to try picking up a sheet on my own (got a slipped disc). With the two of you, it should be manageable. 2.4m is the longest sheet you can get off the shelf, so you'll need to cut a few down. If you stagger the joints, you can get away with using two shorter lengths that will be easier to handle.

In its current form, you don't have many trusses, and the horizontal rafters are spread quite some distance apart. If you go for thinner sheets, there is a very real risk they will fail as you move around on them. Even with 11m sheets, I'm of the opinion that you need more trusses and rafters.

sujsuj

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi SujSuj.
What a nice project!
Metal cladding for roof? Absolutely. I'm guessing 'box' section and anthracite? 
Your roof design already has a cracking overhang - that's good; it not only offers protection to the walls, but looks more balanced too. Your call, but I'd consider adding extra overlap to the ends, too, tho' it'll be a little extra work. 
We cannot see the main timber structure inside - is it solid, rot-free, and plumb/level?
Anyhoo, some things to consider, but I'm not sure how important they are;
1) you are going to insulate the roof. You must, therefore, research the correct construction for this to avoid condensation traps. For instance, it seems potentially dodgy to me to place metal sheets directly on to OSB - but I may be wrong. For example, with box section roofing, there will be strips of direct contact between the two, with the metal being at outdoor temps, so freezing at times. That means freezing strips of OSB, desperate to attract condensation.
I don't see why OSB sheeting is required at all - The roof gets screwed straight to the rafters and noggins.
Are you going to keep the inside vaulted or flat-ceilinged? For the latter, then I'd say def no OSB, and just add rigid insulation followed by p'board direct to the underside of the joists, allowing the void above to be thoroughly ventilated via the eaves. Add an inspection hatch. Simple and cheap.
2) outer finish. Your stable seems to have an obvious front and entrance, so make that side a real feature, and simply clad the back and sides in a similar metal sheet to the roof - quick, easy and effective. For the front, look at 'garden rooms' that have a mix of anthracite and golden timber - two colours that look striking together. Consider horizontal cladding for the walls, as this, I think, looks best. But surf t'net for ideas until you find a design and layout that looks best - and copy it!
I built a wee 'extension' recently - just to square off a room - and found enough Cedral cladding on Facebook Marketplace - the fibre-cement type - to do the job, for only £30. Changed the colour from light grey to white using SBR and then masonry paint, and jobbie jobbed.
3) ditto insulating the walls - you must avoid condie traps. 

Only one section of the roof's wood needs replacement, while the rest is in good condition. I'll be using treated wood for the replacements.

I plan to install eaves fillers at both ends of each roofing sheet. I still need to determine if I should put a membrane over the OSB before laying the sheets. The sheets are 2.74m x 1m x 0.7mm (L x W x T) in box profile.Since the sheets are thin, I believe I have no choice but to use either boards or wooden cladding, correct? 

I'm also considering keeping the front stable as it is, coated with something like dark Cuprinol. I'm undecided between using wood cladding or metal sheets for the sides and back. My concern with metal cladding is that it might make the structure look like an industrial estate building.

I’ve noticed a bitumen fiber membrane inside an old shed’s cladding, but it seems difficult to source now. That membrane might have been a good option to place over the OSB as well. (see photos)

I'm also considering adding a layer of loft insulation with a plywood cover inside the roofing for better insulation.

ThisIsWeird

sujsuj said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi SujSuj.
What a nice project!
Metal cladding for roof? Absolutely. I'm guessing 'box' section and anthracite? 
Your roof design already has a cracking overhang - that's good; it not only offers protection to the walls, but looks more balanced too. Your call, but I'd consider adding extra overlap to the ends, too, tho' it'll be a little extra work. 
We cannot see the main timber structure inside - is it solid, rot-free, and plumb/level?
Anyhoo, some things to consider, but I'm not sure how important they are;
1) you are going to insulate the roof. You must, therefore, research the correct construction for this to avoid condensation traps. For instance, it seems potentially dodgy to me to place metal sheets directly on to OSB - but I may be wrong. For example, with box section roofing, there will be strips of direct contact between the two, with the metal being at outdoor temps, so freezing at times. That means freezing strips of OSB, desperate to attract condensation.
I don't see why OSB sheeting is required at all - The roof gets screwed straight to the rafters and noggins.
Are you going to keep the inside vaulted or flat-ceilinged? For the latter, then I'd say def no OSB, and just add rigid insulation followed by p'board direct to the underside of the joists, allowing the void above to be thoroughly ventilated via the eaves. Add an inspection hatch. Simple and cheap.
2) outer finish. Your stable seems to have an obvious front and entrance, so make that side a real feature, and simply clad the back and sides in a similar metal sheet to the roof - quick, easy and effective. For the front, look at 'garden rooms' that have a mix of anthracite and golden timber - two colours that look striking together. Consider horizontal cladding for the walls, as this, I think, looks best. But surf t'net for ideas until you find a design and layout that looks best - and copy it!
I built a wee 'extension' recently - just to square off a room - and found enough Cedral cladding on Facebook Marketplace - the fibre-cement type - to do the job, for only £30. Changed the colour from light grey to white using SBR and then masonry paint, and jobbie jobbed.
3) ditto insulating the walls - you must avoid condie traps. 

Please take a look at the Tata sheets that have been stored under covers for a year now. I might have chosen the wrong color, as darker shades are probably better for roofing and lighter one for side cladding.

Personal choice.
How much of it do you have? Enough for just the roof, or for the walls too?
First thing, I'd suggest, is to find a design you wish to follow or copy. Really, do that first, and let it guide subsequent decisions.
If, as I personally feel as I look at that dark old stable, a darker colour like charcoal would suit It better, then you could always use up the light grey sheets on the hidden roof side, and also.any 'hidden' sides. You'll know if you can get away with this. :-)
Then focus on the main visible frontage, and go to town on this - make it the statement. You could buy dark roof sheets for that side, assuming, of course, that's your preference.
I suspect the light grey roofing might look industrial or farm shed, like galvanised roofing.

ThisIsWeird

Q - are you keeping the inside vaulted?
Especially if not, I would personally look to building up the rafters with plenty of noggins - nice easy clean work, carried out from a scaffold - and place the sheets on this; I just don't see the point of OSB on top, unless you're going to make it part of an insulated upper roof.
You certainly aren't going to be screwing the metal sheets to the OSB - it ain't strong enough - so you'd have to target the rafters and noggins in any case.

sujsuj

Section62 said:

FreeBear said:

...Looks like at least one of the rafters is rotted at the end, and possibly the supporting timber. That will need sorting before you can cover the roof...

This^.  It looks like the truss has rotted at the end and partially collapsed.  That needs a proper 'structural' repair rather than just patch repairing the rotten wood.

sujsuj said:

I’m planning to kick off the project next month, though the timing isn’t ideal. The goal is to wrap it up by early summer!

Looking forward to your advice!

Cover the roof with tarpauilin (without walking on it!) and leave starting the job until the spring.  You need the timber to dry out properly and then treat it for rot and woodworm.  If it is saturated now then it won't dry properly until we have warmer weather in April/May.  Some of the materials like OSB don't take kindly to getting wet, so again waiting until the spring means less risk of damage to your new materials.

In particular, the steel sheeting should be put on dry - (a) because there's less risk of trapped moisture causing corrosion and (b) you'll only walk on a damp sloping steel sheet roof once - if the resulting fall from height doesn't kill you then you'll know not to be so silly the next time.

I would put some form of rigid sheeting under the steel rather than fix it direct to purlins.  OSB3 is Ok, but make it a minimum of 12mm.  I would then add at least 25mm of celotex as insulation, then a sheet of heavy gauge polythene (with the joints overlapped and taped).  This is because you will get condensation on the underside of the steel and you need to (a) keep the water out of the materials and space below and (b) try to reduce the amount of condensation by insulating/increasing the thermal mass.

How are you storing the roofing sheets?  Have you got them under cover somewhere?

Yes, the roof is partially collapsed, so I haven’t been spending any time inside recently. However, I’m confident about the repairs, especially after successfully working on my double garage last year. I already delayed this project by a year, so I need to make a start, at least by procuring materials. I've been taking measurements for the past six months, so it's definitely time to begin. Based on my garage experience, the work might stretch out over another year!

I’m aware that materials need to be stored properly, which is why I completed the garage first. The metal sheets have been left covered for a year now. They are Tata PE 15 color-coated sheets.

As you can see from the photos, the sheets have been under cover for the past year.

sujsuj

Section62 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Your call, but I'd consider adding extra overlap to the ends, too, tho' it'll be a little extra work.

One good reason for adjusting the overall width of the roof (length of the building) is to match the distance to a whole number of 'cover widths' of the sheeting.  Cutting steel sheet should be avoided if possible (it introduces corrosion risk), and doing so along the length is a PITB.  Not so much of an issue with small corrugations, but with box-types you ideally make the roof to suit the sheeting.

ThisIsWeird said:

I don't see why OSB sheeting is required at all - The roof gets screwed straight to the rafters and noggins.

It needs something under the steel - it is much easier taking whatever it is (e.g. insulation/OSB/polythene) over the purlin and fixing through it, rather than cutting whatever it is to fit between the purlins and then working out a way of fixing it in place.  Continuity over the purlins also helps with keeping the wet on the outside, and looks much neater. (and this is why roofing screws are available in very long lengths).

I need to go back and check the measurements, but with the overlapping, I believe that based on what I purchased a year ago, there shouldn't be any need to cut the sheets, except for the ridges.

Currently, I'm planning to use OSB 3 boards, but I still need to decide on the thickness. I haven't purchased the roofing screws yet, as their length will depend on the thickness of the OSB boards.

sujsuj

ThisIsWeird said:

Section62 said:

It needs something under the steel - it is much easier taking whatever it is (e.g. insulation/OSB/polythene) over the purlin and fixing through it, rather than cutting whatever it is to fit between the purlins and then working out a way of fixing it in place.  Continuity over the purlins also helps with keeping the wet on the outside, and looks much neater. (and this is why roofing screws are available in very long lengths).

Ah, good point - so remove old roofing, and then insulate and sheet on top of rafters, then metal roofing?

I suppose the insulation, like Celotex boards or something similar, should be installed from the inside after the roofing is completed, correct?

sujsuj

FreeBear said:

A 2.4 x 1.2m sheet of 11mm OSB is about 20Kg - Fairly easy to slide around, although I wouldn't want to try picking up a sheet on my own (got a slipped disc). With the two of you, it should be manageable. 2.4m is the longest sheet you can get off the shelf, so you'll need to cut a few down. If you stagger the joints, you can get away with using two shorter lengths that will be easier to handle.

In its current form, you don't have many trusses, and the horizontal rafters are spread quite some distance apart. If you go for thinner sheets, there is a very real risk they will fail as you move around on them. Even with 11m sheets, I'm of the opinion that you need more trusses and rafters.

Okay, so these trusses/horizontal rafters are only suitable for bitumen felt. I hadn't considered that—thanks for pointing it out. I plan to visit a DIY shop and try this out before making a final decision. Since I only weigh 65kg, so may be a thinner sheet OK..?

sujsuj

ThisIsWeird said:

sujsuj said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi SujSuj.
What a nice project!
Metal cladding for roof? Absolutely. I'm guessing 'box' section and anthracite? 
Your roof design already has a cracking overhang - that's good; it not only offers protection to the walls, but looks more balanced too. Your call, but I'd consider adding extra overlap to the ends, too, tho' it'll be a little extra work. 
We cannot see the main timber structure inside - is it solid, rot-free, and plumb/level?
Anyhoo, some things to consider, but I'm not sure how important they are;
1) you are going to insulate the roof. You must, therefore, research the correct construction for this to avoid condensation traps. For instance, it seems potentially dodgy to me to place metal sheets directly on to OSB - but I may be wrong. For example, with box section roofing, there will be strips of direct contact between the two, with the metal being at outdoor temps, so freezing at times. That means freezing strips of OSB, desperate to attract condensation.
I don't see why OSB sheeting is required at all - The roof gets screwed straight to the rafters and noggins.
Are you going to keep the inside vaulted or flat-ceilinged? For the latter, then I'd say def no OSB, and just add rigid insulation followed by p'board direct to the underside of the joists, allowing the void above to be thoroughly ventilated via the eaves. Add an inspection hatch. Simple and cheap.
2) outer finish. Your stable seems to have an obvious front and entrance, so make that side a real feature, and simply clad the back and sides in a similar metal sheet to the roof - quick, easy and effective. For the front, look at 'garden rooms' that have a mix of anthracite and golden timber - two colours that look striking together. Consider horizontal cladding for the walls, as this, I think, looks best. But surf t'net for ideas until you find a design and layout that looks best - and copy it!
I built a wee 'extension' recently - just to square off a room - and found enough Cedral cladding on Facebook Marketplace - the fibre-cement type - to do the job, for only £30. Changed the colour from light grey to white using SBR and then masonry paint, and jobbie jobbed.
3) ditto insulating the walls - you must avoid condie traps. 

Please take a look at the Tata sheets that have been stored under covers for a year now. I might have chosen the wrong color, as darker shades are probably better for roofing and lighter one for side cladding.

Personal choice.
How much of it do you have? Enough for just the roof, or for the walls too?
First thing, I'd suggest, is to find a design you wish to follow or copy. Really, do that first, and let it guide subsequent decisions.
If, as I personally feel as I look at that dark old stable, a darker colour like charcoal would suit It better, then you could always use up the light grey sheets on the hidden roof side, and also.any 'hidden' sides. You'll know if you can get away with this. :-)
Then focus on the main visible frontage, and go to town on this - make it the statement. You could buy dark roof sheets for that side, assuming, of course, that's your preference.
I suspect the light grey roofing might look industrial or farm shed, like galvanised roofing.

I originally bought the materials only for the roofing, and at that time, I didn't consider using metal sheets for the side walls. However, considering the ease of installation and the finish, it might be a simpler option now, though the appearance may not be ideal.