Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

re felting a shed roof

32 views
Skip to first unread message

Dave

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 12:39:14 PM11/22/08
to
In the winds last week, our little wooden shed had part of its roof
felting blown off.

My local building suppliers have mentioned using felt adhesive. Is this
good advice for some one who has never done this sort of thing before?

Plus, any tips on doing the job

Dave

The Medway Handyman

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 12:43:01 PM11/22/08
to

Pent or apex roof? e.g. flat sloping or pointy?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk


meow...@care2.com

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 1:41:38 PM11/22/08
to

you can do it either way, adhesive or nails. Or you can even use wafer
head screws.

Its a very simple job, not sure what there is to say about it. I'd
just avoid cheapie felts, false economy.


NT

BigWallop

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 2:00:25 PM11/22/08
to

"Dave" <dave...@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:5J-dnbTjrZlY3rXU...@bt.com...

Start at the eaves and work up to the top. Apply felt adhesive, or liquid
felt, liberally all over the roof. Apply the first row of felt over the
eaves. Leave a few inches over the edges to form tucks so the rain drips
away from the walls of the shed. Leave a couple of inches on overlaps so
the water runs onto and not under the previous row of felt.

Use large head felt (roofing) nails every 6 or so inches along all the
edges, and try to use liquid felt or felt adhesive under and on top of all
joints. Apply liquid felt with an old paint brush. All mineral crumbs can
be collected to cover the nail heads and camouflage them.

The top ridge felt covering should be stuck with felt adhesive and then
nailed to make it stronger and last longer.

Tim Lamb

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 2:11:41 PM11/22/08
to
In message <dFYVk.91393$E41....@text.news.virginmedia.com>, BigWallop
<spam....@good-spam-guard.com> writes

All above and....

Use mineralised felt and fit thin battens, 18" apart, up and down the
slope to stop wind lift.

By tucks, I think BW meant to say double the felt back under itself to
form a strong edge/drip.

regards
>
>
>

--
Tim Lamb

Cash

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 2:25:55 PM11/22/08
to

"strong edge/drip" - its called a welted drip and if you are using the green
mineralised felt, it is sensible to lightly heat this with a blow torch on
the actual 'bend' to avoid cracking during the 'turn-over' operation.


Dave

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 2:43:39 PM11/22/08
to
The Medway Handyman wrote:
> Dave wrote:
>> In the winds last week, our little wooden shed had part of its roof
>> felting blown off.
>>
>> My local building suppliers have mentioned using felt adhesive. Is
>> this good advice for some one who has never done this sort of thing
>> before?
>> Plus, any tips on doing the job
>
> Pent or apex roof? e.g. flat sloping or pointy?

Apex.

Dave

Dave

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 2:48:33 PM11/22/08
to

Noted. The felt will be mid range of what the BS stocks.

Is the adhesive a grab type, or will it allow slip like wall paper paste?

Dave

Dave

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 2:51:39 PM11/22/08
to

Many thanks for all that detail, I feel more confident about doing it
now. I was thinking that the adhesive would have to be painted all over
where the felt was to sit.

Dave

Dave

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 2:52:56 PM11/22/08
to

Thanks for the additional info.

Dave

Dave

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 2:54:10 PM11/22/08
to

That was something I forgot to ask, the ending in this cold weather.

Dave

robgraham

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 3:23:01 PM11/22/08
to
On 22 Nov, 19:52, Dave <daven...@btopenworld.com> wrote:
> Tim Lamb wrote:
> > In message <dFYVk.91393$E41.6...@text.news.virginmedia.com>, BigWallop
> > <spam.gu...@good-spam-guard.com> writes
>
> >> "Dave" <daven...@btopenworld.com> wrote in message

Dave
I'm not accusing those who have replied of not having done a re-
felting job in winter, but having done a similar repair situation some
years ago and had to work all day and well into dark (7pm on a cold
winter's night !!), I would strongly recommend that you consider
avoiding using felt. You are going to be faced with trying to apply
an adhesive that is very temperature sensitive in terms of its
capacity to flow and hence be painted on, and will need to be warmed
considerably to be useable.

You will find that if you go to any of the Sheds you can get sheets of
Onduline. The accumulative price is not going to be that much
different from using felt properly, and the effort to install it is
minimal which is critical at this time of year. If you haven't done
felting before, avoid it under these circumstances and go with the
corrugated material - not much different in price and so much easier
to put on. I've just done a 5m x 3m roof with it and it took a short
afternoon.

Rob

meow...@care2.com

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 4:17:30 PM11/22/08
to

its a gloop, very slow drying, and impossible to clean off whatever
you get it on. And you will. Can be applied by brush or scraper. And
dont take the whole gallon up there, put some in a marge tub etc, that
way the disaster is smaller :)


NT

meow...@care2.com

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 4:20:31 PM11/22/08
to

If the gloop goes stiff, it can be thinned with a lttle paraffin.
Ultimately it can just be wiped on solid if necessary, just press down
hard to stick.

Go for a modern felt, trad felts stiffen right up in cold weather.


NT

Dave Liquorice

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 5:08:36 PM11/22/08
to
On Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:39:14 +0000, Dave wrote:

> My local building suppliers have mentioned using felt adhesive. Is this
> good advice for some one who has never done this sort of thing before?

Not bothered with glue on our 8x6 shed roof, just used clout nails. The
winds here get strong enough to blow the shed away, which has happened
twice. Once the roof took off in it's entirety and landed 25 yards down
wind, second time the entire shed was rolled over, it was empty though.

Nails are about every 1 1/2" on exposed edges and every 6" or so on
non-exposed ones. There are also a couple of wood strips running up/down
the pitch to reduce the free area of felt that can move in the wind.

A downside with sticking the flet down is that should it become damaged
again it's not going to be particulary easy to clean up the bits that are
stuck down. Nails can be pulled and reused...

--
Cheers
Dave.

Tim S

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 5:18:33 PM11/22/08
to
Dave coughed up some electrons that declared:

Coming late to this, but I'll add my vote for gloop. Gloop and nails. Loads
of gloop.

Don't just gloop round the edges, but paint it all over, stick felt down,
nail edge with clout nails for good measure.

Did exactly this for the landlord a couple of years ago and the shed's kept
it's felt.

Why that way? Well, if you don't stick it down all over, if a rip develops,
the wind gets under it and bye bye felt.

Beware though, the gloop can find it's way past the planks and drip inside
the shed.

Cheers

Tim

BigWallop

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 5:50:23 PM11/22/08
to

<meow...@care2.com> wrote in message
news:cc4ef1b5-bc2b-4af0...@x38g2000yqj.googlegroups.com...

Very sound advice. You sometimes forget the little bits of advice that
really matter in doing this type of project.

BigWallop

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 5:52:37 PM11/22/08
to

"Cash" <.............\\@...............//.com> wrote in message
news:6or4m3F...@mid.individual.net...
A Welted Edge. That's it. I was going to call it a Welp. :-) Isn't it
luck a red face only lasts for a second. lol

Dave

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 6:28:01 PM11/22/08
to
robgraham wrote:


> Dave
> I'm not accusing those who have replied of not having done a re-
> felting job in winter, but having done a similar repair situation some
> years ago and had to work all day and well into dark (7pm on a cold
> winter's night !!), I would strongly recommend that you consider
> avoiding using felt. You are going to be faced with trying to apply
> an adhesive that is very temperature sensitive in terms of its
> capacity to flow and hence be painted on, and will need to be warmed
> considerably to be useable.
>
> You will find that if you go to any of the Sheds you can get sheets of
> Onduline. The accumulative price is not going to be that much
> different from using felt properly, and the effort to install it is
> minimal which is critical at this time of year. If you haven't done
> felting before, avoid it under these circumstances and go with the
> corrugated material - not much different in price and so much easier
> to put on. I've just done a 5m x 3m roof with it and it took a short
> afternoon.

That looks like a very good alternative.

Thanks for that, I'll take a look at it in the next few days.

Dave

John Rumm

unread,
Nov 22, 2008, 8:53:16 PM11/22/08
to

If you can get access to a *large* blowtorch (we are talking something
with 30mm+ wide nozzle here) then I would be tempted to get a roll of
torch on felt instead. Especially given the weather. Basically you cut
the felt as usual, but instead of titting about orible black gloop, you
just play the torch over it to melt the back, and unroll it onto the
roof, heating as you go. You will be able to do a decent sized shed roof
in about an hour that way, and keep warm into the process.

--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

The Medway Handyman

unread,
Nov 23, 2008, 6:40:21 AM11/23/08
to
John Rumm wrote:
> Dave wrote:
>> In the winds last week, our little wooden shed had part of its roof
>> felting blown off.
>>
>> My local building suppliers have mentioned using felt adhesive. Is
>> this good advice for some one who has never done this sort of thing
>> before? Plus, any tips on doing the job
>
> If you can get access to a *large* blowtorch (we are talking something
> with 30mm+ wide nozzle here) then I would be tempted to get a roll of
> torch on felt instead. Especially given the weather. Basically you cut
> the felt as usual, but instead of titting about orible black gloop,
> you just play the torch over it to melt the back, and unroll it onto
> the roof, heating as you go. You will be able to do a decent sized
> shed roof in about an hour that way, and keep warm into the process.

Yup. The fire brigade carry blankets to wrap you in :-)

John Rumm

unread,
Nov 23, 2008, 1:06:56 PM11/23/08
to

Having now done a few roofs with torch on, I don't think I would go back
glue... as a process it is so much quicker and easier, and the results
much more like a hot tar and felt solution. Some of the 4mm SBS
rubberised felts are also seriously tough - much better quality than
traditional felt.

The process is safe enough it you take obvious precautions when close
existing parts of buildings. Most of the time you are just heating the
back of the roll of felt, with a little flame over spill onto the roof
to prewarm it and drive off any moisture. Even with a timber roof, if
you catch it enough to burn, it will extinguish as you place the felt on
it.

I usually have some water handy and a damp cloth/towel just in case of
fire or burn (you don't want to get hot rubberised tar on your skin!).
Good leather gloves are a must, and a metal trowel are handy for holding
and heating tricky bits.

Dave

unread,
Nov 23, 2008, 4:27:26 PM11/23/08
to

Not having been able to look at the lee ward side today to see how the
original was done, I suspect that it was just overlapped to the down
side and left a bit longer than the batten that held it in place. Would
this do the job, considering the weather is so cold? Or I could leave it
long, hope the wind left it that way and roll it in spring.

Dave

BigWallop

unread,
Nov 23, 2008, 4:58:15 PM11/23/08
to

"Dave" <dave...@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:g_idnYvpsaNcV7TU...@bt.com...

Try bending the felt cold to see how much radius it will allow. Leave that
much over and bend it round to get a drip form. In the warmer weather you
can tidy it up a bit more. Even in these cold conditions, the felt should
bend through quite a tight radius without cracking.

Tim Lamb

unread,
Nov 23, 2008, 6:03:51 PM11/23/08
to
In message <XlkWk.91943$E41....@text.news.virginmedia.com>, BigWallop
<spam....@good-spam-guard.com> writes

>>
>> Not having been able to look at the lee ward side today to see how the
>> original was done, I suspect that it was just overlapped to the down
>> side and left a bit longer than the batten that held it in place. Would
>> this do the job, considering the weather is so cold? Or I could leave it
>> long, hope the wind left it that way and roll it in spring.
>>
>> Dave
>>
>
>Try bending the felt cold to see how much radius it will allow. Leave that
>much over and bend it round to get a drip form. In the warmer weather you
>can tidy it up a bit more. Even in these cold conditions, the felt should
>bend through quite a tight radius without cracking.

I have a B&D hot air paint stripper which has little effect on paint but
works wonders on bending plastics and unfreezing pipes.

Try bending an offcut and see how it goes.

Wait till she is out and borrow the hair drier:-)

regards
>
>
>

--
Tim Lamb

Dave

unread,
Nov 24, 2008, 3:35:01 PM11/24/08
to
Tim Lamb wrote:
> In message <XlkWk.91943$E41....@text.news.virginmedia.com>, BigWallop
> <spam....@good-spam-guard.com> writes
>>>
>>> Not having been able to look at the lee ward side today to see how the
>>> original was done, I suspect that it was just overlapped to the down
>>> side and left a bit longer than the batten that held it in place. Would
>>> this do the job, considering the weather is so cold? Or I could leave it
>>> long, hope the wind left it that way and roll it in spring.
>>>
>>> Dave
>>>
>>
>> Try bending the felt cold to see how much radius it will allow. Leave
>> that
>> much over and bend it round to get a drip form. In the warmer weather
>> you
>> can tidy it up a bit more. Even in these cold conditions, the felt
>> should
>> bend through quite a tight radius without cracking.

To answer both of you.

Yes, that went through my mind as I have to buy far more felt than I
will use.


> I have a B&D hot air paint stripper which has little effect on paint but
> works wonders on bending plastics and unfreezing pipes.
>
> Try bending an offcut and see how it goes.
>
> Wait till she is out and borrow the hair drier:-)

Paint stripper gets hotter than that. Any idea how much heat felt can
take? I wont be doing the job till next year anyway, I'm not well enough
to be outside all the time it will take.

Dave

Tim Lamb

unread,
Nov 25, 2008, 4:29:30 AM11/25/08
to
In message <PdidnfKSAoNlkrbU...@bt.com>, Dave
<dave...@btopenworld.com> writes

>
>> I have a B&D hot air paint stripper which has little effect on paint
>>but works wonders on bending plastics and unfreezing pipes.
>> Try bending an offcut and see how it goes.
>> Wait till she is out and borrow the hair drier:-)
>
>Paint stripper gets hotter than that. Any idea how much heat felt can
>take? I wont be doing the job till next year anyway, I'm not well
>enough to be outside all the time it will take.

Very much depends on the felt you are using. As others have said, some
are designed to have the contact side *melted* by contact with a large
direct flame from a torch.

Simply bending should not need much more than warm. You will have to
experiment. Working off the ground, applying heat to a narrow but long
strip really needs a hand portable heat source. I have not tried but a
plumbers soldering torch with a diffuse flame, kept moving, might do.

regards

--
Tim Lamb

John Rumm

unread,
Nov 25, 2008, 5:43:11 AM11/25/08
to

If you want to make a "drip" easily, they normally suggest a strip of
hardboard or 3mm ply - nail through it, through some felt (underside
facing out) into the side of the roof, then lift the felt up and over it
so that it defines a nice neat edge.

______________
############|I|
############|I|
\|

Where I is the ply/hardboard

Dave

unread,
Nov 25, 2008, 4:39:17 PM11/25/08
to

OK thanks for that, but as I have said earlier, I will not be doing the
job until I can keep warm and not cough while I am doing it.

Dave

Dave

unread,
Nov 25, 2008, 4:43:35 PM11/25/08
to
John Rumm wrote:

> If you want to make a "drip" easily, they normally suggest a strip of
> hardboard or 3mm ply - nail through it, through some felt (underside
> facing out) into the side of the roof, then lift the felt up and over it
> so that it defines a nice neat edge.

I'll re read that when I am feeling a bit better. My chest is getting me
down again. This has been going on for over 14 months now, hence the
lack of the drill grinding guide.

Dave

0 new messages