How to Re-Felt a Pitched Shed Roof
A pitched shed roof is fairly straightforward to replace but it is much easier if you have someone to help.
It's not always easy to see where the damaged felt is but if water is leaking through then the bituminous felt may need replacing.
It is possible to replace a small section of felt by cutting out a rectangular patch of felt about three inches larger than the hole or tear.
Apply felt adhesive to the patch of felt and when tacky, press down firmly.
Tools and materials
If they are rusty and the heads break off, make sure that you hammer them flat so as not to damage the new felt.
Inspect the timber of the roof for any signs of wear or rot and replace if necessary.
Paint wood preservative on any new pieces of wood and let dry before you start placing the felt.
Using a tape measure, accurately measure the length of the roof, parallel to the ridge and add on 50mm so that the felt will overlap the facia boards by 25mm.
Cut the felt into strips.
Place the first strip of felt on the side of the roof so that the bottom edge is overlapping the eaves by 25mm.
Similarly, each short end of the felt should overlap the facia boards by the same amount.
Smooth the wooden batten over the felt to iron out any wrinkles.
Start at the centre and move towards the ends.
Start nailing this first piece of felt at its top edge, using 13mm galvanised nails, at intervals of six inches.
When nailing the bottom and side edges to the outside of the eaves and facia board, the distance between the nails should be about two inches.
At the corners, fold the felt over into a triangle and nail.
With the chalk, mark a line along the length of the felt three inches below the top edge.
Brush on the felt adhesive above this chalk line.
Be careful not to let the adhesive stray below this line.
Leave for about half an hour until it becomes tacky.
Using the chalk line as a guide, place the next strip of felt on top of the adhesive and press down firmly.
As before, run the wooden batten over the felt to smooth out any wrinkles.
At six inch intervals, nail the top edge of the felt and two inch for the side edges.
Depending on the slope of the shed you may need to use more strips of felt.
Aim to leave up to twelve inches of roof bare at the top.
Cover the other side of the roof in the same manner.
Usinhg the stanley knife, cut one more strip of felt measuring the width of the bare ridge plus six inches for overlapping.
Lay the felt strip over the ridge, placing it centrally and make a chalk line using the edges as a guide.
Remove the strip and apply adhesive to the bare ridge.
Ensure that it does not come below the chalk line.
Leave until it becomes tacky.
Place the felt over the ridge, matching the chalk lines, and smooth over with the wooden batten.
Press down firmly.
Nail the edges onto the facia board at two inch intervals and neatly fold over the excess felt at the top corners and nail through.
It's not always easy to see where the damaged felt is but if water is leaking through then the bituminous felt may need replacing.
It is possible to replace a small section of felt by cutting out a rectangular patch of felt about three inches larger than the hole or tear.
Apply felt adhesive to the patch of felt and when tacky, press down firmly.
Tools and materials
- Sharp knife
- Claw hammer
- Tape measure
- Wooden batten about 1 metre long
- Bituminous felt
- Wood preservative
- Clout nails, galvanized
- Chalk
If they are rusty and the heads break off, make sure that you hammer them flat so as not to damage the new felt.
Inspect the timber of the roof for any signs of wear or rot and replace if necessary.
Paint wood preservative on any new pieces of wood and let dry before you start placing the felt.
Using a tape measure, accurately measure the length of the roof, parallel to the ridge and add on 50mm so that the felt will overlap the facia boards by 25mm.
Cut the felt into strips.
Place the first strip of felt on the side of the roof so that the bottom edge is overlapping the eaves by 25mm.
Similarly, each short end of the felt should overlap the facia boards by the same amount.
Smooth the wooden batten over the felt to iron out any wrinkles.
Start at the centre and move towards the ends.
Start nailing this first piece of felt at its top edge, using 13mm galvanised nails, at intervals of six inches.
When nailing the bottom and side edges to the outside of the eaves and facia board, the distance between the nails should be about two inches.
At the corners, fold the felt over into a triangle and nail.
With the chalk, mark a line along the length of the felt three inches below the top edge.
Brush on the felt adhesive above this chalk line.
Be careful not to let the adhesive stray below this line.
Leave for about half an hour until it becomes tacky.
Using the chalk line as a guide, place the next strip of felt on top of the adhesive and press down firmly.
As before, run the wooden batten over the felt to smooth out any wrinkles.
At six inch intervals, nail the top edge of the felt and two inch for the side edges.
Depending on the slope of the shed you may need to use more strips of felt.
Aim to leave up to twelve inches of roof bare at the top.
Cover the other side of the roof in the same manner.
Usinhg the stanley knife, cut one more strip of felt measuring the width of the bare ridge plus six inches for overlapping.
Lay the felt strip over the ridge, placing it centrally and make a chalk line using the edges as a guide.
Remove the strip and apply adhesive to the bare ridge.
Ensure that it does not come below the chalk line.
Leave until it becomes tacky.
Place the felt over the ridge, matching the chalk lines, and smooth over with the wooden batten.
Press down firmly.
Nail the edges onto the facia board at two inch intervals and neatly fold over the excess felt at the top corners and nail through.
