Shed roofs announce their retirement in a familiar way. The felt lifts at a corner, a storm gets underneath it, and suddenly your lawnmower is living under a tarpaulin. Getting a roofer out for a shed rarely makes financial sense, since the call-out and labour can cost more than the shed did. The good news is this is one of the most manageable roofing jobs there is, and most people can do it in a day with the right kit. Here's how to tell when the roof's done, what to replace it with, and what the job actually involves. Signs your shed roof is past saving You can keep patching felt forever, but at some point you're throwing good money after bad. Cracks or tears in more than one spot? Bubbles or lifting along the laps? Daylight coming through when you stand inside? Any of those and the covering is done. Green staining on the internal timber means water has been getting in for a while. At that point, another tube of sealant is just a deposit on next year's disappointment. While you're up there, press gently on the roof boards. If they flex or feel spongy, plan on replacing a board or two along with the covering. New rubber over a rotten deck is money wasted. Why we'd skip new felt You can re-felt a shed for maybe thirty quid, and plenty of people do. The catch is that you'll be doing it again in eight to twelve years, sooner if the shed sits under trees or catches the full force of the weather. Felt fails at its overlaps, goes brittle in frost and tears in wind. Spending a little more once beats spending a little less repeatedly, especially when the alternative can outlast the shed itself. The two coverings worth your money EPDM rubber: the easy one For most sheds, rubber is the answer. Our SkyGuard shed roof kits start at £70 and include the membrane and adhesives in one box. The rubber goes down as a single sheet, stuck with deck adhesive across the middle and contact adhesive at the edges, then wraps over and fixes to the fascia. No joints, no flames, no rush, and it copes with the shed timbers swelling and shrinking through the seasons. We've covered the material in depth in our rubber roofing guide, and the EPDM training centre shows the whole install on video. GRP fibreglass: the tough one If you want a hard, rigid finish, or your shed roof is big enough that you'll occasionally kneel on it, fibreglass is worth a look. Our 450g GRP kits suit shed roofs that only need to keep the rain out, and there's no point paying for the heavier 600g laminate on a roof nobody walks on. Bear in mind GRP wants a new OSB3 deck to bond to and a dry, mild day to cure, so it's a slightly bigger commitment than rubber. The fibreglass video tutorials will show you exactly what you're signing up for. What the job involves Strip the old felt and pull every nail, because anything left proud will telegraph through the new covering. Check the deck and replace any soft boards. Then fit your new covering following the kit instructions, and finish the edges properly: on a GRP roof a drip trim carries rainwater cleanly off the edge for about £7, and on rubber the sheet simply wraps and fixes. If you don't own rollers and brushes, tool kit 1 covers small roofs like this. A typical 8x6 shed is a morning's work for the strip and an afternoon for the new roof. Two checks before you strip anything First, look at what the old roof is made of. Most shed roofs are felt over board, but some older sheds, garages and lean-tos have corrugated grey cement sheets, and if yours does, stop, because those sheets may contain asbestos. Don't break them, don't jetwash them, and read the HSE's asbestos guidance before deciding anything. Disposal rules apply even for householders. Second, sort your access. A shed roof is low enough to feel safe, and that's exactly why people get hurt on them. Level ground, a decent ladder, no leaning out. The HSE's ladder safety page takes five minutes and it's the same advice we'd give you over the phone. Sort it this weekend Measure the roof, add 150mm overhang each way for rubber, and order. Most kits go out same day if you order by midday. If your garden building is bigger than a standard shed, our log cabin roofing guide covers those, or you can price any size in the EPDM kit builder. Stuck on anything, from measuring to material choice, call us on 0800 612 7903 and we'll talk it through before you spend a penny.
