My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather long, since
the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself, we're told) also
extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So, it's the same length as
the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour says he used pretty much any bits of
chipboard he could find. There seems to be no incline, since water tends to
sit it pools on top. It has a few leaks, and has once caused water to pour
out of a light switch in the kitchen. I patched that one up, but we're
thinking it would be nice to do something so that we can just forget about
it in future. Having it properly replaced is out of the question - the
money will never be available in their lifetimes. I was wondering if I
could cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making sure they slope
down to the back, where there is already a gutter. Is this a reasonable
thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

gogmagog wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather
long, since the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself,
we're told) also extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So,
it's the same length as the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour says he
used pretty much any bits of chipboard he could find. There seems to
be no incline, since water tends to sit it pools on top. It has a
few leaks, and has once caused water to pour out of a light switch in
the kitchen. I patched that one up, but we're thinking it would be
nice to do something so that we can just forget about it in future. Having
it properly replaced is out of the question - the money will
never be available in their lifetimes. I was wondering if I could
cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making sure they slope
down to the back, where there is already a gutter. Is this a
reasonable thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

Bonkers.
Unless you get your corrugated sheets and timber for free, but even then
it's unlikely that the chipboard would even support your weight if it has
been soaked for any length of time.

Cheapo solution - use 8X4 sheets of OSB and get it rubberised by a pro

"Phil L" wrote in message
...
gogmagog wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather
long, since the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself,
we're told) also extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So,
it's the same length as the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour says he
used pretty much any bits of chipboard he could find. There seems to
be no incline, since water tends to sit it pools on top. It has a
few leaks, and has once caused water to pour out of a light switch in
the kitchen. I patched that one up, but we're thinking it would be
nice to do something so that we can just forget about it in future.
Having it properly replaced is out of the question - the money will
never be available in their lifetimes. I was wondering if I could
cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making sure they slope
down to the back, where there is already a gutter. Is this a
reasonable thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

Bonkers.
Unless you get your corrugated sheets and timber for free, but even then
it's unlikely that the chipboard would even support your weight if it has
been soaked for any length of time.

Cheapo solution - use 8X4 sheets of OSB and get it rubberised by a pro

Thanks - that's given me something to start reading up about. Does this
require removing everything that's there, or can it just go on top of the
old one?

gogmagog wrote:
"Phil L" wrote in message
...
gogmagog wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather
long, since the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself,
we're told) also extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So,
it's the same length as the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour
says he used pretty much any bits of chipboard he could find. There
seems to be no incline, since water tends to sit it pools on
top. It has a few leaks, and has once caused water to pour out of
a light switch in the kitchen. I patched that one up, but we're
thinking it would be nice to do something so that we can just
forget about it in future. Having it properly replaced is out of
the question - the money will never be available in their
lifetimes. I was wondering if I could cover it all up with some
corrugated sheets, making sure they slope down to the back, where
there is already a gutter. Is this a reasonable thing to do, or
just plain bonkers?

Bonkers.
Unless you get your corrugated sheets and timber for free, but even
then it's unlikely that the chipboard would even support your weight
if it has been soaked for any length of time.

Cheapo solution - use 8X4 sheets of OSB and get it rubberised by a
pro

Thanks - that's given me something to start reading up about. Does
this require removing everything that's there, or can it just go on
top of the old one?

It could go over the old stuff to save messing, not ideal really but I can't
see it compromising the new boarding - the old stuff will just dry out
eventually....it may feel a bit spongy underfoot, but the rubber can handle
this movement

On Aug 15, 3:15*pm, "gogmagog" wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house.

Same here.

IMHE (did it to my small workshop, probably doing it to dad's garage
next) I'd go with a green roof. This is a clean scrape-off for the
old roof, down to the wall tops. Then span it with close-spaced 2x4s,
OSB on top of that, then 1" polystyrene insulation, geotextile,
waterproof membrane, 1" perlite or vermiculite, geotextile, then 3" of
soil. Plant with £20 of mixed sedums. Split & replant the sedums as
the grow, and within two years you can have it covered.

There's a group (Leeds Uni?) who have a downloadable PDF for about a
tenner that's the best guide to building a roof at this scale.

"Phil L" wrote in message
...
gogmagog wrote:
"Phil L" wrote in message
...
gogmagog wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather
long, since the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself,
we're told) also extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So,
it's the same length as the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour
says he used pretty much any bits of chipboard he could find. There
seems to be no incline, since water tends to sit it pools on
top. It has a few leaks, and has once caused water to pour out of
a light switch in the kitchen. I patched that one up, but we're
thinking it would be nice to do something so that we can just
forget about it in future. Having it properly replaced is out of
the question - the money will never be available in their
lifetimes. I was wondering if I could cover it all up with some
corrugated sheets, making sure they slope down to the back, where
there is already a gutter. Is this a reasonable thing to do, or
just plain bonkers?

Bonkers.
Unless you get your corrugated sheets and timber for free, but even
then it's unlikely that the chipboard would even support your weight
if it has been soaked for any length of time.

Cheapo solution - use 8X4 sheets of OSB and get it rubberised by a
pro

Thanks - that's given me something to start reading up about. Does
this require removing everything that's there, or can it just go on
top of the old one?

It could go over the old stuff to save messing, not ideal really but I
can't see it compromising the new boarding - the old stuff will just dry
out eventually....it may feel a bit spongy underfoot, but the rubber can
handle this movement

Okay, thanks very much. Lots to think about...

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On Aug 15, 3:15 pm, "gogmagog" wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house.

Same here.

IMHE (did it to my small workshop, probably doing it to dad's garage
next) I'd go with a green roof. This is a clean scrape-off for the
old roof, down to the wall tops. Then span it with close-spaced 2x4s,
OSB on top of that, then 1" polystyrene insulation, geotextile,
waterproof membrane, 1" perlite or vermiculite, geotextile, then 3" of
soil. Plant with £20 of mixed sedums. Split & replant the sedums as
the grow, and within two years you can have it covered.

There's a group (Leeds Uni?) who have a downloadable PDF for about a
tenner that's the best guide to building a roof at this scale.

--------

Interesting, thanks. I'll look at any possibility. Actually, it's already
covered in moss and sedums.

On Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:15:41 +0100, "gogmagog" wrote:

I was wondering if I
could cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making sure they slope
down to the back, where there is already a gutter. Is this a reasonable
thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

Bonkers. Probably the most reliable moderately low cost route is to
strip the roof and replace any rotting sheets of material then
fibreglass over it.

http://www.cybglassfibre.co.uk/glass...f-building.asp
http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/1project-roofs.html

are two of many suppliers and have instructions on their sites. I
helped a friend do a similar roof and we completed it (including
completely re boarding) in two (long) days.

"Peter Parry" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:15:41 +0100, "gogmagog" wrote:

I was wondering if I
could cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making sure they slope
down to the back, where there is already a gutter. Is this a reasonable
thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

Bonkers. Probably the most reliable moderately low cost route is to
strip the roof and replace any rotting sheets of material then
fibreglass over it.

http://www.cybglassfibre.co.uk/glass...f-building.asp
http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/1project-roofs.html

are two of many suppliers and have instructions on their sites. I
helped a friend do a similar roof and we completed it (including
completely re boarding) in two (long) days.

Very interesting, thanks. I'd never have thought of that.

On 15/08/2012 15:15, gogmagog wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather long, since
the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself, we're told) also
extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So, it's the same length as
the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour says he used pretty much any bits of
chipboard he could find. There seems to be no incline, since water tends to
sit it pools on top. It has a few leaks, and has once caused water to pour
out of a light switch in the kitchen. I patched that one up, but we're
thinking it would be nice to do something so that we can just forget about
it in future. Having it properly replaced is out of the question - the
money will never be available in their lifetimes. I was wondering if I
could cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making sure they slope
down to the back, where there is already a gutter. Is this a reasonable
thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

If the boards are sound the cheapest option is probably a paint on coating:

http://www.polycoteuk.com/category-f...-coatings.html

Colin Bignell

"Nightjar" wrote in message
...
On 15/08/2012 15:15, gogmagog wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather long,
since
the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself, we're told) also
extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So, it's the same length
as
the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour says he used pretty much any bits
of
chipboard he could find. There seems to be no incline, since water tends
to
sit it pools on top. It has a few leaks, and has once caused water to
pour
out of a light switch in the kitchen. I patched that one up, but we're
thinking it would be nice to do something so that we can just forget
about
it in future. Having it properly replaced is out of the question - the
money will never be available in their lifetimes. I was wondering if I
could cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making sure they slope
down to the back, where there is already a gutter. Is this a reasonable
thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

If the boards are sound the cheapest option is probably a paint on
coating:

http://www.polycoteuk.com/category-f...-coatings.html

Colin Bignell

I don't know how good they are in general, but some are definitely softened.
It might be possible to replace a few after inspection, and then coat it.
But that looks like a good option.

On Aug 15, 3:15*pm, "gogmagog" wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. *It's rather long, since
the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself, we're told) also
extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. *So, it's the same length as
the house (25 feet or so). *Neighbour says he used pretty much any bits of
chipboard he could find. *There seems to be no incline, since water tends to
sit it pools on top. *It has a few leaks, and has once caused water to pour
out of a light switch in the kitchen. *I patched that one up, but we're
thinking it would be nice to do something so that we can just forget about
it in future. *Having it properly replaced is out of the question - the
money will never be available in their lifetimes. *I was wondering if I
could cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making sure they slope
down to the back, where there is already a gutter. *Is this a reasonable
thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

The cheapest thing that will actually work is to
a) strip and replace the deck - chipboard is the cheapest decking, but
take care it never gets wet. The roof will fail as soon as it does.
OSB is much better.
b) felt it

All other options cost more. Where you can save is on labour by
diying. If they're plain desperate, felt can be replaced with bitumen
and mixed scrap clothing or shredded carpet.


NT

On 15/08/2012 15:15, gogmagog wrote:
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather long, since
the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself, we're told) also
extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So, it's the same length as
the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour says he used pretty much any bits of
chipboard he could find. There seems to be no incline, since water tends to
sit it pools on top. It has a few leaks, and has once caused water to pour
out of a light switch in the kitchen. I patched that one up, but we're
thinking it would be nice to do something so that we can just forget about
it in future. Having it properly replaced is out of the question - the
money will never be available in their lifetimes. I was wondering if I
could cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making sure they slope
down to the back, where there is already a gutter. Is this a reasonable
thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

To cover all the bases. I have two flat roofs that I have fibreglassed
(I did want to use EPDM on one, but it is an odd shape and would have
been difficult to do) and I covered my garage roof with galvanised steel
roofing sheets. I went directly to a company making the sheets and they
rolled them from a coil and cut them exactly to the length I required
(12' 3") while I watched - that meant they could run from one side of my
garage to the other with no joints.

My first fibreglassed roof is okay 13 or 14 years on, the second is only
12 months old and the galvanised sheets look like new 5 years on.

SteveW

gogmagog wrote

My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather long,
since the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself, we're told)
also extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So, it's the same
length as the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour says he used pretty much
any bits of chipboard he could find. There seems to be no incline, since
water tends to sit it pools on top. It has a few leaks, and has once
caused water to pour out of a light switch in the kitchen. I patched that
one up, but we're thinking it would be nice to do something so that we can
just forget about it in future. Having it properly replaced is out of the
question - the money will never be available in their lifetimes. I was
wondering if I could cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making
sure they slope down to the back, where there is already a gutter.

You're better off with metal decking if there is a minimal slope.

Corrugated prefers a decent slope.

Is this a reasonable thing to do,

Yes, if you use metal decking.

or just plain bonkers?

Not if you do it right.

"gogmagog" wrote in message
. uk...
My mum n dad have a garage attached to their house. It's rather long,
since the guy who built it (previous owner did it himself, we're told)
also extended the kitchen sideways at the same time. So, it's the same
length as the house (25 feet or so). Neighbour says he used pretty much
any bits of chipboard he could find. There seems to be no incline, since
water tends to sit it pools on top. It has a few leaks, and has once
caused water to pour out of a light switch in the kitchen. I patched that
one up, but we're thinking it would be nice to do something so that we can
just forget about it in future. Having it properly replaced is out of the
question - the money will never be available in their lifetimes. I was
wondering if I could cover it all up with some corrugated sheets, making
sure they slope down to the back, where there is already a gutter. Is
this a reasonable thing to do, or just plain bonkers?

Thanks all for your excellent advice. There are more options than I'd
realised, and you've given me plenty to think about.