Flat Garage Roof. Corner leak.

[danny_deever2000]

My Garage roof is leaking at a corner.

It's the end of a block of 3 garages. Not joined to a house. THe chip board roof seems ok.

I guess my three options are:

1) Patch the 5ft by 5ft suspect area with felt myself and hope to get a couple more years out of it.

Comments? Is there a magic material I can lay over the top that's better than felt? I've tried all the product with work for e few months. I want a fix that's good for a couple of years though.

2) Get a pro to re-do the lot.

What's that gonna cost? What material should he use? Felt or is there something better?

3) Have a go myself.

Is it tricky? I'm not sure I trust myself to be as neat as the existing job.

I *suppose* having a proper tiled roof is gonna be thousands.

I'm near Gatwick, West Sussex. Any recommendations for a local firm?

[keng]

I assume the block of 3 garages are all owned by you.

If water has leaked through to chipboard you can kiss it's ass goodbye.

An average built up flat roof is money down the drain. If you must patch it then strip back to sound material and repair with piece of ext. ply and felt patch applied with cold cure adhesive. The difficulty with patches is making good the join because you generally can't get under the original layers of felt.

A better job would be to replace with new ply and butyl rubber, average task for competent d.i.y.but you'll need help for a large area such as yours. Butyl is okay providing there isn't constant foot traffic.

A much better job would be to investigate option for pitched roof and tiles. This will depend on the existing structure, foundations etc. but you can get lightweight tiles for this sort of application. This would be my choice if planning on staying in present property for some time.

Cost is something you have to determine by asking those who supply materials/ carry out this sort of repair work. It would be pointless giving any sort of estimate although forum regulars generally do for some strange reason.

[danny_deever2000]

existing

[Greg C]

Oh my gawd, flat roofs. Nearly all "Pro" flat-roof jobs aren't very Pro at all. Those that are will cost you plenty. A tiled roof isn't really feasable in a block where the other two are flat. Even if it was possible your builder would expect a new Merc from the profits.

A DIY felt patch would seem your best and easiest option. Done properly a patch will last longer than the rest of the roof. Just paint on plenty of cold bitumen-type sealant/adhesive then fix the felt patch with galvanised nails. Put a second, larger patch over that for extra longevity. Where chipboard decking has gone soggy cut a piece of thin plywood to go under the patch. Usually the area requiring repair is fairly obvious. Many flat roofs are patchwork quilts and you can go on indefinitely like this on a garage.

If you want a permanent job forget about felt, and avoid the "rubber sheet" style products like the plague, along with the salesmen that push them. Also don't be fooled by any claims of a magic brush-on sealant that lasts several lifetimes because you might as well apply a coat of varnish.

Glassfibre is the way to go. It would most likely last longer than the building and once completed cannot leak. It's unaffected by extremes of weather, won't wear or rot, can be any colour you choose and is hard to damage even if you need to stand ladders on it. Not at all difficult for DIY either.

Greg C

[danny_deever2000]

existing

[danny_deever2000]

Sweet. Really appreciate this advice. Will go with this method.

Are you *sure* nailing it down is a good idea? Isn't that just creating more holes?