How to seal a small lean-to to a house wall

[Pete Verdon]

Hi,

I'm considering building a timber bike box at the front of my house, constructed as a kind of small lean-to slightly taller than handlebar height. I would build a frame out of tanalised CLS and clad it with either sheets of OSB or, if I can find a suitable source, the kind of overlapped boards used on cheap sheds. The whole thing then liberally coated with something water-repellent and nicely toxic. Roof could be felt over OSB, or alternatively I remember seeing some sheets of corrugated tar-like material in B&Q which might last longer.

What I'm unsure of is how to seal the edge of the roof to the brick wall of the house. I guess the pukka way is to rake out some of the mortar and install lead flashing, but I don't want to do anything that disruptive to the fabric of the main building. Another approach (at least in the case of a felt roof) is just to fill the gap with some sort of adhesive sealant, but I wouldn't be all that confident that it would stay sealed to both sides. Any other ideas?

I suppose at the end of the day total water-tightness isn't that important (I'm going to be storing bikes in it, not a collection of priceless Van Goghs) but it would be nice to keep things dry-ish in there.

Pete

[Bob Minchin]

You have stated the proper way to do it and that the bodge method won't work so what more do you want to know?

Bob

[George]

A batten screwed to the wall is the only solid way.

[Cicero]

================================== There's no real reason why it should be attached to the wall at all;in fact you might find it more useful to be able to move it about for general maintenance and cleaning. I have had such a shed concealed by a low hedge for about 7 years to house my trike and periodically I move it to clear any wind-blown leaves and rubbish.

Mine is about a metre tall at the front, made from standard shiplap with a felt roof. Security is achieved by an angle-iron bar bolted to the base to which the trike is attached by a long cable bike lock. You could also fit an alarm but I've never needed one. I pay a small extra premium on my household insurance for the trike, which is worth about £500-00.

Cic.

[Tanner-'op]

Flashband!

[Malcolm]

Seconded - excellent when fitted using the primer.

Malcolm

[Pete Verdon]

Something in between?

Pete

[Pete Verdon]

There will be a batten screwed to the wall as part of the structure, but I wouldn't expect that to provide any waterproofing against rain running down the wall.

Pete

[Pete Verdon]

Possibly. Thing is, I'm working in quite a tight space if I want to still be able to park a car in front of the house once the thing's in. To do that, I'll be making use of a dogleg that exists in the wall - the box will be basically L-shaped with most of it narrower than a pair of handlebars (or at least not wide enough to fit them in comfortably). Where the wall goes backwards will provide enough extra depth for the front end. It seems to me that the best way to build to this irregular shape is to use the wall directly. This will also allow me to securely bolt a strongpoint into the wall for a bike lock - no point screwing it to timber or to the loose paviours of the drive. Finally, having a small gap between box and wall just seems like a place to trap leaves and litter, both of which there is no shortage of blowing up the street.

Pete

[Pete Verdon]

OK, sounds good. Is is likely to be obtainable in B&Q, do you think? I may well get the timber for this job from my local merchant, but probably won't bother to traipse around for the other bits when I have a shed just up the road.

Also, if I do use the corrugated roofing rather than felt (haven't decided as yet) the application would look rather like the one here:

. The manufacturer/distributor seems to be saying that Flashband is OK for that, but it seems to me that it would inevitably end up wrinkled and folded. What do you reckon?

Pete