Scaffold Top Hat Alternative

Jan 11, 2008 3 Replies

Hi,



We are having some extensions done on our house and as a result need the roof removed and replaced - essentially the width of the house doubles so the new roof will be much higher and we are having rooms in the loft.



Having had some prices from local scaffolders, it seem that the "Top Hat" to provide a temporary roof whilst the old one has been ripped off is pretty pricey. I was wondering whether there are any alternatives? It would seem that some tarps pinned down would at least in principle work but what about practice?



Any help appreciated.



thanks



Lee.


Getting the new roof on quickly?

Any method is a gamble on the weather. The normal 'top hat' type won't stop driving rain so you need tarpaulins round the sides. No tarpaulin is strong enough to withstand high winds. Nor is a top hat construction either. ;-)

What you do need is a simple method which is put in place each time work finishes for the day and isn't too time consuming to remove the next.

Best tip is to leave such work for the best weather for it. ;-)

I stripped and replace an area of my roof a couple of years ago. I did it in last week of August. Perfect weather -- really nice and sunny (I got quite a tan). The day I finished, there was an incredible downpour, which was just perfect for testing it all out (OK, fortunately).

During the work, I did try and make it waterproof each night. It was stripped back to the rafters so I had something substantial to fix sheets too. (Used the new roofing felt, as I ended up with a much bigger roll of it than I needed.) In the event, it was never put to a substantial test.

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