How Difficult is it to Install a Rubber Roof on a Garden Building?
Are you thinking about a little DIY project this summer? If you need to replace an old, leaky roof on a shed or garden building, you might be wondering if this is a job for a DIYer. We get asked this a lot when it comes to laying new EPDM rubber roofs and the answer is a simple YES!
In this video, we go over all the steps you will encounter when laying a flat rubber roof on your outbuilding. Covering all your questions about the difficulties and considerations to make, we will show you there is nothing to fear and the job can be a lot easier than it seems with some professional advice!
Video Transcript
In this video today, we’ll be discussing how difficult rubber roofs are to install. If you’re a DIYer, or a contractor, thinking about doing this for the first time, then this video will help.
When you get your order, there’ll be four main components. You’ll have the rubber itself, the adhesives, tapes for any detail work if they’re needed, these protect any cuts or weak points. And finally, the trims for around the perimeter.
There are more components to a rubber roof, if you’ve got pipes or skylights or other detailing work that you’ve got to do, they will be covered on other videos.
So most of the roofs that we supply will come in one piece, you can get them in two if it’s a large roof, and you just join them with the joining tapes. But for the most part, if it comes in one piece, then this just makes it really easy to get a roof watertight really quickly.
So for a DIYer, who’s getting their shed or their garden room watertight, or a contractor who’s getting a client’s extension done, the principle is pretty much the same. So first of all, what we need to do is get the rubber into position. So we need to make sure that the rubber is going over each side and we’ve got the correct overhang before we start glueing.
So now the rubber’s in position and we’ve got the correct overhang on all four sides, and we’re going to fold all four sides back, put the back plate on for the gutter trim and then mark out my six inch perimeter for my contact adhesive.
So next we’re going to be glueing the membrane down. We’re going to be using the water base for the main deck and the contact for the perimeter. So when I’m applying the water base, I like to do this in stages, 500mm at a time. This is important if the temperature is high, anything over 25-ish degrees, but you’ll need to gauge this on the day. It just ensures the water base doesn’t dry out too quickly, applying it in these manageable sections.
So we’ve just glued the membrane down. So what we’d normally do now is go into the next step, which would be our detail flashings as this is a garden room. We haven’t got any of them, but watch out for other videos where we show these things.
So now what we’re going to do is put our finishing trims on. So we’ll put our curb edges on these three sides and the gutter trim on the back.
Beautiful.
For the most part, each section of the installation is very easy. Glueing the membrane with both adhesives is straightforward and the trims at the perimeter are as well.
So the more difficult areas would be getting the membrane itself onto the roof if it’s heavy, also making sure the membrane is rolled up nice and tight. You may need some help with this part, especially if the membrane is large.
DIY Flat Roof Systems
The EPDM Shed roof kit is designed for apex shed roofs and take into consideration the extra material required to cover the apex. They are easy to install, look great and have a life expectancy of up to 50 years! EPDM rubber membranes are UV, Ozone and Infrared stable so will not crack, blister or peel.
Included in Kit:
- EPDM membrane size is in brackets next to the shed kit size (in metres)
- Water based deck adhesive for bonding to the timber roof
- Instruction Leaflet
Click here to order your Shed Rubber Roof Kit
For further information on our EPDM Rubber Roofs, take a look at our FAQ’s or call us on 024 7666 7234 .
