Tenting roof temporaryly

[nalle59]

We are having completely new roof built ,the old roof will be taken down first. The house will have scaffolding all the way around .we had quote from one scaffolder to tent the house (in case it rains )of £5000 it is not large house so we are desperate to find cheaper alternative.We have to live in the house during the works and keep belongings dry.The scaffolding quote was reasonable but tenting just over what we can afford.
Any ideas ?

 

[Alastairreid]

Is it possible to do it in sections? ie strip and fix trusses (if it is a trussed roof) And weather before removing the next stage.

 

[nalle59]

Yes it is trussed roof ,it could be done but would make slow the work.I can source plastic from the net ,not expensive but the scaffolder said it is not the cost of material but the time to tent the house.
I will get other quotes now to see if anybody can do it for less.

 

[joe-90]

In the old days you'd use tarpaulins with little sandbags round the edge to hold them down. £5K is just plain stupid. Ask him how long it would take him then ask him how he arrived at that ridiculous hourly rate.

 

[SurreyRoofingEstimator]

In the old days you'd use tarpaulins with little sandbags round the edge to hold them down. £5K is just plain stupid. Ask him how long it would take him then ask him how he arrived at that ridiculous hourly rate.

What hourly rate?

Temporary roofs are indeed expensive but it will allow work to be carried out whatever the weather so some of that cost would be clawed back in time saving

 

[joe-90]

The one that adds up to £5K for a bit of plastic.

 

[Alastairreid]

The one that adds up to £5K for a bit of plastic.

Though 5k does seem a tad excessive, Tarpaulins and sandbags seems a bit simplistic joe!. A good shower of rain and the tarp and its contents could end up in their livingroom.

 

[nalle59]

Thanks for all your messages. I have got prices for strong tarpaulin on the net from Tarpaflex uk the house size is approx 12mx12m .The tarpaulin is heavy duty 250gr 15mx18m price £365 inc vat. That would cover the roof it has holes every 500mm so can be tied to scaffolding.I can buy 4mx8m lengths to fix to the sides of scaffolding at £43 each .I do not know if the roof tarpaulin will be ok in wind as we are near the sea?
This will be fraction of the cost quoted by the scaffolder ofcourse I need to pay someone to fix it on.
Does anybody think this will be succesfull it only needs to be on for about 3 /4 weeks max.

 

[ladylola]

Don't forget it's not just as simple as sticking an tarp over the top of a scaffold, you are in effect putting up a sail and scaffold engineers design their scaffolds to compensate for the increased wind loading.

 

[nalle59]

So what do you suggest we do? if not tarpaulin? and how to prevent it becoming a sail ?I have seen lots of these plastic sheetings or tarpaulins on top of buildings attached to scaffolding so it is possible to do it. We could buy corrugated roofing sheets these have to be fixed somehow and are quite time consuming to erect. Need drilling holes to them etc first.

 

[ladylola]

It's not impossible to do and is very useful to be able to work when the weather is foul.
Some things to do which would be helpful-
Ensure your tarpaulin is as tight as possible and doesn't flap about or allow water to pool, you may find it helpful to clamp a few additional scaffold planks to the uprights to fix the tarps to and if neccasary ratchet straps are great for tensioning.
The other principal thing to think about is the sail effect that trys to physically lift the whole scaffold off the ground and this can happen, maybe not enough to send it flying off down the street but enough to make it unstable and dangerous.
Best way to combat this is ballast or weight placed low down on the scaffold. I've seen the bases of scaffolds secured in cast in situ blocks of concrete which is overkill for what you want, but other methods are simpler, loads of excess poles, ton sacks of sand, concrete blocks and probably the best idea water butts all along the bottom , the ballast then is pumped to the job and drained away on completion.

 

[ladylola]

One other thing I've forgotten.
On scaffolds with roofs that are subject to increased wind loadings it's standard practice to strap any vertical joints in the poles with four swivel clips and a short pole rather than just relying on the coupler.

 

[Nige F]

We are having completely new roof built ,the old roof will be taken down first. The house will have scaffolding all the way around .Any ideas ?

yes, scenario limitation . worst case is you get lots of water into the roof - so minimalise the damage it can do when it gets from the roof to the rooms - clear into storage anything of value that will be damaged . Remove loft insulation and store somewhere like the garage - it acts like a giant sponge if it gets wet . Plasterboard will hold a lot of water before it buckles , so leave it bare . Rationalise the electrical appliances in the house - because a flood onto a ceiling will run through the light fittings - kill the juice to the lights and allow the rest to run on the ring mains . Have loads of towels etc for mopping up .Be prepared for some redecorating . Remember this will help in a real BAD scenario , that might not even happen with tarps put over as works progress - and wouldn`t have happened at all in the last 2 months

 

[SurreyRoofingEstimator]

Just looking at the size of the tarp you've found, have you taken into consideration the measure down the pitches of the roof as well as the floor plan size?

 

[ladylola]

You haven't said how you intend to hold up the tarp.
On roofed scaffolds the span is normally bridged by ladder beams (and if the covering is corrugated sheeting then specfic clips are off the shelf) which is where the expense is coming from and may include the hire of a crane for the day to assist erection.
As you are attempting this without that cost you will need to consider something else. Is it possible for instance to build one side or end of the roof at a time? Yes I know it's a pain in the blunt end and slows the job but I've had to do something similiar before now. The main plus point of attaching the tarp to the roof members rather than the scaffold is to avoid all that extra work and expense to the scaffold itsself.