How can I extend the life of my flat felt roof during lockdown?

[thesheep]

We have an area of flat roof approx 4m by 4m. It's pretty old, appears to be felt with grit on it. There are a couple of areas where it dips, which I know means the timbers have gone underneath and we're planning to have a new roof put on, add insulation, etc as part of a larger building project. It does not currently leak.

However, with lockdown this project is going to be delayed. And in the last few weeks I've noticed the top layer of felt has come off in some places because we've found the bits of felt blowing around the garden. I've been up on a ladder to have a look, it certainly appears to be deteriorating significantly in some areas.



Also here is a video of the roof:

My question is, can I easily add a temporary repair that will prevent leaks happening until maybe next year when we can get on with the building job and replacing the roof? What I want to do if possible is make sure it doesn't start leaking this winter before we can start.

I was wondering about using some bitumen all weather compound. Possibly put bitumen primer on first then 1 or 2 layers of the compound. There is a lot of dust and loose grit chippings which I would sweep off first as best I can. I guess my main questions are:

1) Is the bitumen compound a good approach given that the areas dip and are uneven? (But not currently leaking)
2) Should I use a bitumen primer first to take care of some of the dust?
3) Should I try to do the whole roof or just patches?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[datarebal]

Mind you don't go through the dips

 

[bobasd]

The roof in the pics is shot - if its not leaking then leave it alone until it does leak or its being replaced.
Replacing that roof will, from what i can see, require the abilities of an experienced flat-roofer.

How does this latest roof business fit in with your historic Posting's queries about roofing and rehab'ing?

 

[thesheep]

The roof in the pics is shot - if its not leaking then leave it alone until it does leak or its being replaced.

OK so you're saying that adding a bitumen coating is not likely to extend the waterproofing in the short term? And instead is more likely to cause a problem, or acceleration of a problem?

How does this latest roof business fit in with your historic Posting's queries about roofing and rehab'ing?

Ha. It's the same roof. Back then I got to the point of quotes from roofing guys to put on a new roof but none of them talked much sense about the insulation, one saying they couldn't add more than 25mm, another saying they could add 100mm but they wanted to add ventilation on the warm side, which didn't seem to make any sense to me. In the end I got bogged down by work, life and kids and shelved it, probably unwisely! It was on my list for projects to setup this summer but then lockdown happened! I'm definitely going to have the roof completely redone including the timber structure underneath. I just need it to last a little bit longer!

 

[bobasd]

What i'm saying is for you to leave the roof alone.

"the timber structure underneath" & the roof covering details will need most attention from what i can see.

 

[thesheep]

Oh I see. There are areas of the roof that are completely sound. Those areas are level and not damaged and it’s easy to see where they are. It’s actually not that hard to work on it without straying from those areas. So if it is just the danger of walking on the damaged areas I don’t think that’s too much of an issue.