Hot bitumen shed roof

[pff]

Never done any roofing before that will become obvious.
New shed, single pitch roof around 4x3m using osb3 sheets. Angle is perhaps 1 in 6ish i think.
Thing is I have a cylinder of oxidized bitumen in the garage from an unrelated project years ago, presuming i can avoid hurting myself i was thinking about melting it down and just spreading it around the roof. I'm assuming I could spread it out and roll felt onto it, just like a slightly more dangerous version of using the cold stuff in tins to stick it down? Or i suppose the end result is like torch on stuff, but I don't have a big roofing torch. Or let it cool/set and then nail on top as usual?
I've never seen this discussed before so I'm confident it's a terrible idea, if someone could explain why I'd appreciate it.

 

[bobasd]

anythin that involves flame, roofs an wrong stuff is a bad idea.

 

[^woody^]

Inspirational.

This is one of those drunken "climb an electricity pylon naked" moments, that seem perfectly rational at the time.

But to answer the question, it's a terrible idea because .... you don't seem to have a clue.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I say ignore the naysayers and go for it and be sure to video it and post it here.

 

[pff]

anythin that involves flame, roofs an wrong stuff is a bad idea.

flame stays on the ground.

Inspirational.
It's a terrible idea because .... you don't seem to have a clue.

Well that's why I'm here asking. But really i was hoping someone would explain it. Sorry if it's too obvious I'm just not seeing it.

 

[alan333]

Traditional "pour and roll" felting is where bitumen is heated in a boiler until it reaches temp (approx 220 deg), then poured (from a bucket with a spout) in front of a pre-cut and aligned strip of felt, and the felt is unrolled over the pool of hot bitumen, ensuring bitumen covers the whole area and also that some escapes the edges as you go. The felt needs to be pushed down tightly as you go, and you need to get your feet off the laid felt really quickly or they stick to it. The hot bitumen bonds with (and semi-melts) the bitumen in the felt thus adhering well. It's an art you almost definitely won't be any good at without practice.
If you just melt some bitumen and spread it around the roof it'll run/sag in the heat, and crack/shrink in the cold.
If you let it set a bit you could theoretically lay your felt on top but you won't have proper adhesion, and you won't have sealed lap edges.
If you let it set, then torch your felt on - it would work better (except the lap edges) but if you're going to do that then use the proper felt in the first place.

 

[^woody^]

Throw the block of bitumen in the skip for the new shed rubbish, and get some felt that just rolls out and sticks to the roof.

 

[pilsbury]

Ignore the pessimists. You have a great idea, some free gear and a can do attitude. Just make sure from a health and safety perspective you lay some feathers at the base of your shed in case you fall. Don’t go all Rod Hull on us.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Pilsbury, you should know better. Or are you waiting for a new 'shout' for a burning shed?



Andy