Time for a new flat roof...?

[MattB83]

I've spent a good few hours recently trying to patch the old felt flat roof. It covers a concrete roof single story outhouse and part of the kitchen.

I've been patching up a cement fillet which wasn't too bad but had also tried to use a felt patch in s couple of places but because of the wrinkled felt I couldn't get a good seal. However I have realised that the upstand (I think that's the correct term) is leaking - some of their l this is some small holes but the actual join between two pieces of felt has separated badly - almost like one piece has shrunk. I've been using bitumen paint elsewhere but think I'm unlikely to get anywhere. My last bet was some trowel on bitumen which I've got l bought so might give a try, but the upstand seems to be very brittle and is is very hollow underneath - presumably where it's shrunk or moved.

So it's probably not economic to keep patching up and should bite the bullet and replace. The whole house wall it joins is badly in need of repointing too so it would be good to get that sorted.

Assuming repairs don't make sense - is it best to get another felt roof done professionally? I was keen on a DIY project if this is feasible - but are non-torched options any good? Am I likely to balls it up?

 

[Notch7]

EPDM maybe a better option for DIY although I'm not sure if that can go direct onto a concrete roof.

Felt is quite skilled to do properly

 

[^woody^]

Use Acrylpol for patch repairs that will last for years. You can brush it over wrinkles and upstands no problem.

 

[MattB83]

Use Acrylpol for patch repairs that will last for years. You can brush it over wrinkles and upstands no problem.

Thanks Woody - while I think that it's definitely the upstands that are leaking at the moment. I just took this attached pic which makes it look even worse than I thought - it looks like the very old felt roof has been put on top of an even older felt roof - I think that what the edges have been able to do i.e. curl up, the rest of the felt is also attempting to do (I've just taken this by holding up my phone above my head from ground level i.e. it doesn't look this bad from above). I'd like to think that Acrypol would help but it may be beyond redemption...

I've just totted up and I think I've spend £60 on various tins of stuff and some felt in the last couple of weeks - and may be better to fork out the £600 I've been quoted (while a roofer was replacing some tiles on the main roof). Although reading some building reg pages I think that a new roof may mean we have to look at installing insulation as it spans a section of kitchen in addition to 2x half-brick outhouses.

 

[Alastairreid]

Time for a new roof, Acrypol can only do so much.