Replacing Felt Roof With Rubber

Rubber roofs are designed to be adhered to your home s roof with a liquid adhesive.

Replacing felt roof with rubber.

When replacing a felt roof the void between the felt and the ceiling will need to be checked for insulation. As described earlier these substances are a contaminate to the glues used in epdm and the membrane itself with direct long term contact. Even without roofing experience this is something you can pull off with confidence. Full replacement or over boarding of a roof deck.

You might be tempted to throw caulk at the problem but that solution won t last long. There s really no fix other than replacing the damaged vents. My preference for domestic roofs is a new install with new roof decking as a single ply membrane. Using any other type of material such as a nail to install your rubber shingles to your roof will create puncture holes that will cause the rubber to leak.

Roofing felt is comprised of a base made from natural materials such as wood cellulose or synthetic ones such as fiberglass or polyester and then coated or saturated with a protective coating such as bitumen asphalt which repels water but still allows the product to breathe. Basic felt solutions cost around 50 per square metre for the material itself and more high end materials such as modern grp a form of fibreglass going up to 90 per square metre. Unless the flat roof is a new build you will be replacing an existing flat roof normally a felt roof such as built up bitumen or asphalt. Replace them with rubber washered screws.

Thankfully these are probably the simplest roofs in terms of replacement jobs. However given the nature of flat roof repair costs it can sometimes make sense to replace the entire roof. Check for cracked housings on plastic roof vents and broken seams on metal ones. Also look for pulled or missing nails at the base s bottom edge.

Most new domestic rubber roofs are glued down to a new wooden roof substrate although they can in certain circumstances be laid on top and mechanically fixed or weighed down with ballast. There are various options available but the most popular is a foam like board sandwiched between the decking and roof rafters. Once moisture starts to get on the underside of the roofing material you will have to replace it.