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DIY Flat Roof Repair
Introduction to DIY Flat Roof Repair
When times are hard you may look into carrying out a lot of the repairs that need to be done around the house. It can be expensive to bring in someone to do it and depending on the job and the area you live in a craftsman may not be available. It is easy to tell if there is a problem with your flat roof as there will either be water dripping through or at least signs of dampness.
As long as you are fairly fit and sensible it should be possible to carry out repairs to a flat roof without any problems. Preparation is important and while having a leak may fill you with concern, you could do more damage by rushing in and not doing the job properly.
Health and Safety Issues with DIY Flat Roof Repair
There are health and safety issues connected with this sort of repair as you don’t want to climb up to start your DIY flat roof repair only to find that it won’t hold your weight. It may seem obvious but don’t work too close to the edge unless you have to, and try to use a large piece of wood to go up there that will spread your weight. It is also recommended that you use scaffolding and not just a ladder although hiring this may cost a lot of money and stop the job being the cheap option.
DIY Flat Roof Repair
Finding the leak may not be as easy as you think as there is no guarantee that it will be directly above the area where you can see the water. If the DIY flat roof repair can be done during a dry spell this will be ideal but it cannot always be arranged
There are a number of things that may be wrong with the roof and each problem will need to be repaired differently. Use a knife to remove the damaged section if you have a cracked section. It makes more sense to cut out a larger piece and make it into a square as this will be easier to replace. Cut the replacement shingle to the same size and slot it in. This should be done by using roofing cement. Depending on how deep the damage is you may have repeat this process to make sure the roof is the same thickness all the way round, but the later layers can be nailed in and do not need cementing. To seal it, use a piece of shingle slightly larger and cement this over the top making sure that cement is also used to seal it.
Some smaller jobs will be easier to repair such as a tear in the shingle. This will just need a larger tear to be made with a razor knife. Cement will be pushed into both sides of the tear and this will then need to be tacked down. It is alright just to use normal roofing nails for this part. The final part of the procedure is to cover it with a patch of shingle as in the procedure above.
As with any job if it looks as if there will be further problems in the future is may be best not to repair but to replace the entire roof.
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