Do-it-yourself roofing roofing repair

In detail: do-it-yourself roofing felt repair from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Image - DIY roofing felt roof repair

Over time, any roof needs repair, especially if it is covered with roofing felt. As a rule, over the years, under the influence of temperature differences, this material begins to crack, various damages form on it, through which water can seep. The sooner you eliminate these defects, the longer the service life of the roof itself and the entire structure will be.

Since the repair of roofing material consists in patching holes, patching up cracks and gluing loose places, you will need the following materials and tools:

  • roofing material;
  • bitumen, mastic (mastic consumption is about 1.2 kg per 1 sq. m);
  • gas burner or hair dryer;
  • ax, roofing knife, trowel;
  • roller.
  1. Examine the roof surface carefully for the presence of swelling, cracks. Also check the condition of the joints of the roofing felt strips. Pay special attention to the tightness of the roofing felt to the protruding elements of the roof.
  1. After assessing the scale of the proposed work, clean the place to be repaired from dirt, wash and dry it.
  2. Prepare bituminous mastic. You can buy it in the store or make it yourself. To do this, heat pieces of bitumen in a bucket or boiler over low heat, stirring occasionally and removing impurities. The temperature of the heated bitumen should not exceed 200 0 C, otherwise a fire may occur, the onset of which can be determined by bubbles and yellow smoke. In this case, the temperature must be urgently reduced. If the bitumen does catch on fire, then cover the bucket with a metal lid. Unfortunately, then such a mastic cannot be used, since it will lose all properties.
  3. Add filler to the bitumen in a 4: 1 ratiosuch as asbestos or chalk. Now, gradually stirring the contents of the bucket, pour the used oil into it. Bituminous mastic can only be used when heated.

The technology for repairing a roofing material roof will differ depending on the type and nature of the damage.

Video (click to play).

If the cracks are insignificant and the roof does not leak, then it will be enough to fill them with heated bitumen mastic. It is applied with a stiff brush or spatula and carefully leveled with a very thin layer. Small holes are putty with a specially prepared putty, consisting of bitumen mastic, sand and dry sawdust.

In order to patch more serious damage and small holes on the surface of the roofing material, do the following:

  1. Cut a piece of roofing material to the required size taking into account the fact that it will completely cover the damaged area. It is desirable that the patch be 10 cm larger than the damaged area around the entire perimeter.
  2. Fill in the damaged area molten bitumen mastic.
  3. Using a trowel apply mastic to the patch thin layer.
  4. Apply a patch, flatten with a roller and press it firmly against the roof with your foot.
  5. Coat the edges of the patch with bitumen.

Image - DIY roofing felt roof repair

How to cover a garage roof with roofing felt - our practical guide.

And about the basic principles of roofing a roof with roofing felt is described in this article.

If the roof is punched through or swelling has formed on the surface, proceed as follows:

  1. Use an ax to cut the damaged area crosswise. Pry the edges of the roofing material with a roofing knife and unscrew them.
  2. Clean and dry the base of the roof under the defective area with a gas burner or a blow dryer. For better adhesion of surfaces to each other, the roof can be greased with a primer.
  3. Lubricate the inner sides of the folded roofing felt and the base of the roof molten bitumen or mastic.
  4. Fold the edges into place, smooth out thoroughly with a roller and stamp firmly.
  5. Coat the incision site with mastic or bitumen and put on it a pre-cut piece of roofing material and press firmly with your feet.
  6. For better sealing grease a piece of roofing material around the perimeter with mastic.
  7. If the roofing material does not lay down tightly and is slightly swollen, press it down with a heavy weight for better adhesion... After the mastic has hardened, the weight can be removed.
  8. For a more secure fit a roofing material patch can be additionally nailed with 20 mm nails, the caps of which must also be covered with mastic.
  1. If the joints diverge, lift the pieces of roofing material and dry very thoroughly with a gas burner or a hair dryer.
  2. Coat the joints with a layer of heated mastic or bitumen, put the roofing material in place, stamp it down.
  3. Coat the joint on top with bitumen or mastic.

At the end of the work, it is advisable to sprinkle the repaired area with sand, as this will prevent the area from overheating in the sun and protect the mastic from melting.

Regular roof repairs are troublesome, but a timely repaired roof will last much longer, and the repair itself will be cheaper than replacing the entire coating.

Image - DIY roofing felt roof repair

As a material for roof repairs, a neighbor-builder advised using linocrom or uniflex (you can use ordinary roofing material RCP or RPP).

At the same time, preliminary cutting is not necessary, it is more convenient to cut on site, cutting off excess material.

Thoroughly cleaned the roof of debris and leveled it, cutting off the resulting swelling of the old roofing material.

Since the roof is single-pitched, sloping, he laid the roofing sheet on the old covering perpendicular to the slope, starting from the bottom edge.

If the slope angle of the roof is more than 15 degrees, then the installation of the roofing roll covering must be carried out along the slope.

Unrolled the roll 3-4 meters forward to clarify the direction and size of the overlap, and rolled the material again. Then he glued the free end of the covering to the base of the roof, warming them up.

After that, gradually rolling it, I glued the strip, rubbing it in with a special roofing paddle (sold in a materials store) in order to avoid air getting under the layer. When he reached the edge, he cut the pipe and returned to the beginning. The next layers were laid with an overlap of 10-15 cm on the previous ones.

You can use a thick rag as a paddle.

In one place, part of the old coating had to be removed. This roof surface was primed with a brush with mastic from a mixture of bitumen and kerosene 1: 2 (suitable for both wood and concrete surfaces). For 1 square meter of roof I consumed 0.5-0.8 kg of mortar. The roofing material was installed by melting the mastic layers with a gas burner.

It is not recommended to walk on the roof after the completion of the work.

Linokrom and uniflex are rolled roofing and waterproofing materials consisting of a strong rotting base (polyester or fiberglass), on which a bituminous binder coating is applied on both sides.

Roofing material for roofing began to be produced more than 100 years ago, but over the years it has not lost its relevance. This material is appreciated for its availability, low cost and moisture resistance. However, roofing with roofing felt is subject to mechanical stress, therefore, it often requires repair. Therefore, homeowners regularly face the question of how to repair a roofing material roof. Since this material belongs to the "economy" class, it is impractical to involve professional roofers in the reconstruction process, it is more rational to do it on your own. In this article we will tell you why there are leaks in the roofing felt, as well as how to fix these gaps with your own hands.

Roofing material is a surfacing material based on roofing board impregnated with petroleum bitumen, with mineral dressing. For production, thick cardboard with a thickness of 200-420 g / m2 is used.More modern and technologically advanced counterparts are made of fiberglass or polyester. Waterproofness, resistance to ultraviolet light and microorganisms that cause decay and the formation of fungus, make the roofing material coating extremely reliable. The material is laid with an overlap in several layers, which provides excellent waterproofing. Installation is carried out by fusion, some types of roofing material are glued to the material with molten bitumen or special mastic. Leaks in such a coating appear for the following reasons:

  1. Improper use. Manufacturers of roofing material do not recommend the use of this material on operated roofs, since when people are on this surface, mechanical damage may appear, leading to leaks. However, developers often ignore the manufacturers' warnings because of the cheap roofing material.
  2. Atmospheric influences. Water falling on the roof from the roofing material is absorbed in a small amount into the roofing material, and then, when frost occurs, it crystallizes, leading to the formation of cracks.
  3. Wind load. In regions with a high wind load, roofing material is damaged by sharp, strong gusts.
  4. Incorrect installation. Most often, the reason for leaks of roofing felt roofs is poor-quality installation of the material, performed without observing the recommended technology. In particular, problems can be caused by non-adherence to overlaps between strips or poor preparation of the base of the blood.
  5. Poor quality material. The second most common cause of leaks in roofs with roofing felt is the use of low-quality, cheap material.

Note! The service life of a cheaper lining roofing material, which is used for laying the inner layers of a roofing cake, is only 5 years. Roofing grades are more expensive, but they last about 7-8 years. Since the coating consists of several layers of material, the total duration without a repair period for roofs of such a structure is 10-15 years.