Felt shingles? Any opinions?

[John Brown]

I'm still vacillating at the eleventh hour over roofing. WHile I'm almost sold on EPDM, I'm worried that it will not harmonise with waney edged larch cladding and the Cotswolds AONB environs.
I think I prefer the look of felt shingles, even though I reckon they won't be any cheaper, when you add in the cost of the felt underlay, but wonder if there are seriou drawbacks.

Also, despite MikeG saying not to buy the plastic trim for EPDM, I'm having trouble finding any useful info about how to use timber for the edge detail, as most of the stuff I've found is aimed at flat roofs. What I do at the eaves, especially, will dictate the size I cut the OSB to, although I guess I could run a circular saw along afterwards(I'd rather not...).

 

[AJB Temple]

Felt shingles do not last. And they always have that fake look. And in windy areas they rip easily.

 

[John Brown]

OK. Thanks. I'm worried that EPDM looks a bit fake, but oh well..
So, can anyone help with EPDM eaves and verge detail of a DIY timber nature?

 

[HappyHacker]

I have felt shingles (Wickes finest!) on two roofs. I am in a very exposed area, on the top of a west facing hill with nothing higher between me and the Irish sea, and in the past have had the roof of a Wendy house blow off twice, the second time after I had used an excessive number of screws to fit it. The felt shingles have not moved. I did not put them on top of a layer of felt but directly onto OSB. They have been nailed and glued. The oldest is over 12 years old without any problems so far.

Having said that the lot will probably disappear this winter to move me wrong

 

[artie]

I have used felt shingles on a few occasions, First thing , you need to put felt below them, I have put them straight onto osb, but unless the pitch is pretty steep you are likely to get some moisture coming through.

They get pretty expensive if you use all the trims recommended by the manufacturer.
I trimmed the gables with wood and it worked ok.
Not much chance of them lifting if they survive long enough to experience some sunshine, the heat welds them into a solid mass.

I found them too much hassle, a lot of work for little reward, don't offer them anymore.

 

[Eshmiel]

A shed of mine in NW England, exposed to plenty of rain and high winds, has never lost a felt shingle in 20 years - although the sheet-felt covering the apex got blown to bits despite being reinforced with a batten.

The trick is to use felt shingles of good quality and weight. Some felt shingles are thin rubbish but there are also very good ones that, frankly, seem more resilient than thin modern "slate" or those concrete tiles that fracture, crumble and even melt away in the face of proper weather.

But no, I don't know where one gets the proper felt shingles. Mine came with the shed, made by Oakenclough Sheds to a very high spec all round.

Eshmiel

 

[artie]

But no, I don't know where one gets the proper felt shingles.

Eshmiel

These are the ones I used.

http://www.katepaluk.co.uk/cat/roofing-products
I have no affiliation or financial interest in Katepal.

 

[Inspector]

For what it is worth most roofs are shingled with them here. If done properly with good products are good for 20 to 30 years plus. Cheap materials and done by a hack taking shortcuts and they won't last but that is true of any roofing material. Make sure you use an underlay to keep the insides dry if a shingle or two blow off until a repair can be made. Underlay here being either a breathable Tyvek type material made for the purpose or a self sticking roll on membrane. Fibreglass has replaced the felt except in the lowest grade shingles. Takes an awful lot of abuse to tear them.

Pete

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Have you considered cedar shingles? Look much nicer than felt or epdm imho and more suitable for an aonb type setting maybe.

 

[DBT85]

I'm guessing Mike said no plastic because he doesn't like plastic?

With regard to roof covering, I was very happy with my fibre cement slates. Lot of work putting them up with all the nails and rivets though, but a long lasting nice looking roof for not actually a terrifying sum.

 

[johnnyb]

I reckoned felt shingles were pretty robust tbh.

 

[Spectric]

Hi

I had the same synario five years ago, built a large shed and then needed a roof covering. Initialy looked at that metal sheeting but cost including fittings and covers etc came to £1200 and would have looked industrial. Looked at rubber tiles which looked more like mudflaps and shingles both square and hex but again the final look was rather DIY. Ended up getting a local roofer to take a look and he suggested slates as the roof trusses were 4by2's and more than capable of the weight, infact it was better than most new homes. His price all in was £850, I had already boarded the roof with 18mm ply and bitchumed it, he used a membrane and battened with the trusses before running the horizontal battens on which they laid the slates and some breathable system along the apex and it looks great, certainly outlast myself and would look great in the cotswolds.

 

[John Brown]

8

 

[John Brown]

Don't know what happened there... Posting from my phone seems to be almost impossible these days, maybe since the forum software changed...
Anyway, I'd love to have slate, or cedar shingles(or Cotswold stone, to match our house, if I was a millionaire), but I have a limited budget, so felt, EPDM, or felt shingles are really the choices. As I've said elsewhere, a fifty year life span sounds great, but I doubt I'll care that much if I make 117 whether the roof on my shed is intact or not.
Felt is maybe a bit too cheap and short lived, felt shingles sound like a lot of work(and require underlay), so I'll probably stick with EPDM, and just work out my own stupid way to do the edges.
I asked for opinions, and I got them. Thanks to all.

 

[Inspector]

The underlay for shingles would be a couple hundred extra at most and will keep the contents below dry while you shingle. It is made with enough traction to walk on if the pitch isn't too steep. Look fully into it before deciding.

Pete

 

[John Brown]

The underlay for shingles would be a couple hundred extra at most and will keep the contents below dry while you shingle. It is made with enough traction to walk on if the pitch isn't too steep. Look fully into it before deciding.

Pete

I take it you're talking about bitumous felt shingles here..
Not sure I want to be walking on a 34 degree roof, but thanks for the info.

 

[Inspector]

Yes but like I said ours do not have "felt" in them anymore. Ours were made with fibre, I think wood based, That has now been replaced by glass fibre materials so they last longer, are more tear resistant and without the organic component don't rot. When the roof gets to be that pitch roofers resort to roof jacks, hook ladders over the peak or some kind of boom lift, well the smart ones do.

Pete

 

[Endy]

I'm still vacillating at the eleventh hour over roofing. WHile I'm almost sold on EPDM, I'm worried that it will not harmonise with waney edged larch cladding and the Cotswolds AONB environs.
I think I prefer the look of felt shingles, even though I reckon they won't be any cheaper, when you add in the cost of the felt underlay, but wonder if there are seriou drawbacks.

Also, despite MikeG saying not to buy the plastic trim for EPDM, I'm having trouble finding any useful info about how to use timber for the edge detail, as most of the stuff I've found is aimed at flat roofs. What I do at the eaves, especially, will dictate the size I cut the OSB to, although I guess I could run a circular saw along afterwards(I'd rather not...).

I have used both shingles and EPDM, the shingles were on a cabin roof (16m square) which have stayed in place for 10 years, they are time consuming to fit and I did add a gun glue bead just under each edge and out of view. The shingles themselves have a glue line that melts to the course below and are nailed along the top edge with the ridge being finished by cutting the tile strips into 3 parts and each part laid one over the other to form the ridge and of course nailed, glued etc. I fitted a breather membrane below, in all 3 days work for two men.
In contrast I fitted EPDM to a large L shaped kitchen and also to a smaller cabin, its a case of roller-ing glue to the wood then rolling out the EPDM and rubbing down with a sweeping brush as you roll it out, fit The plastic edge trims and remove the excess rubber, both jobs half a day one man and both have remained perfect.
Both cabins are below

 

[Endy]

I'm still vacillating at the eleventh hour over roofing. WHile I'm almost sold on EPDM, I'm worried that it will not harmonise with waney edged larch cladding and the Cotswolds AONB environs.
I think I prefer the look of felt shingles, even though I reckon they won't be any cheaper, when you add in the cost of the felt underlay, but wonder if there are seriou drawbacks.

Also, despite MikeG saying not to buy the plastic trim for EPDM, I'm having trouble finding any useful info about how to use timber for the edge detail, as most of the stuff I've found is aimed at flat roofs. What I do at the eaves, especially, will dictate the size I cut the OSB to, although I guess I could run a circular saw along afterwards(I'd rather not...).

I have used both shingles and EPDM, the shingles were on a cabin roof (16m square) which have stayed in place for 10 years, they are time consuming to fit and I did add a gun glue bead just under each edge and out of view. The shingles themselves have a glue line that melts to the course below and are nailed along the top edge with the ridge being finished by cutting the tile strips into 3 parts and each part laid one over the other to form the ridge and of course nailed, glued etc. I fitted a breather membrane below, in all 3 days work for two men.
In contrast I fitted EPDM to a large L shaped kitchen and also to a smaller cabin, its a case of roller-ing glue to the wood then rolling out the EPDM and rubbing down with a sweeping brush as you roll it out, fit The plastic edge trims and remove the excess rubber, both jobs half a day one man and both have remained perfect.

I have used both shingles and EPDM, the shingles were on a cabin roof (16m square) which have stayed in place for 10 years, they are time consuming to fit and I did add a gun glue bead just under each edge and out of view. The shingles themselves have a glue line that melts to the course below and are nailed along the top edge with the ridge being finished by cutting the tile strips into 3 parts and each part laid one over the other to form the ridge and of course nailed, glued etc. I fitted a breather membrane below, in all 3 days work for two men.
In contrast I fitted EPDM to a large L shaped kitchen and also to a smaller cabin, its a case of roller-ing glue to the wood then rolling out the EPDM and rubbing down with a sweeping brush as you roll it out, fit The plastic edge trims and remove the excess rubber, both jobs half a day one man and both have remained perfect.
Both cabins are below

If I were to use EPDM on a sloping roof made from OSB I would add a narrow strip of OSB under the edge of the roof to make it 36mm along the edge then wrap the EPDM round the bottom edge, the glue grips almost instantly and fit a drip strip out of alloy, lead, thick felt or oak strip which ever takes your fancy, see my very rough finger sketch on phone below.

 

[Yorkieguy]

I live on the outskirts of Hull on the NE coast in quite an exposed position.

I have a garden workshop I built in 2001 on which I used Wicks shingles with a felt underlay. Though a little of the red colour has toned down over the years, the roof is as good as the day I built it. The shingles have an adhesive strip on the underside, but as an added precaution, I put a blob of mastic adhesive on each bottom corner. In 2013, which I got fed up with re-felting my pent roofed garden shed with good quality mineral felt which only lasted about five years, I converted the shed to a ridged roof and again used Wickes shingles. The first pic was taken in Oct 2017. The second pic is of the roof trusses I made in 2013, (self-selected B&Q CLS timber), temporarily assembled in my garage (to make sure they'd fit!). The third pic was when I'd converted the shed roof. At that time, the workshop to the right of the pic was already 12 years old. I weatherproofed the ridges with 'Flashband' adhesive flashing, which has proved excellent. If I took a picture today, the roofs would look no more weathered. Hope the pics give an idea of the durability and weathering of the shingles and might be of help and interest.