BXProject

[Vanny]

Hi all, just been out to the garage and decided i'm propper pissed off with my leaky garage roof, car is getting wet and so are all my tools! Worse, i have £200 cash waiting to buy a roof and fit it. But i have a number of issues! Firstly let me set the scene;

Currently the garage is a 9' wide x 21' long 6' high one end, maybe 6'8 at the other. There are 5 roof supports, welded 1.5" 3mm angle iron to form a box about 6 inch wide, turned on its side and mounted on flanges of varying lengths. Kinda like this (not to scale)



Flashings are currently well past rotten wood, expect to replace with metal probably.

Plain steel roof panels or insulated panels
I cant really decide, i'm on a limited budget and not staying here for ever! I'v found a number of options on ebay namely this for insulated panels;

Action Clad panels

These are £6.00 a meter, 40mm insulation, 1m spread but mixed lengths and colours. I dont think i need sufficient (7*3m)for colour to be a problem. Cost about £126.
+ve's - Insulated, cheap, just as easy to fit, insulated!!
-ve's - they dont allow for natural light, they are heavy, they are in Derby, so assuming i get 3m and 4m lengths i'll strugle to get them back here with just a BX and roof racks! I'd also need help loading on and off.

Conversely i can get plain steel sheet delivered locally;
Rhino Cladding

At 1.40 a foot this would cost around £100.80, with a 2 metre GRP 'window' this would work out at around £101.2.
+ve's - cheaper (just), matching colours, roof light, much closer, can deliver for around £50
-ve's - NOT INSUALTED, more expensive if delivered?


I guess at the end of the day insulated ceiling in a concrete garage with concrete floors is probably a bit of a waste of effort, and the idea of getting the whole lot delivered makes me think life would be sooo much easier!

I would also like to raise the roof height as well, perhaps by 12" or so. At the moment i'm stuck for over head storage, and its generally a little low. I'm also thinking a little about trying to get a landy in eventually so i guess i need more tha 6' of clearance. Can i simply get away with replacing/extending the angle out rigger bits?

Finally, do i get it done now, or wait till the summer when i have more time, the weather is better and i am actually in the country?

Another reason for getting this sorted is that i really need to shift the remains of my car parts from my parents/the farm, there are still 4 valver bumpers kicking about for a start. The other option is to fuck the roof off and board out the loft, which will probably be a nicer job to do! Oh and not with standing the fact that the gable end needs repointing (i'm leaving that till the summer, if it falls down, its insured).

So thoughts?

[Bx Bandit]

Not completely sure I understand the RSA situation but my comments:
1)My dad had a corrugated steel roof - non insulated. The problem was condensation on the inside of the roof which was more than you'd expect and so even though it was a watertight garage, he still had issues with water getting on tools and stuff!
2)I wouldn't worry about having a 'window' in the roof either. Within a few months it's be covered in algae (esp as there seems to be little slopage on the roof) and moss. 1/2 a dozen flourescent strip lamps FTW!
3) If you were going to raise the roof for storage, raise it more than a foot!
4) Did you consider sheets of OSB and then felting it (probably quite cheap) and probably no condensation problems (not had any in my shed with OSB/felt roofing)
5) If you are doing this yourself, either wait for a known clear week weather wise or hold off till the summer. If going the felt route, it's brittle to work with in cold but the black roofing gunk is less drippy and so less messy!!!
6) It may pay to remove all the angle and make up your roof from your own timbers (you can completely design the roof to your spec then) but you'll need some tie straps to secure the roof to the wall.

[Vanny]

Timber is not an option imho, its not a shed or a brick built its a concrete box. Its not structural and its not strictly free standing, if you remove the steel roof structure then it will fall apart, literally. It's never going to breathe, and its never going to be free from condensation so i feel any timber structure is right out as it will eventually rot. The concrete panels arent the thickest so too much weight on the roof (ie timber, felt, bitumen, stones) could cause issues in the longer run (especially when the panels are held together with 6mm roofing bolts!). Making the roof with a basic flat roof requires quite a bit of construction to get it right, but outside of that the cost v's labour is prohibitive. 8x4' basic chipboard panels (18mm) are about £15 each, and i would need 6 panels, so there is £90, felt probably two rolls at around £20 each, and a big bucket of bitumen for edges etc and we are already on £150, not to mention it will take at least 2 days to build and will probably need more structure than currently in existence.

I think if i was gonna go down a propper flat roof then it would be a full GFRP layup with rubberised UV resistant top coat.

1/2 dozen strips, 6x55w = 330w of power, thats a hell of a lot just to get a spade from the shed! I do already have multiple water proof 5' strip lights, need a roof on first

I dont want to significantly alter the appearance or structure of the roof as it will likely cause grief, i also want the most cost effective and quickest option, i can slap steel panels on in the rain, bothers me not.

I might have to actually measure the fall of the roof, but its more than enough to get the rain a good distance accross the lawn in heavy rain, and thats off shitty leaky asbo panels!

As for algea on the GRP sky lights, a brush, hose and bottle of detox will do well to keep em clean and probably no need for all that regular cleaning. Currently there is no moss or algae on the roof, now i dont know if that is just down to the fact that it is concrete asbestos panels or that there arent too many trees out the back.

I like the idea of steel incase i expand the garage at any point as its easy to lift and stick.

I see you point about the condensation, but there must be some solution for these things.

[Bx Bandit]

I see you point about the condensation, but there must be some solution for these things.

Yes - insulation! Dad put that aluminium backed foam stylee stuff up!

[Philhod]

OK read everything, here goes, If the plain metal is plastc coated use that, it fucking lasts forever, they use it for houses over in Sweden (insulated thicker than that) insulation waste of time. if you do get condesention, stick some of that polystyrene on a roll over it.

Yes the best way to raise your roof is lengthen the struts. You`ll get some 32x32 angle at the scrappy

Don`t forget to do them one at a time Fascia boarding is now all plastic of some sort and comes in a large range of sizes. Fit it and forget it. whatever you extend the roof supports, do make them acurate even 1/4 " out will make the panels hard to fit. Always overlap the panels to the next top hat section and allow for that when working out your coverage. Use stainless nuts, bolts, and washers the plaki ones strip in high winds

Here endeth the first epistle!!

[Vanny]

Stainless bolts, check, pretty sure i dont have to pay for them if you know what i mean.
Coverage, panels are over 1m wide, there coverage is 1m wide, i've kind of fallen for that one before
Tis plastic coated metal
Facia boarding im not sure what i'm doing for that, might go for wood initially (some of bandits OSB )
angle at the scrappy? really? round here? i only need a little so i'll speak to uncle see what he can magic up if someone else knows of a good place let me know!

[Philhod]

Actually I`ve only a short piece left, in fact me stock of everything is getting low. Me old suplier is ...err well.. dead so to speak.

Doc has found a bloke doing cheep second hand stuff, if you get stuck

[docchevron132]

Os what and that and who...WTF??

Erm, yeah I can get cheap tin and all, getting to you could be fun though, there must be a decent oldy worldy forge in Coventry?
If you need a hand to knock something up give plenty of notice and I'll come hit stuff with a hammer though!

[Vanny]

How cheap Docco? If its chap enough its not a hassle to trundle down there with a car trailer and load up. Needs to be cheaper than £1.40 a foot. I used to be able to get sheet for 50p a foot but the guys wife died and so he's kind of fallen off the planet since. I can get insulated panels direct from the manufacturer for £12 a metre but they are in deeside and rather pricey for what i need!

[Bx Bandit]

I meant to say, the plastic coated stuff is what Dad had and it's lasted over 20 years (as Phil was saying) but there was also cladding sections (L shaped really) which finished off the edges of the roof and also provided a fascia.

[Philhod]

If you work your width out with enuff surplus on, you can make your own L shaped bitz..

It`s a 3 handed job but you just need a vice and two longish (1000mm) pieces of wood about 2"x1"

If you mark the bit to be bent, put it between the two pieces of wood centralising them in the vice....
Squeeze, then just bend over by hand, using a soft mallet to sharpen up the corner.

If the piece to be bent is longer than a metre, use the same procedure a bit at a time.

Don`t try it on your own as all you will produce is a bad temper

[docchevron132]

How cheap Docco?

Duno, but I can ask.
Give me an idea of what you need like, and quantity.
A picture or something would be useful cos I dont really grasp what exactley your after.

[Vanny]

coverage of 21' by 9' as in the first post, needs some overlap in the middle, not sure you need a picture? Go into the bus shed and look up!

[Way2go]

As you like to work on your car then surely daylight is an asset when it's available, soooooooooo why not re-roof it with corrugated pvc that is relatively cheap or if you want it to be more insulated use triple section polycarbonate sheeting? This will then give you daylight from the entire roof area.
Usually this stuff is available off the shelf at any large B&Q, Wickes or similar.
Although polycarbonate is more expensive, it does have the advantage that you can walk on it if you need to (so long as it's properly supported) and gives a reasonable degree of insulation due to the built in air cavities.

[Philhod]

Quite right Way-t-g

The reason I didn`t mention it before is cost. Y`know what Vanny`s like, when he opens his wallet the queen blinks, not being used to the light like

Just a point about your roof supports. Looking at them again.... what`s the purpose of the second stretcher?

If you cut it out, you can use the material gained for your extentions and if you want a bit of lateral support (which is why I think it`s there). You can put a couple of little corner braces in.

[Vanny]

At the moment the second stretcher is very handy for hanging stuff on, and would be ace for supporting lagging/insulation if the time comes! Progress is erm slow, the yokels that will supply the sheeting if it kills me are a bit special so i made them a picture;



And its likely thems will be the colour of the sheets too!

suppose i better go to work now!

[Vanny]

oh for fucks sake, theses twats at RhinoSteelCladding haven't bothered to fucking reply after i made them the pretty picture, so fuck it. Why are trades people in Coventry so fucking useless? Its the thing i hate second most about the place!

Fucking gonna be quicker to buy the panels in wales and ship them accross the border.

[Vanny]

Whoop whoop, garage roof should be getting delivered on Thursday! Then i can keep some of the snow and other 'stuff' out. Just going to keep the ceiling height as is for the time bing and maybe increase it later (ie in the summer). Total cost (including flashing, stitches, bolts and delivery) £250. Not bad really, annoying that if i was in Liverpool and had more time i could get it for less, but i'll be glad to see it fitted. Oh its also now grey and not that horrible green colour!

[Philhod]

We have also no snow up here to keep out either....just a distinct lack of degrees, in fact very

[Bx Bandit]

At least you'll be water tight mate. I think actually you should turf your parents out and have that hovel above the cars! Nice!