cowboy builders

[peanut]

just had to share this with someone and you lot drew the short straw

This week I've been fixing up my shed so that I can finish off my bike restore in the shed over the winter .The recent winds and torrential rains have seen the shed spring loads of leaks and become full of water .

The timber cladding, sheet lining and insulation have cost $200+ and its still nowhere near finished .

Today I took some things out of the shed to make some room to work in there so I can fit the lining and electrics etc. I took the stuff down to the garage and found that the garage had been leaking even worse than the shed.!

I just bought this property a few months ago when the sun was shining and there had been no rain for weeks so the leaks didn't show up then.

it didn't take long to see why the garage roof was leaking so badly. The idiot that fitted the profile roof cladding put the fixings in the troughs where the water runs and not on the tops of the profiles !

The roof is pretty flat, so all the time it is raining the water is seeping through all the fixing bolts onto the timber roof supports and into the garage.

Just when i thought I could get started on the bike I'm going to have spend days sorting out the garage roof cladding

Think I'll go pour myself a drink or three ....

 

[retiredgentleman]

Glad to lend an ear.

Yes, flat roofs are big trouble. Pitched roofs shed water much, much better. I have never owned anything with a flat roof and would never even think about buying one. Flat (low pitch) roofs require special products such as rubber membranes, tar paper, hot asphalt application etc. Looks like the PO was a know-nothing amateur roofer.

It might be best to install a proper pitched roof over the existing flat one. If you leave it flat, it's bound to continue to leak.

In a place like the UK, where it has been known to rain quite often, you would think there would be some kind of building code requiring pitched roofs, and proper roofing materials.

 

[uebe]

^So your garage came with a shower

Seriously, I've seen on the news that some places over there are really hurting. Are you affected by those floods?

 

[650Skull]

Unless your block wall was built on a lean, your roof has a lot of fall. judging by what i can see you have a fall of about 100mm in 1.6 meters. That is quite substantial and more than enough. Even on a pitched roof the water would get through the screws or nails, (whatever you use over there).

Unless you know what you are looking for when buying a property then a builders report, or better to pay a builder friend who you can trust to check out the property, is very important.
There are tell tale signs of mold on the beam in your second pic that was an indicator there was a problem that should have be checked out and find the cause. In this case we now know

The only real solution to fix this is to replace the iron

I guess the good thing is you can build another garden shed with the iron off the garage

 

[jd750ace]

My roof on my house is a 10/12 pitch, and even though it was expensive as shit, my builder was right. 110 MPH wind, and glofball sized hail can't scratch it. 7 years and counting (fingers crossed!)

 

[dedede]

What type of screws did they use to fasten the roof deck to the framing? When I built a shed at my house in NC I used a screw with a rubber gasket no leaks but it had a pitch. Do your screws have this gasket?

 

[650Skull]

He said the screws/nails are in the valley's. Nothing will stop the rain no matter the pitch

 

[peanut]

Hi Guys I've been busy fixing up my garage until rain stopped play this evening. I fired up the laptop and I've got 35 messages !

The guy who sold me the house told me that the roof didn't leak much since he had had new profile cladding fitted 2-3 years ago. I assumed the damp stains and mould were the result of leaking prior to the new covering being fitted .(650SKull you're very observant !) At the time of purchase it hadn't rained for a cuple of weeks and everything was dry.

I am an Architect and Building Surveyor by profession (retired) and a builder for the 20 years prior to qualifying so I carried out my own structural survey and was aware of most of the problems with the property . All properties have some repairs upgrades or maintenance required and the buyer makes their offer accordingly.

To be fair this year has seen record rain levels all spring and summer since records begun 200+ years ago! saying that the PO was obviously a lying git

I'll strip the cladding and sort it out come next spring but as it is in the middle of other garages it will be a difficult job .I'll need to do a Party Wall agreement in case one of my neighbours claim that my repair work worsened their leaky roofs

We are truly blessed with this cottage. it is situated off a private drive with 5 other neighbours. Its private, secure and quiet and has 2x vehicle spaces and a garage and huge conservatory ,double shed and beautiful gardens looking onto fields a river and and 2x ancient Mills.
We got it for a song and as we only had to move from the adjacent cottage


The only down side is that I have to replace upgrade the electrical wiring and fix the shed and garage

 

[650Skull]

In the building game myself. Quick fix remove the screws and place them on top of the ridges and seal the holes with a waterproof silicon
Or better still use a proper shower waterproof membrane, it can be painted over and if done properly with the right stuff will last for years.

I am good at coming up with ways to fix and repair jobs, (Properly), that last, i make money and the client saves money, i also make sure the client is informed thoroughly about the pro's and cons of my ideas. Others builders would remove everything and replace with new.

 

[peanut]

yep I'm the same way inclined myself.

I might blank all the existing holes with a bolt ,fibre washer and mastic then fix from the top as you say. I'll have to use some spacers beneath the fixings to support the fixing area .Then again it might be easier to remake all the fixings in the existing holes using a better fixing and sealing method. I'll have to wait and see the best option at the time

The profile cladding should last a few years yet provided I treat any rust .

We'll be selling this place within the next 2x years or so and I don't want to spend more than I have to or I'll make a loss

 

[I am Carbon]

peanut, I have a flat roof on the rear of my home. I don't know if you have this product over there if you do it really stops leaks.
Gardner brand
4.75-Gal. Flexx Bond Rubberized Roof Coating and MB Adhesive Description:
For waterproofing protection apply this Flexx-Bond 4.75-Gallon Rubberized Coating and Adhesive to roll roofing, masonry surfaces and new asphalt rolls. This coating has an excellent adhesion and a flexible design to resist cracking. The only thing that I don't like is that it is black in colour.

 

[peanut]

thanks for the suggestion carbon

Its a new roof and is only leaking at all the fixing holes because the installer fixed the roof in the channels instead of on the tops of the profiles.
If I replace all the fixings it should stop leaking hopefully

 

[XSLeo]

I might try painting it first. Use the white rubber roof paint for mobile homes. Works great to seal leaks and being rubber it stretches and contracts without cracking.
Leo

 

[650Skull]

I found this in the FAQ
Q: Can this be used to seal leaks on a single wide trailer? I believe the roof is metal sheeting but has snow coat on it.

A: Coatings are generally not a good choice to fix leaks on any type of roof. Each leak must be found and then patched (in the case of a metal roof) with a roof cement such as Wet R Dri and universal patching fabric. A layer of roof cement is spread over the leak, the fabric is embedded into the roof cement and then another thin layer of roof cement is spread over the fabric.

A tube of polymer to fix the holes first and then patch. If this is black it will make the shed hot

 

[peanut]

I might try painting it first. Use the white rubber roof paint for mobile homes. Works great to seal leaks and being rubber it stretches and contracts without cracking.
Leo

unfortuately a coating wouldn't be any help in this situation Leo. The metal profiled cladding is nearly new and quite sound. The only place it is leaking is at the fixing points which an overall coating won't address.

The best permanent solution is to remove all the fixings and thoroughly clean and rust inhibit all the fixing holes then seal them permanently .Then refix the panels from the tops of the cladding profiles where the water and snow runs off.

Thanks for your imput everyone

 

[XSLeo]

The rubber coating, when applied will cover over the screwheads and out onto the sheet metal. This will seal the leaks.
A couple coats will build a dam on the high side and divert water around the screw heads.
Leo