Roofing materials

[Gorsty]

Hi folks

My OH made our cluckie house and used exterior ply for the roof. I don't think it's going to last very long somehow - already starting to warp! so any suggestions for a better roof.

Someone mentioned Onduline in another thread as being water proof - is it a roofing material or is it a treatment for a leaky roof???

In the past, we've used ply covered with tarred felt but had been warned off felt as it apparently a great place for nasties to hide away

Bye for now

PS Just wanted to say what a great forum you have - really enjoyable as well as very informative. Cheers

[ginger ninger]

Hi Gorsty,
My OH works & delivers for a U.P.V.C company, outside there works is a really big skip where they put all the off cuts, end of line, splash boards etc, if you want an inexpensive roof, maybe free roof, you might be as well asking a u.p.v.c company near you if they have any offcuts, most would be happy for you to take them, as it saves them having the skip emptied as often... its worth a go??

[Lemon]

Hi Gorsty and welcome!

We went to look at the chicken houses at a poultry centre before making our house. They used onduline. It's corrugated and I think has tar on the underside of it. We too, used onduline and it's available in Wickes by the sheet that you saw/cut yourselves. I insisted taht we were having a pitched roof (like a wendy house) so hubbs found an onduline apex to which the onduline sheet is attached underneath. A sloping one would work just as well.

You're right about the roofing felt, apparently, the gaps underneath are a breeding ground for mites - so a B-I-G no-no there!

Happy chookie house building!

Here's a side view of our house...



.....with a live weather vane too! HehHehHeh

[HayleyB]

Great pic Lemon and how did she get up there?

Onduline is a popular roof material for its durability but does need a good support. Timber stables normally have Onduline as standard when asbestos was dropped for obvious reasons.

[Glutton4...]

Great pic Lemon - love the weather vane!

[Hilary B]

You can put Onduline over plywood (it is still 'felt', but because it is corrugated the gaps are less attractive to mites etc). If the plywood is warping in such a way as to delaminate (the layers coming apart) THAT could provide mite-hidey-holes, so it is NOT a good idea and would need replacing.
Sterling Board (OSB) is much better than ply for such purposes (and a very similar price). If you want to use uncovered ply for a roof it should be MARINE quality, not merely 'exterior'.
Onduline is great stuff used properly. You MUST support it at close intervals (a couple of feet to be on the safe side, closer if the slope is shallow).