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Should I Convert My Flat Garage Roof to a Pitched One?
If you have an old leaky flat garage roof you may be thinking about replacing it with a new pitched one. We investigate if this is the right thing to do.
Many people believe that flat garage roofs are bad news and never a good idea. However as a garage roof expert most of the problems that I come across are not due to the roof being flat. They are caused by poor workmanship when the roof was installed, sub-standard or very old roofing materials or poor maintenance by the owner of the property.
If you have a leaking flat or pent garage roof and are thinking about converting it to a pitched one you should be aware of what is involved. New steel trusses and purlins would need to be built to size, to fit the structure. These would then have to be fitted to the garage before the new fibre cement roofing sheets could be attached. The cost for this to be done would be considerable and could easily double the price of the job. In my opinion in most cases it is just not worth the extra cost, unless you definitely prefer the look that a pitched roof provides.
In fact, most flat garage roofs are not actually flat. They will be built with a slight slope to allow rain water to run off them easily. In addition, being constructed with the right roofing material makes all the difference. If full length galvanised, corrugated steel garage roofing sheets are used, there should be no problems with ‘overlapping’ areas. Areas of overlap can be places, where through time, water eventually penetrates and causes problems. These roof sheets are mounted on rigid galvanised steel rafters. I have been using this type of roofing material on flat garage roofs since 2010 without any problems. In addition, with this type of material most lengths and widths of garage can be covered. For maintenance free convenience, I usually fit them with specially profiled galvanised steel wrap around flashings or PVC angle verge boards.
If you need any help replacing your garage roof, please feel free to get in touch with us at Garage Roof Scotland. We are experts in garage roof repairs and replacements and work throughout the whole of Scotland.
Author: Paul McLean
Kemp House, 152 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX
0333 344 0946
0333 344 0946
info@londonroofandgutterclean.co.uk