Shed Felt Vs. EPDM Rubber – Which flat roofing system is best for your shed?

The Beautiful British Summer Is Here!

Barbeque season, parties in the garden and with any luck, relaxing and snoozing in your favourite chair or hammock. But before you can do that, you might have a couple of jobs to tackle, like replacing that old, leaky roof on the shed.

It’s important to take care of your garden buildings; regular checks and maintenance are a great way to ensure your shed stays weatherproof. If you’re not sure where to start, watch our video, we’ll show you how easy it is to replace your old shed felt roof with our EPDM Rubber Roof kit. Correctly installed, our kits have a 50-year life expectancy, so you may never need to do it again! With prices from £39 and an easy online calculator to make sure you order the right size, you will be relaxing in that hammock in no time.

Video Transcript

Sam: So today I get my own back on Barry. Our camera man, two years ago, he fitted this felt roof on his lovely allotment shed.
Barry: This work of art.
Sam: Yeah.
Barry: He’s only cranky because he forgot to put his lipstick and makeup on. He didn’t forget to get his haircut though before he went on camera.
Sam: So he’s told me he followed the instructions to the book, but after two years and a few storms, the felt started to rip now and it’s starting to leak. It’s minging.
Sam: Absolutely shocking. This is definitely the worst roof I’ve ever seen. Apparently he threw this pallet up here to stop more of the felt ripping off
Barry: Genius.
Sam: We’ll get Barry’s roof sorted later in another video, but for now let’s go and see how it should be done. So this video is for all the owners of man caves, and she sheds that are looking for something a little bit more sturdy that will stand up to the British weather. Now, what we’re gonna go through today is both the advantages and disadvantages of shed felt and the Sky Guard EPDM kits.

Tom: Morning Sam, late again!
Sam: Barry’s driving.
Barry: You’re gonna want the red carpet fitted next, come on, get on with it!
Sam: So Tom’s gonna be fitting the shed felt and I’m gonna be fitting the Sky Guard kit. Let’s see how long it takes us.
Tom: Shed felt versus EPDM.
Sam: So before we start, let’s take a look at what we get in each kit. So in the Sky Guard Kit, we get the EPDM. We get the glue to stick down and a roller and some mastic for the perimeter.
Tom: And I’m gonna be fitting the shed felt that came with this shed. Bit of a bonus this morning, it’s already been precut to size. So all I’m gonna need are the clout nails for fixing it in. And I’ve made a little spacer just to keep me up to speed with Sam, cause this is a bit of a race, uh, a hammer and then a, a knife just so we can cut it back on the corners. Are you ready? Let’s get started.

Sam: So that’s everything finished and installed. The Sky Guard took around 35 minutes where the felt took around 45 minutes.
Tom: Admittedly. Um, I think it was the clout nails that slowed me down. There were 150 clout nails went through that felt to fit it to the roof. And actually, I think if I’d have followed the manufacturers guidelines, then I should have put another couple of rows across the middle of the shed felt as well. Cause one of the downsides of shed felt is it does become a little bit brittle and the wind can get underneath it and lift it. So those nails are actually providing a really important feature on that roof.
Sam: I suppose one of the only downsides with the Sky Guard is because it comes in one piece and if it’s a windy day and it can be a bit of a struggle like you saw at the start.
Tom: Um, for me, that’s less of a problem. My felt roof was fitted in three pieces, so I could actually hold it down, get a couple of nails in place and that was gonna keep it in place while I put all those other nails in. So the biggest enemy of any flat roofing system is the sunlight UV. Uh, it will break down the surface of the membranes over time. The way that shed felt deals with this is it has a mineral slate, which is bonded down onto the bitumen and that protects it. The problem is when that washes is off, there’s a danger that the sunlight will get to and it’ll crack. And if you remember from Barry’s roof, that can be a bit of an issue.
Sam: Not so much an issue with EPDM. It’s totally UV stable. It’s not gonna blister or crack over time.

Tom: So colours.
Sam: So it only comes in this black colour Sky Guard, but it does look really slick.
Tom: Um, for felt we’ve got a variety of colours. Um, the most popular ones are green, red. You can get it in blue brown. Um, so colours less of an issue actually. So let’s talk about life expectancy. The manufacturers recommend that this shed felt will last up to five years. In contrast, the Sky Guard roofing system is 50 plus years.
Sam: So if the shed lasts as long as the rubber roof, you’ll be fitting the shed felt around seven to 10 times.
Tom: So obviously that makes the shed felt five to six times more expensive. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this video. Um, we’ve had a bit fun today. It’s been a while since I fitted felt as you saw. Um, if you love it, like and subscribe.
Sam: Yes.
Tom: Yes. It’s in the can. It’s a wrap.

EPDM Shed Roof Kit, 50 Year Life Expectancy!

Click here to shop for your EPDM Shed Rubber Roof Kit, with prices from just £39 and delivery in just 3-5 working days:

Choose your shed roof size from drop-down list to get a fully inclusive price, including the adhesive. You can also buy any other bits you might need such as a roller set for spreading the adhesive, and membrane cutting scissors.

Or call 024 7666 7234 to talk to one of our experts.

For further information on our EPDM Rubber Roofs, take a look at our FAQ’s