Are felt shingles good for a shed?

A felt shingle is a small flat tile made from a bitumen-impregnated base with a mineral granule surface, often cut into a tab or hexagonal pattern and sold in bundles. The pieces are fixed with clout nails in overlapping rows, starting at the eaves, so that each row covers the nail heads of the one below. The result looks like a roof of small tiles rather than a sheet of black felt.

That product belongs on sheds and similar outbuildings. A house roof is tiled, slated or covered with a flat roofing system, and a bundle of shingles is the wrong thing to fit to it.

The attraction is simple. Shingles are light, so a shed frame that was never designed for weight copes easily. They are cut and fixed with a hammer and a sharp knife, they follow awkward shapes such as a hipped summerhouse, and the pattern hides small mistakes better than sheet felt does.

They suit a pitched shed, a summerhouse, a playhouse, a log cabin or a bin store with enough slope for water to run off the surface quickly. A flat roof is a different case. Shingles rely on overlap and gravity, so a roof with a feeble fall lets water creep up behind the tabs. Every product has a minimum pitch in its data sheet, and the manufacturer's figure is the one to follow. Where a shed roof is nearly flat, a continuous covering such as torch-on or EPDM does the job better.

Pitch is not the only factor. A shingle roof needs a continuous deck underneath. A shed roofed with widely spaced battens, or one with a gap-ridden shiplap lid, needs boarding first. Our guide to shed roof felt and coverings shows how the options compare for different roof shapes.

Windy sites need thought too. Exposed hilltops and open gardens on the edge of the downs can lift tabs that are fixed with too few nails, so fixing pattern matters.

Start with the structure. Rotten boards and sagging rafters have to be fixed first, because a new covering over a bad roof lasts a season. If the deck is sound, sweep it, and then add a roll of underlay or a layer of felt over the boards, lapped from the eaves upwards so water always runs on to the next sheet and never behind it.

A starter course goes at the eaves, set so that the first row overhangs the edge slightly and lets water drip clear. Shingle rows follow, each overlapping the row below, with the manufacturer's nailing pattern kept to. Nails should be corrosion-resistant clouts that bite the board but do not break through the underside. At the ridge, a cap course of shingles bent over the apex finishes the job, and the verges (the sloping edges at the gable ends) get a neat overhang so rain does not track in.

Fix the covering on a mild, dry day. Cold shingles can be brittle and cracking when handled, and the bitumen seals down better with a little warmth.

Four coverings are common on sheds.

• Roll felt (mineral). The lowest-outlay option and quick to fit, but it is thinner, seams show and heat and cold reduce its working life.
• Felt shingles. Better looking and a little more forgiving, but a nuisance to fix on a roof with many angles.
• EPDM. A rubber membrane laid in one piece. Quoted at 20 to 30 years or more by GreenSpec, it suits flatter outbuilding roofs.
• Metal or fibre-cement sheet. Sheet is the sturdier choice for a bigger workshop or a lean-to against a wall.

No figure here is a promise. Life depends on the slope, the shelter, how well the work was done and how often the roof is looked at. A shed roof that is swept clear of leaves and checked once a year will last longer than one that is left under a tree.

A shed that sits near a fence or a patio needs the rain to go somewhere. A small gutter and a water butt save damp patches and splash. Our page on whether a garage needs guttering covers the same ground for bigger buildings.

If the shed is used as a studio and you want daylight, a rooflight in a shingled roof needs an upstand and a flashing, and we do not cut openings in a sound roof lightly. The principles are in our page on adding a skylight to a garage roof.

When a shingle roof starts to fail, tabs curl, granules wash into the gutter and the roof lets in light at the edges. A few missing tabs can be replaced, and the approach is similar to the patch-or-replace decision on larger roofs in our page on repairing a felt garage roof. If the whole slope has gone brittle, a fresh covering is better value than repeated patches.

Sheds are usually a quick visit. We look at the roof from a ladder, photograph the condition of the boards and the covering, and tell you whether it needs repair or a new covering. The quote is written and is one total price, with a ten-year workmanship guarantee set out in writing.

The figure moves with roof area and complexity, whether the boards need replacing, the covering you choose and whether the old material has to go. Ask whether VAT is inside any price. If you are weighing up the options for a larger garage, our guide to the best material for a garage roof is the next read. For a quote, send photographs of the roof and the inside of the shed by WhatsApp, or ring 01793 626096. Garages and bigger outbuildings are covered on our garage roof replacement page.