EPDM rubber flat roof — detached garage, Nottinghamshire

Long detached garage running along the back boundary. Felt flat roof was 22 years old, blistered and cracked all the way along, water running off into the gutter that was itself coming away from the fascia. Damp had started showing on the kitchen wall of the house where the garage abuts it.

Why EPDM, not new felt

Felt would have cost about 30% less and would have needed replacing again in 10 years. Firestone EPDM comes in a single sheet up to 15m wide — this 7.5m × 4.5m roof came off one piece with no joints anywhere on the field of the roof. No seams means no places for water to creep in over time. 20-year manufacturer warranty.

Full reasoning is in our blog post — see the link below.

What we did

Day one: stripped the old felt down to the OSB deck. Replaced two boards where the rot had gone through. Cleaned and primed. Cut and dressed new aluminium drip-edge trims along all four sides.

Day two: rolled out the EPDM sheet, marked, lifted half back, bonded with Firestone bonding adhesive, repeated for the other half. Detailed the perimeter into the new trims using water-based contact glue. Gutter rehung. Done.

“Twenty years of damp on that wall and you sorted it in two days. Should have done this years ago.”

— Customer, Edwinstowe