The dangers of not clearing your shed roof

[CBJ]

Well This morning when I got up and got on with my jobs everything was as normall (or I thought it was).

Walked passed the shed 4 or 5 times without a clue what was waiting for me.

Finally got the fire lit and needed another bag of peat in so on with the boots and out to the shed,

Have you ever had that sickening feeling when coming upon something unexpected well that was just what happened when I opened the doors.

I couldnt bloody believe it :

this shed has been nothing but a p,i,t,a since we got it.

Salvagable?? Highly unlikley , all of the roof supports are buckled as are the front and back coverings

Will have to wait until the snow melts to take it all apart and see if anything can be fixed

Rant over now, (Feels marginaly better) I think im going to knock some snowmen down


Craig

 

[Shambling Shaman]

On the plus side it did not cave in and damage any of your stuff.

 

[gregorach]

I made a special expedition to the allotment just to clear the snow off my greenhouse the other week when it was really bad...

 

[CBJ]

Very true mate , Im just not seeing the positives at the moment lol

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Iv been clearing the snow off..

1, The green house to date only two cracked glass
2, The roof of the spare room as snow melt is Pi** through some where, and just like your self will need to just wait till the thaw to sort it.

 

[No Idea]

CBJ

That shed will be fine.

Get the snow off asap, then set a line of props along the ridgeline and gradually raise them to ge it about 6 inches lower than it sshould be - any higher than that and it might start coming apart, use a spade blade with some cloth over the end to push any serious kinks out of the roof sheets and then watch it for leaks.

If its leaking badly, dry out the holes, or tears on the outside with a blowlam - being carful not to bend it back down, and shove some mastic or even duct tape over the holes.

DOnt worry about the kinked panels, and dont try to fix them at this time as it might crack the paint and that would help it start to rust.

In april or so, take the roof apart and hammer all the panels and joists straight - carefully so they dont crack. If they do, you might have to braise them.

Then paint any bare spots and shove it back together.

Those sheds are virtually indestructible.

Wish I still had one.

 

[charleslockerbie]

You have my sympathy mate. Its true they don't make them the way the used to.

 

[No Idea]

When you prop the ridgeline, may I suggest you lay a length of wood each side of the ridge, maybe a length of 2x4 or similar, so the ridge goes up evenly when you prop it.

 

[CBJ]

Just finished clearing the roof:

No Idea: helpull suggestions there thanks mate,

Chaz: You are right there compared to the workshop next to it that my brother and I built ourselves it is a bit of a dissapointment.

I am now thinking that I will prop it up as No Idea suggested then build on to the workshop myself when I get the chance to take it down and possibly put it somewhere else.


Craig

 

[Sabot]

Had the roof of my 20x10ft wooden shed cave in last year in the middle of the night. It was not fun I can tell you. Had to shovel at least a ton of snow out of it and rescue my tools etc. Fortunately there was only one casualty that couldn't be be repaired but the roof cost me and the insurance company over a grand to fix. More than I paid for the whole thing. I've been clearing said fixed roof regularly this year as I don't want a repeat performance despite it having been re-enforced.

 

[Sniper]

A suggestion would be ....... when you have it cleared and banged back into shape you strengthen the ridge and runners with some 4 x 2 and this would reduce the possibility of a re-occurance. My mate has the same shed and a very similar thing happen about 4 years ago but an old timer suggested that he add wooden supports to the beams and he has never had a problem since ... and this year has been far worse than when it originally happened, I believe he also screwed on some 1" angle iron to the wood battons this year as an extra precaution. Good luck mate.

 

[garethw]

Yep just had the whole lean-too on the back of my barn come down... well I was going to demolish it any way but now the weather lent me a hand. We've had 40cms of snow here in northern France.
cheers
Gareth

 

[No Idea]

Looking at your later pics, I see your back triangle has completely collapsed.

You will probably need to unbolt it before you jack the roof back up.

However, it may be possible to actually beat it flat again in situ if you have some help.

You would need someone to hold a flat lump of wood against the outside, while you chase the creases from the inside with a hammer.

You then swap over to do the creases from the other side.

Using a lump of wood, rather than a panel beaters dolly reduces the likeleyhood of damaging the paint to metal joint, which then lets in water and rusts.

Doing this avoids the probability that the panels will warp so badly that you cant get the bolts back in again - or rip the bolts out if you just jack it.

Any cracks in the paint need drying out completely and painting immediately as they will destroy the panel through rust.

Or.....

Failing that, cut another triangle ourt of plywood to shove in the space when you unbolt the old one and jack up the roof.

If you decide to leave 4x2's supporting your ridgeline, you might want to prop from both bottom back corners of the shed to the back end of the 4x2's to make sure the rear triangle doesnt collapse again.

Reinforcing the front isnt as easy as the door gets in the way, but you may be able to lay 4x2 across the top of the walls, then run two pieces up to the ridge to support. Depends how the door is mounted.

My apologies if Ive just stated the obvious

 

[CBJ]

No Idea : Not at all , thank you for taking the time to provide an illustrated solution, That will be exactly what I will do now

much appreciated mate.


Craig