Sooo much pooping

[cluckingmad]

Over the winter, the weight of the snow and the bitter cold has caused the corrugated plastic roof of the WIR to crack... this has become painfully apparent as the girls now have an almost permanent drip through the roof, making everything wet and 'orrible Given that we have feather-footed ladies in there, dry clean litter is kinda essential to them feeling happy so we need to get the roof repaired/replaced asap...

 

Pa-in-law and hubby just want to gaffer tape the crack up, I'm more inclined to replace the roof altogether but not sure whether to go with a wood/felt roof or another plastic one? The pros of the plastic is that it lets LOTS of light in, cons are it makes the run very warm when the sun does, eventually, deign to come out... was originally told that felt was bad because of red mite, so thought I'd ask on here seen as though Omleteers are a font of knowledge!

 

xx

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I also have corrugated plastic on my roof. I made holes in some places while trying to rake snow off in that bad winter so bought some replacement panels and got a joiner to fit them on top of the existing ones. It was easier than trying to remove the damaged ones (which still had large areas intact). He put in as many screws as he could and also screwed in a length of wood at the edge which used to lift in strong winds. So far so good .

 

You might want to put extra batons under the roof too to spread the weight of snow. They don't need to be screwed in place, necessarily.

[Redwing]

Onduline is very good - does the job very well on my big walk in run

[Angie]

I agree a corrogated onduline roof. Takes all the weather can throw at it as well as cats lying on it, costs more but excellant.

[Lewis]

Not sure how good it is but you can get clear tarp tape to repair it, or clear silicone sealant? May look better than Gaffer tape.

 

I've just bought some more clear corrugated panels from B&Q (£7 or £4.40 if buy 5+) so do the extension on my WIR and repair 1 broken panel. Has been up 2 years so thats not too bad

[sjp]

corregated plastic roofs once they start to brake they're best replaced.with what really depends on how much you can afford. if you want a roof that lets light through and will last a long time then go with a multi walled plastic the type used in consevatory roofs.for a no light roof then go for a corrogated roof, onduline or metal or if you no some one it the building trade go for plastersol panels

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Clear tarp tape doesn't last well and gets discoloured very quickly too, as I found from experience .

[Duncan08]

I have put polycarbonate sheeting up over a wooden frame outside my back door which we find extremely useful, was relatively easy to install and looks good.

 

Our WIR has felt Shingles from Wickes over a double apex roof, fixed onto marine ply, my dad spent ages making it and it looks really smart. Weighs a tonne though

 

 

Just took that out of the bedroom window, so it might be a bit shiny.

[mollyripkim]

Your roof looks lovely, very posh!

[Duncan08]

Thank you, he built the WIR for my Christmas present and we finished it all on Christmas eve.

 

I couldn't have done that myself, but I could manage the Polycarbonate. It isn't so brittle as the PVC and the acrylic and weathers better. You spend a bit more time on the structure but then the panels all clip into place.

Can't get above it properly to take a photo, but here is the end of it where it sticks out past the end of my sons room.

 

 

If you click on it you can see bigger picture, there is a main framework and then you get stud screws to keep it in place at the ends.

[jackian]

This is ours ..not as posh as duncans but very water tight.

It was probably the cheapest we could get at the time.|It is also easy to drill through without breaking to screw on to wood