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What material is best for a shed roof?

Sturdy and waterproof materials are the best for use on a shed roof or garden building. Here at Roofing Superstore, we'd recommend using felt, bitumen roof sheets, bitumen shingles, plastic lightweight roof tiles, or wood shingles to secure an attractive, long-term waterproof roof.

roofingsuperstore.co.uk - Re-roof your shed roof: A DIY Guide | Roofing Superstore Help & Advice
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Time to refresh your shed roof? We’ve compiled some information on each type of material we recommend for your roof, so you can make the right decision on how it looks and performs in the future. Shed roof felt is the most common shed roof material whereas there are other alternative shed roof materials that you may not have considered trying, like shingles or lightweight plastic roof tiles. Installing these alternative shed roof materials can make your shed or outdoor building a wonderful, good-looking talking point that you will be proud of.

Which material can I use for my shed roof?

Sturdy and waterproof materials are the best for use on a shed roof or garden building. Here at Roofing Superstore, we’d recommend using felt, bitumen roof sheets, bitumen shingles, plastic lightweight roof tiles, or wood shingles to secure an attractive, long-term waterproof roof. Transparent or translucent roof sheets are a good choice for lean-tos and some outdoor buildings but you’d see the board on the other side of the plastic when fixed to a shed roof so we don’t recommend this.

Table of contents:

Shed roof felt

Shed roof felt is one of the easiest materials to fit to a roof and can be done by anybody with a bit of DIY experience. When installing felt correctly on a shed roof you can achieve a waterproof membrane that fits seamlessly with the surroundings or stands out, dependent on the colour of felt you choose. Installation can be as simple as removing the previous shed roof substrate and the fixings that accompany it, simply roll out the felt to the length and fix it into place with nails. We recommend IKO’s Super Shed Felt for its ease and its look. We would recommend staying far away from torch-on for DIY users since you’re involving fire and expensive equipment! We recommend IKO’s Super Shed Felt for its ease and its look. We would recommend staying far away from torch-on for DIY users since you’re involving fire and expensive equipment!

Roof shingles for shed roofs

Shingles are also a great option for shed roofs as they offer an inexpensive, good-looking finish. With many colours and textures to choose from, both bitumen shingles and wood cedar shingles can finish your shed roof to a high-quality standard. Felt shingles will fit any shed roof with a pitch of 15º or more and they don’t require any maintenance. The same applies to cedar shingles, suited to a 14º to 90º pitch, however, they give an authentic wood finish that would compliment a traditional-looking shed. Installing a shingle shed roof is very simple and requires little DIY know-how. Wooden cedar shingles require about 1kg (1400 nails) of 31mm x 1.8mm silicone bronze annular ring nails for 6 bundles of shingles. Bitumen shingles require galvanised nails with a minimum 10mm head to secure them. They must be long enough that 20mm of the nail penetrates the shed surface. For example, these galvanised nails will work. Take a look at the video above to see how to install roofing shingles on a shed.

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Bitumen roof sheets

Both Coroline bitumen roof sheets and Onduline bitumen roof sheets are strong and long-lasting, making them a perfect fit for any shed roof. The large panels are available in red, green, black and brown, and when installed correctly are guaranteed to be waterproof for 15 years! All you need to fix these to your shed roof are fixings, caps and washers, minimising installation time.



Each colour of roof sheet has its own matching fixings for a smooth and clean finish. Suited for Onduline and Coroline roof sheets, there are universal verges, eave trays, apron flashings, ventilator strips and roof windows for more complex installations. Be sure to buy the correct fixings for either Onduline or Coroline sheets though as these sheets vary in thickness.

Plastic roof tiles

In strips of tiles for easier and faster installation, lightweight roof tiles are made from part-recycled plastic and weigh just 6kg per m2. The fact that they’re so lightweight means they’re easier to handle when placing them on your shed roof and the shed itself doesn’t need to hold unnecessary weight on the roof. The tiles simply slot together to form an authentic-looking tiled shed roof finish. There are eight colours, including the ungranulated ‘budget’ black which is the cheapest option. These lightweight tile strips are fixed using three screws per tile strip, fitted from the bottom of the roof upwards. Don’t forget to give a slight overlap to make sure they remain waterproof. By choosing tiles there’s an additional element to installation as dry verges must be fitted to both ends of the shed roof to finish the look properly and ensure weatherproofing. If you’d like more information on what products are available to you to re-roof your shed roof, contact our roofing helpline on 01752 692 760 or use our live chat in the bottom right-hand corner.

roofingsuperstore.co.uk - Re-roof your shed roof: A DIY Guide | Roofing Superstore Help & Advice
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