Roofs

[Brian Bush]

I make all my own equipment. I used to buy aluminium sheets for roof covering and then following a suggestion I found a printer close to my place of work and purchased large used litho sheets from him. I like working with these as they are thin yet strong and can be cut with a craft knife or scissors.
I ran out the other day and did not want to make the difficult negotiations and travel 50 miles to obtain them from my previous supplier.
Using Yell I found a printer 5 miles away. His sheets are not as large and it will require 2 sheets for a hive flat roof. I will probably have to use 4 for a gabled roof with two clear seam lines. I negotiated a price for 20 sheets on the phone and went to pick them up. He very generously doubled the number for the same price. It is well worth contacting litho printers close to you for this vital resource. The sheets are more durable than felt and much lighter too.

 

[Tom Bick]

Yes Brian in the past I managed to get hold of approx 50 sheets and they covered plenty of cheap nuc’s I made for a few people through my association. They are great and easy to use.

 

[Itchy]

What are they made of?

 

[Hivemaker.]

What are they made of?

Aluminium.

 

[Tom Bick]

Yes very thin Aluminium

 

[oliver90owner]

0.25mm or close to. That thin.

 

[Itchy]

0.25mm or close to. That thin.

My, that is thin!

 

[alanf]

Yes very thin Aluminium

Or plastic. Look for a printer doing long litho runs of at least A3 size. Short runs and smaller formats economise with polymer sheets and cheaper A4 machinery.

 

[Norfolk]

Perhaps a good use for otherwise useless Estate Agents boards.

 

[user 6228]

0.25mm or close to. That thin.

That will be a nice challenge to TIG

 

[alanf]

0.25mm or close to. That thin.

That will be a nice challenge to TIG

As I recall some manufacturers go down to 0.10 mm, certainly 0.15 mm. The larger the sheet and longer the print run the more robust the printing plate should be. It should certainly be one of the thicker versions if the plates are cleaned and stored in case another few thousand are needed later. Print quality is not quite as good as a new plate, but it's cheaper on materials and labour if you don't have to make new plates each time.

Welding is a bit tricky on something not much thicker than foil, but they do fold (think origami). It helps to keep the plates warm with a heat gun before bending on cold days. Avoid having to remake folds, they will crack.

 

[user 6228]

I have done 0.5 mm but that was a couple of years ago I think I would need quite a bit of practice even to attempt that now.

 

[itma]

A note for anyone re-roofing -- under the metal is a great place for a sheet of insulation!

 

[Gilberdyke John]

A note for anyone re-roofing -- under the metal is a great place for a sheet of insulation!

Even if the roofspace above the crownboard is ventilated?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Don't bother with ventilation in my roofs - slap of kingspan permanently stuck in direcdt to the plywood.
I believe, again, that the UK is unique in ventilationg the roof space - I stand to be corrected.

 

[user 6228]

Even if the roofspace above the crownboard is ventilated?

Good point ... You need the insulation sealed to the space to be insulated, otherwise you are running up the down escalator.

 

[itma]

Even if the roofspace above the crownboard is ventilated?

Yes, in summer it reduces hive (over)heating, and in winter the condensation on the underside of the 'tin' that rots both the wood beneath.

With a no-hole (and well-insulated) crownboard, the need for venting the roof ought to be greatly reduced.