Can you repair roofing felt from inside?

Yes, you can repair roofing felt from the inside. 

Sometimes it’s necessary to repair roofing materials from the inside, whether because of access issues or extreme weather conditions, but it’s not typically considered a long-term solution.

While it can prevent water ingress in the short term, the cause of the issue is likely outside, meaning a professional, external repair or replacement may be required at some point to protect the integrity of the roof structure.

How to repair roofing felt from the inside

If you’re in a situation where you need to repair the internal roofing felt and you have some relatively advanced DIY skills, carefully follow these steps:

Step one: Assess and prepare

Identify the leak or the area that needs repairing. Look for signs of water ingress, damp spots or holes in the felt.

Clearly mark the area or areas that require patching.

Use your own judgement to decide what safety precautions to take, such as wearing gloves and goggles, as there may be a risk of debris falling.

Also, ensure there’s enough room to safely access the underside of the roof.

Step two: Clear and clean

Make sure there’s no debris or dirt in the area that needs fixing.

You also need to dry the area as best as possible to help the adhesive stick when it comes to patching the felt.

Step three: Apply temporary patch

Use a durable and weatherproof material, like a polyethylene sheet or tarpaulin, to patch the felt temporarily.

Attach the sheet using a suitable adhesive, ensuring the compromised area is properly sealed.

If you don’t have any adhesive to hand and you urgently need to patch the felt, use battens or something similar to physically hold the patch in place.

Further seal the patch with a strong, waterproof tape, making sure to seal all the edges.

Step four: Regularly inspect

Regularly check on the temporary fix to ensure there are no signs of it collapsing, adjusting it as necessary and potentially reinforcing the patch.

Step five: Arrange for a permanent fix

As soon as you’ve applied the patch, contact a roofer to have the damaged assessed and arrange for the external roof to be permanently repaired.

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