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How to lay shed roofing felt

Updated: 23 October 2026

The roll is in the hall and the shed roof is a few boards you can reach. How to lay shed roofing felt is the order of work: a sound deck, eaves first, laps that shed water, and nails you actually have. A rotten board, or a job that has become a long spell on a ladder, is no longer a Saturday felt. The rolls themselves are on the [roofing felt comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/roofing-felt). The figures below come from published UK fixing notes and the amazon.co.uk reviews captured on 19 October 2026, not from a lab. Rose’s Amazon bullets do not print nail spacing. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The roll is in the hall and the shed roof is a few boards you can reach. How to lay shed roofing felt is the order of work: a sound deck, eaves first, laps that shed water, and nails you actually have.

Our top picks

Rose Roofing Rose heavy duty green, 5 m

Best overall

Rose Roofing Rose heavy duty green, 5 m
7.8/10about £28.50
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Rose Roofing Rose standard black mineral, 5 m

Best value

Rose Roofing Rose standard black mineral, 5 m
7.4/10about £21.40
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Rose Roofing Rose green 6 m, 12 kg

Alternative

Rose Roofing Rose green 6 m, 12 kg
6.4/10about £22.48
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On this page
  1. 1.Get the deck honest before you unroll
  2. 2.A published way to lap and nail
  3. 3.Handling these three rolls
  4. 4.When you get off the roof

Get the deck honest before you unroll

Old felt hides the boards. Pull a failed sheet back and poke anything soft. A clout nail in spongy timber does not hold, and a thin mineral sheet tears around it the first time wind gets under a lap. Replace the soft board, pull proud nails, and sweep off grit. Work in mild, dry weather. Rose’s trade sheet says to avoid fitting below 5 °C. That line is for the trade product, not a sentence on the Amazon listings. Whether a 5 m roll is enough is on roofing felt for sheds. Mark the eaves so the first strip is square.

A published way to lap and nail

Start at the eaves and work up, so rain runs over the joint rather than into it. IKO’s June 2024 shed-felt sheet, for IKO’s own product, lets the first strip overhang eaves and gables by 50 mm, nails the top edge with galvanised clout nails at 500 mm centres, and nails turned edges at 50 mm centres. The next sheet laps 75 mm, with adhesive in the lap, and those laps are nailed at 50 mm centres. A RoofGiant leaflet, B&Q, and Travis Perkins also use a lap around 75 mm, but their eaves and gable overhangs are 50 mm, 75 mm, or 75–100 mm depending on the note. Do not average those overhangs into one figure. Do not torch these sheets.
Rose Roofing Rose heavy duty green, 5 m

Testsieger

Rose Roofing Rose heavy duty green, 5 m
7.8/10about £28.50
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Handling these three rolls

The standard black roll, 5 m × 1 m and 9 kg, is the one reviewers tear. Cut it on a board, and do not drag the edge across a corner. The heavy-duty green roll is the same stated 5 m × 1 m at 12 kg. It sheds grit, and one roll arrived torn. Brush loose mineral off the lap before you stick it. Choosing between the 9 kg roll and the 12 kg roll is on standard versus heavy-duty shed felt. The green 6 m roll is 12 kg with no printed width. Confirm the width before you set the laps out. A rip while you pull usually means the sheet caught a nail head or bridged a gap.

When you get off the roof

The Health and Safety Executive says to plan roof work and to treat a roof as fragile until you know it is not. Stop if the boards move, if you find rot, or if the building is attached to the house or used as a room. Do not walk a gritty slope to reach the ridge. Pitch, as a reason to buy or refuse a listing, lives on the shed roofing felt buying guide.

Common questions

Which edge do I start at?
Start at the eaves and work toward the ridge or the top of a pent. The upper sheet has to lap over the lower one so water runs across the joint. Starting at the ridge leaves every joint facing the rain. On an apex, cover both slopes and finish with a cap over the ridge.
How much should the sheets overlap?
IKO’s June 2024 sheet and Rose’s trade sheet both use a lap of at least 75 mm, with adhesive in the lap. Overhangs differ: 50 mm on the IKO sheet, about 75 mm in one RoofGiant leaflet, and 75–100 mm at the gables in a Travis Perkins note. These three Amazon listings do not print a spacing. Do not merge those overhangs into one number.
What nails should I use, and are they in the Rose box?
Use galvanised clout nails, often sold as 13 mm. IKO spaces them at 500 mm on the top edge and 50 mm on turned edges and laps. The captured Rose bullets do not list nails as included. Two reviews of the black roll say nails were missing, and the heavy-duty reviews disagree about whether any arrived. Buy a box unless you have opened the parcel and found them.
Do I need adhesive as well as nails?
Yes, if you are following the IKO data sheet or the Rose trade sheet. Both put adhesive in the lap and then nail it. A dry lap at a wide nail spacing gives the wind a place to start. Use a felt adhesive meant for bitumen laps. Do not torch the sheet.
Can I lay the felt in cold weather?
Only on a dry day warm enough to fold the bitumen without cracking it. Rose’s trade sheet says avoid work below 5 °C. An older IKO note says ideally over 10 °C, and not in the wet. Those are two sources, not one rule on the Amazon page. A hard frost or a raining deck is a reason to wait.
When is a ladder the wrong tool, and what if the boards are soft?
HSE says a ladder is for low-risk work of short duration, and that past about 30 minutes you should look at other access. A whole high slope, or any need to lean off the ladder, is the wrong tool. Soft boards are the other stop. Nails will not hold, and the sheet will tear around the hole. Replace the deck, or call a professional, before you unroll the felt.

Related pages

Best shed roofing felt

Roofing felt

Shed roofing felt buying guide for UK outbuildings

Roofing felt for sheds: measure slopes, not the floor

Standard vs heavy duty shed felt: 9 kg against 12 kg

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Listings captured 19 October 2026. Updated 23 October 2026.

  1. BSI, BS 8747:2007 reinforced bitumen membranes (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  2. NBS, specifying reinforced bitumen membranes (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  3. Saunders, BRE, 2008, bitumen roofing history (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  4. Rose Roofing, standard shed felt (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  5. Rose Roofing, premium polyester shed felt (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, Class E permitted development technical guidance (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  7. Planning Portal, building regulations for a detached house roof (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  8. HSE, roof work (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  9. Toolstation, Rose 5 year standard shed felt (retrieved 23 October 2026)