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Best way to tarp roof?

20584 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Scuba_Dave
I'm going to reroof (or I hope to have someone reroof) my house when I tie in an addition to my house. I'm doing the addition/tie-in framing and sheathing myself and foresee the need to tarp the roof temporarily to keep thing dry -particularly the tie-in area over the existing house.

In theory I could rip off the old roof (double layer of course) in the tie-in area and frame and sheath it in one day and have roofers there the next. But lets get real, I know it could easily take me longer and the roofers might not be able to make my time schedule. So I want to be ready to tarp off the tie-in area every night while I'm working on it and for any delays until the roofers can get out here.

I read the pros on here all the time saying tarp off the roof. With the wind around here (35 mph is not rare) I think keeping a tarp on the roof will be tricky. I suppose I could nail down the edges using some 1x4s, but if I need to pull it up and put it down a few times won't the tarp get trashed pretty quick with all the nail holes? You pros must have a way to secure the tarp without trashing it so it can be used on many jobs. Do you have any advice on securing tarps to the roof in windy areas?

And as far as tarp size, do you recommend getting really big tarps (say 30x60') to cover the largest area I might need to cover or is it better and easier to handle multiple smaller tarps (say 16x20') and just overlap them as needed?
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Addition ties to house roof: Anytime you overlap, you are asking for a leak. I buy the big ones, 50x40', or so. Get it on the roof, run 3' over the ridge, and nail it down with 2x4's flat on top. Tie a rope to each lower corner, with a tennis ball (slit) tied to other end. Throw ball to ground close to tie-off location. Pull tarp down, spreading it tight. Nail perimeter 2x4's to hold side edges down, tie off bottoms, including every 6' spaced ropes. If really windy, make one roll with each 2x4 before nailing.

Addition ties to house siding: Nail tarp to sides of rafter/truss tails on house over addition location. Nail end of rope(100') to house side of tail about 6' in from end of tarp. Thread rope through pulley, attach pulley to house tail in front of tarp, with loop going under hanging tarp (think Roman shade). Same on other end. Attach 2x4's to bottom of tarp for weight and keeps tarp spread out. Pull ropes, lifting tarp by rolling up in place, and tie off. Finish day's work, lower tarp, pull over work by attached tie ropes, secure. Be safe, G
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