# Forum Home Renovation Roofing  Shade cloth on the roof

## jp...

Mellow greetings. Long time lurker, first time poster.  
This is my problem. We have a flat roof (sloping to the rear) that gets hammered by the sun, resulting in the bedrooms roasting. Reading up in these hallowed pages has revealed some ideas to prevent the house heating up from sun exposure on the roof, but what about shade cloth/sails on the roof? They would be anchored horizontally sloping upwards slightly, so there would basically be a layer of shade cloth/sail from around 2 inches to 5 inches above the roof. 
Is this a feasable solution or not? Thanks in advance.

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## Ivan in Oz

JP thank You, 
You have given me an idea. 
I'd say it would require a slope greater than the roof.
Leaves and 'Material' would tend to accumulate on it if it weren't cleaned off every so often. 
I have a Alsynite Roof and the Pee-Wees and like are removing the loose Fibres.
As they remove the Fibres they create more loose ones :Frown:

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## MrFixIt

Hi 
An alternative solution, though not as inexpensive or as easy to install as shade cloth, would be to create a "tropical roof". This type of roof is seen on some 4WD, predominantly Landrovers. They have a "second" roof above the first with an air gap betweent them of approx 25mm. 
It works well on Landrovers  :2thumbsup:

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## Gra

> JP thank You,

  Ivan you are not the only one it has given an idea to.  I also have a flat roof, and thought along the lines of one of those polytube greenhouses.  I have concealed guttering, is was working on going from eave to eave in a continuous arc supported by steel arcs, that could be mounted to the eaves.  If designed properly the leaves should stay on the shadesail, but the rail would get through to the gutters, so no blocked gutters and a cooler house.. 
Just thinking out loud here,  
I can see some issues regarding weight of the arcs, and sail.  securing the sail and keeping it taut (turnbuckles as part of the mounting should work this out though).  Stopping it flying away in the wind, but could be doable

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## rod1949

In the end its only a short term solution.  The long term solution is to insulate between the ceiling lining and roof sheeting, which may mean removing one or the other. 
If its heating up in summer then it must be a fridge in winter.

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## Stuart

From a cooling point of view, it would definitely work. 
There are issues of course - wind, debris etc, but like the blinds on my windows, I deploy them when needed.

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## jp...

I can't take credit for the idea. The misses came up with it. She's a real ideas man! 
The house is pretty cool in winter as well as hot in summer. I've just today received permission from the Minister of Redevelopment (and War, and Finances) to remove some tin sheets from the roof and see what's going on under there. I'm pretty sure that all that is under there is some builders blanket or sarking. 
As far as steel arcs, frames etc go, all we were thinking of doing is anchoring some long eyelet type things to the roofing frame in a vertical possie and attaching sails horizontally between them.  
I'm in the middle of tiling the back deck so it is a job for another week.

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## totoblue

> all we were thinking of doing is anchoring some long eyelet type things to the roofing frame in a vertical possie and attaching sails horizontally between them.

  They're not called *sails* for nothing.  If there is a gap between your sail and your roof, you'd need something pretty substantial to anchor them the sail to, otherwise strong wind gusts could pull out the anchors.  You'd need substantial bolts and eyelets, and if attaching to your bargeboard or fascia, you would probably need to reinforce the attachment from those boards to the roofing timbers (nails could just pull out). If the eyelets pull out, they would be attached by rope to a sail flapping around in the wind  and could do substantial damage to e.g. windows and roof. 
We have polycarbonate roofing on our deck (surrounded on 3 sides by wall/windows) and it acts like a greenhouse in summer.  We just lay shade cloth on top (we slide heavy plastic garden stakes into pockets sewn into the shade cloth to weigh it down).  It rarely moves in the wind because the wind can't get under it.  If it does move, it will just blow off and fall down.

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## Sturdee

> Is this a feasable solution or not? Thanks in advance.

  
It is and if done correctly will work wonders.  
I've done it over the BBQ area roof which has clear fibreglass roofing and it has made a big difference in the summer temperature. Just make sure that its fastened securely on all sides.  
Peter.

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## OLDPHART

I am in the midst of installing a shade sail over my driveway, sun beats in on my garage all afternoon,have three fans going trying to work in there,near bl..dy impossible.looks like there is quality and not so quality among the sails them selves.Any experiences out there? :Biggrin:

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