Advice needed for covering a tiny external animal box

[Bristol_Rob]

I'm building an external tortoise box need to weatherproof the lid which is 600 x 500mm in size.

I went to the merchants who will happily sell me a roll of felt for £30-40

As I only need 1m^2 it seems such a waste of materials and money.

Then I saw this bitumen product for a tenner and as it states works on wood, I thought a few coats of this on my tanalised timber lid might work.

As I get closer to applying it I'm just wondering if it's a good idea

Thoughts?

 

[Jameshow]

Do you have a B&M near you, they have felt for £16.

Otherwise look on eBay for half rolls.

Shingles might work too just buy what you need.

Cheers James

 

[TRITON]

I bought felt for my cat bothy from ebay. A nice light green, priced by the meter and they send it out pretty quick.
I got initially 1m(what arrived was about 4" over that, then later bought 3m as i'd decided to clad the whole outside walls in it too as its more water resistant and less prone to causing dampness in the walls that wooden cladding might have caused.
This is the company i used
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232514983671
Cat bothy in question...

 

[okeydokey]

If you're not on Freecycle then join and place a wanted ad for your small amount of roofing felt, probably someone local will have just what you need at no charge, if its not too late avoid a totally flat roof

 

[MARK.B.]

Would there be any fumes or offgasing that might harm the occupant nip round to nearest building site and ask for a off cut of felt

 

[Bristol_Rob]

I bought felt for my cat bothy from ebay. A nice light green, priced by the meter and they send it out pretty quick.
I got initially 1m(what arrived was about 4" over that, then later bought 3m as i'd decided to clad the whole outside walls in it too as its more water resistant and less prone to causing dampness in the walls that wooden cladding might have caused.
This is the company i used
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232514983671
Cat bothy in question...
View attachment 126405

This is a cracking idea

 

[Bristol_Rob]

If you're not on Freecycle then join and place a wanted ad for your small amount of roofing felt, probably someone local will have just what you need at no charge, if its not too late avoid a totally flat roof

I have a lovely slope on my flat roof

 

[Bristol_Rob]

Would there be any fumes or offgasing that might harm the occupant

I don't think so...

 

[TRITON]

This is a cracking idea

I used a bitchumen based felt adhesive too- which cost more than the felt, as it sticks it on but also gives the substrate under it maximum protection from the moisture.

 

[artie]

Take a stroll into your local garden shed manufacturer, they will have plenty of off cuts, maybe for free or a nominal charge.

 

[Bristol_Rob]

Thank you all for your comments - I've used the eBay link and opted for the heavy-duty version (10yr warranty over the 5yr) and have 1 m^2 coming for under a tenner - Thank you, Triton, I wouldn't have thought of eBay

 

[MARK.B.]

Ah now that 5 or 10 year Warranty bit made me chuckle just thinking about how it might go when you try to claim you're Tortoise is homeless because the roof felt failed under said warranty

 

[MikeJhn]

An Aunt of my wife who has had tortoise for years overwinters them in a fridge?????

Staple gun some DPC on top, cheap in comparison to a roll of felt.

 

[Wildman]

I'm building an external tortoise box need to weatherproof the lid which is 600 x 500mm in size.

I went to the merchants who will happily sell me a roll of felt for £30-40

As I only need 1m^2 it seems such a waste of materials and money.

Then I saw this bitumen product for a tenner and as it states works on wood, I thought a few coats of this on my tanalised timber lid might work.

As I get closer to applying it I'm just wondering if it's a good idea

Thoughts?

it is utter rubbish, I used it on my motorhome roof and it washed off in 12 months, tried a second time with another tin, same thing. The only thing to last 10 years is the empty tin in a dry environment, ha ha

 

[HamsterJam]

If you're not on Freecycle then join and place a wanted ad for your small amount of roofing felt, probably someone local will have just what you need at no charge, if its not too late avoid a totally flat roof

I did similar for a hedgehog house except I used the village Facebook group. Within an hour I was gifted a generous sized offcut from someone’s shed roof that was otherwise heading for landfill.

 

[HamsterJam]

An Aunt of my wife who has had tortoise for years overwinters them in a fridge?????

Staple gun some DPC on top, cheap in comparison to a roll of felt.

My daughter doesn’t hibernate her tortoise.
He lives indoors during the winter and goes out in the garden during the day in the summer. In addition to the plants, we just put some ridge tiles in his run for him to shelter under.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

You can buy EPDM by the m2 e.g. Firestone Heavy Duty 1.5mm EPDM Membrane - Price per m2 (060 Grade) | Roofing Superstore®
It's brilliant stuff and will last longer than felt - useful as tortoises can live for decades....

 

[Bristol_Rob]

it is utter rubbish, I used it on my motorhome roof and it washed off in 12 months, tried a second time with another tin, same thing. The only thing to last 10 years is the empty tin in a dry environment, ha ha

Good to know, thank you. I've ordered felt and will be taking my tin back to B&Q

 

[MikeJhn]

My daughter doesn’t hibernate her tortoise.
He lives indoors during the winter and goes out in the garden during the day in the summer. In addition to the plants, we just put some ridge tiles in his run for him to shelter under.

All accords if the Tortoise is a Mediteranian or Tropical Tortoise.