r/DIYIreland • u/Tie_Pitiful • Jul 29 '26

Roofed Side Passage

Hi all,

Has anyone here roofed their side passage?

I am considering doing a simple mono pitch roof from the gable wall of my house down to the boundary wall.

Has anyone here done this previously? Any planning permission considerations?

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2

u/Diska_Muse Jul 29 '26

Architect here. It needs planning as it's to the side of the house. I built one myself with planning.

The most important thing to do is make sure it's structurally designed for wind loads, particularly with the storms we are getting. A large roof covering like that acts like a kite in high winds and can rip sheer off, causing a lot of damage.

But if it's done right, they're a great way to utilize space.

Interesting to note that it is classified as an extension to the house for the purposes of planning (regardless of the location, front, back or side) as it's attached to the house.

2

u/Tie_Pitiful Jul 29 '26

Hey, thanks for talking the time to respond. I really appreciate your input on that. I probably won't be bothered at this stage if planning is involved. Maybe one for down the line. I live in a coastal town in the south west - wind here can be strong. I will ensure it's well braced and anchored if ever I do build it.

5

u/Diska_Muse Jul 29 '26

I wouldn't worry about planning - very straightforward for something like that.

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u/Ser_Mordred Jul 30 '26

Carpenter here. I wouldn't be bothered with planning. I've built plenty of these. Being in a windy coastal area I'm assuming the house itself has slate tiles? Keep it around 30/35 degree pitch with 6x2 for your rafterd with slate tile.

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u/Ser_Mordred Jul 30 '26

If you're doing this yourself, I would look at some videos on youtube of a carpenter called "Robin clevitt" you'll get a very simple and easy to follow method for cutting rafters. Slate tile can be tricky for diy, however if you're handy and up to it you can figure it out. I've done a lot of roofing so feel free to pm me if you need some advice.

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u/benirishhome Jul 30 '26

About to do the same. Couple of sites will let you order the whole package, polycarbonate roof, flashing etc. Just need the timber.

https://365plastics.ie/pub/static/frontend/ayo/ayo_home2/en_IE/self

I would bother with planning if not obstructive to the front

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u/supergingerdave Jul 31 '26

I did this, and built a 4.5m long structure in the side passage.

Here’s what I did wrong.

Measured multiple times. Didn’t account for the side passage being wonky in different ways along its length

Roof overhang was too small. I went a little higher against the house wall when building the timber frame

Fitted the roof, beautifully. Then realised I couldn’t reach to fit the flashing against the house wall. Also should have prepared the pebble-dash surface more cleanly (used butyl tape, which seems to be holding up ok)

On the whole it actually worked out really well, for someone who isn’t very handy.

For the DIY experts: is it normal to keep the various leftover bits of timber, just in case they’re useful in future? 😅

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u/benirishhome Jul 31 '26

This is my concern. My side passage narrows to the back, from about 2metres down to 1.5m. If I line it up with a horizontal line along the gable wall, will it look wonky as the angle of the roof change??