How to Build a Tarp Roof

Cut your tarp to fit the space between the highest point of the roof’s peak at the top and the edge at the bottom. There should be an additional 6 feet of tarp at each end. Lay the tarp onto the roof and make cuts with scissors. Discard the excess material.

Install a framework around the roof’s hole or around the entire roof if you plan to cover the whole surface. Cut a 1-by-3-inch wooden strip with a circular saw to a length about 24 inches longer than the tarp is wide. Lay the cut stud onto the tarp about 4 feet above the opening. Turn the wood so that the tarp wraps around it three times. Fasten the wood to the roof with the rolled side down with a screw gun and decking screws. Drive in one screw every 6 inches or so for a tight fit.

Perform the same rolling-and-fastening process at the tarp’s other end, about 4 feet below the opening. Lay 1-by-3s atop the tarpaulin about 2 feet from the opening’s sides. Use a screw gun and decking screws to fasten the 1-by-3s in place, so that they create a tight seal along the opening’s sides. Drive one screw every 6 inches or so.

Install a second tarp next to the first if you are covering a large area or the entire roof. The second tarp’s edges should overlap the first, so that water cannot work its way between them into the space below. Continue in the same manner until the entire roof is covered. If your roof is taller than the tarp is long, install a second tarp further down the roof, so that the upper tarp’s bottom edge overlaps the lower tarp’s upper edge. This makes rainwater run off the first tarp onto the second, and so on until it runs clear of the roof.