Commercial
Commercial and contract roofing
Planned maintenance, reactive repairs, re-roofs and flat roof replacement for landlords, housing providers, schools, churches, councils and commercial buildings. Every job is reported with photos.
Clients
Who we work for
Roofing for anyone responsible for buildings that other people live, work or study in.
Landlords and letting agents
Repairs reported by tenants dealt with and closed off with photos, so you have a record for each property. We can arrange access with the tenant direct.
Housing providers
Planned and reactive work across houses and flats, reported property by property.
Schools and colleges
Work programmed around term dates, with the work area fenced off from pupils and staff.
Churches and listed buildings
Slate and lead repairs in matching materials, with lead-free alternatives where theft is a risk. Slate and leadwork
Commercial and industrial buildings
Flat roofs, gutters, outlets and flashings on shops, offices, workshops and units.
Councils
Repairs and planned work on council buildings, carried out to the specification and paperwork the contract sets.
Planned maintenance
Planned roof maintenance
Most roof failures start small: a blocked outlet, a slipped slate, a split in a flat roof. Regular visits catch them before they let water into the building.
- Inspection
- Slates, ridges, flashings, flat roofs and outlets checked, from a cherry picker where we can
- Gutters and outlets
- Cleared, with the downpipes checked
- Small repairs
- Minor faults fixed on the visit, up to a spending limit you set
- Report
- Photos of each roof and a list of what needs doing next, in order of urgency
- Timing
- Visits booked to suit the building, such as school holidays or quiet periods
Reactive repairs
When something fails
The first job is to stop the water. The permanent repair is priced and approved before it goes ahead.
- Step 1
Report
Call or WhatsApp with the address, the problem, and who to contact for access.
- Step 2
Make safe
Leaks and storm damage made safe, to stop any further damage to the building.
- Step 3
Price
Photos of the cause and a price for the permanent repair, against your order number if you use them.
- Step 4
Repair and close
The repair carried out and closed off with photos for your records.
Drawing 02 · Commercial flat roofs
A warm roof, from the deck up
How we build and replace flat roofs on schools, offices and industrial units, cut away at the corner so you can see each layer.
01Steel deck
Most commercial flat roofs sit on a profiled steel or concrete deck. We check its condition and fixings before anything new goes on top.
02Vapour control layer
Bonded to the deck, it stops warm, damp air from inside the building reaching the insulation and condensing there.
03Tapered insulation
Rigid PIR boards cut to falls, thinner towards the outlets, so rainwater runs off instead of sitting on the roof.
04Single-ply membrane
Wide sheets with heat-welded laps. Light, quick to lay over a large roof, and long-lasting when it's detailed properly.
05Upstands and coping
The membrane is dressed up the parapet walls and held with a termination bar, with metal coping on top to keep water out of the wall.
06Outlets and rooflights
Outlets sit at the low points of the falls. Rooflight upstands are sealed into the membrane so water runs round them, not through.
07Walkway and guard rail
Walkway pads mark a safe route from the roof hatch, and a guard rail keeps people away from the rooflight, which isn't built to take weight.
Talk to us about a commercial roof
Larger work
Re-roofs and flat roof replacement
Larger jobs are planned around the building, so it can stay in use while the work goes on.
Flat roof replacement
Old coverings stripped and replaced as a warm roof in single-ply, EPDM, GRP or felt, insulated to current standards where Building Regulations apply. Flat roofing
Slate re-roofs
Stripped to the rafters, with new membrane and battens, then re-slated with salvaged slate made up with new or reclaimed. Re-roofing
Phased work
Big roofs done a section at a time, with each section left watertight at the end of the day, so the rooms below stay in use.
Paperwork
Paperwork and site safety
Contract work comes with the records your organisation needs, and a site set up so that the public, pupils and tenants are kept clear of the work.
For short jobs we work from a cherry picker. Longer jobs get scaffold with edge protection. Cherry picker access
- Before work
- Risk assessment and method statement for the job, on request
- On site
- Work areas fenced or coned off, and entrances and access routes kept clear
- Records
- Photos before, during and after, with a short written report
- Invoicing
- One invoice per property, against your order number
Questions
Commercial questions
Can you work while the building is in use?
Usually, yes. We fence off the area below the work, keep entrances clear, and plan noisy or disruptive work for holidays or quiet periods where we can.
Do you take on single properties, or only portfolios?
Both. One rented house is reported and invoiced the same way as a block of flats.
What does a photo report include?
The address and date, photos of each roof and every defect found, what was done on the visit, and a price for anything that still needs doing.
Do you work on listed buildings and churches?
Yes, in matching slate and lead. Listed building consent, or a faculty for a church, may be needed before work starts. We can supply the details of materials and method that the application asks for.
Can you replace stolen lead?
Yes. The roof is made watertight first, then the lead is replaced, or a lead-free alternative is fitted if it's likely to be targeted again. We can provide photos and a report for the insurance claim.
Responsible for more than one roof?
Tell us about the buildings and we'll arrange a survey, then put together a maintenance plan to suit.