Haverhill Roofers provides commercial roofing repairs and replacements for businesses in and around Clare, and helps property owners keep their roofs performing for longer with straightforward aftercare advice.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
Haverhill Roofers works on commercial roofs across Clare and the surrounding area, covering the villages nearby. The work covers flat roof repairs and replacements using felt or EPDM rubber membranes, profiled metal sheet roofing on farm and industrial buildings, box gutter lining and replacement, and roof light repair and installation.
A good commercial roofing job is only part of the story. What happens after the work is done determines how long the roof performs before you need to call anyone back. This page sets out what good aftercare looks like for the main types of commercial roof, and the straightforward maintenance steps that can help prevent problems on commercial buildings.
Commercial roofs are out of sight in a way domestic roofs are not. On a house, a displaced tile or a blocked gutter is often visible from the pavement. On a flat-roofed workshop or a large farm building, the roof surface is invisible from the ground. Problems can develop for months or years before they manifest as a water stain on a ceiling or a puddle on the workshop floor - by which point the damage extends well beyond the original point of failure.
The single most cost-effective thing a commercial property owner can do is establish a regular inspection programme. This does not require a roofer for every visit. Many checks can be done from the roof edge with a safe ladder, or from the inside of the building.
A twice-yearly check - spring and autumn - will catch most developing problems before they become serious. In spring, check for damage caused by winter weather: frost action on flat roof upstands, lifted sheet laps on metal roofs, debris accumulation in outlets and box gutters. In autumn, clear debris before the wet season begins and check that all outlets are clear and running freely.
From the roof surface (or the edge if safe access permits), look for: standing or ponding water that has not drained 48 hours after rain; blistering, cracking or splits in a felt membrane; open laps or raised edges on a profiled metal roof; discolouration or staining around roof lights; and any upstand or abutment flashings that have pulled away from the wall.
A check after any period of severe weather - sustained heavy rain, high winds or a sharp frost - is worth making. Wind lifts laps on metal sheet roofs and can displace flashings. Frost acts on any water trapped in a split or open joint and forces it wider. Catching these quickly prevents a small gap from becoming a significant ingress point.
Blocked outlets are the single most common cause of flat roof failure on commercial buildings. Water backing up behind a blocked outlet sits on the membrane surface, works into any existing weakness, and applies hydrostatic pressure to laps and joints. On a large flat roof, even a partially blocked outlet can cause ponding across a substantial area.
Box gutters on commercial buildings collect far more debris than domestic gutters and have much less capacity to cope with it. Leaf build-up, bird debris and moss all accumulate in box gutters. A box gutter that is blocked during heavy rain will overflow - and because box gutters are typically internal to the roof structure, overflow means water going straight into the building fabric rather than over an external fascia.
Clear box gutters and flat roof outlets at least twice a year, and after any period of heavy leaf fall. If the outlet is difficult to access safely, arrange for a roofer to do it as part of a maintenance visit. The cost of a maintenance visit is a fraction of the cost of repairing a saturated deck or replacing a box gutter lining that has lifted under water pressure.
Roof lights are a persistent source of water ingress on commercial buildings. The frame seals deteriorate with UV exposure over time, the junction between the upstand and the roofing membrane weakens, and the domed or flat glazing unit itself can crack or craze. Check roof light surrounds as part of every inspection. A small bead of appropriate sealant applied early to a shrinking seal will buy time; once water has been tracking under the upstand flashing for a season, the repair becomes more involved.
Roof lights that are no longer serving a useful function are sometimes best removed and the opening plated or re-roofed over. Every penetration through a commercial roof membrane is a potential failure point. Fewer penetrations means fewer maintenance obligations.
Moss and algae growth on commercial flat roofs is common, particularly on felt systems with a mineral or stone chip surface. Heavy moss growth retains moisture against the membrane surface and accelerates degradation. It also adds weight and can block outlets when it loosens in heavy rain. Applying a proprietary biocide treatment every few years slows regrowth. Do not use a pressure washer on a felt membrane - the high-pressure water strips the surface dressing and can force water into existing splits.
Profiled metal sheet roofing on farm buildings and industrial units needs different attention. Fixings corrode and lose their neoprene washers over time; this is a common cause of slow water ingress that is easy to miss because the water tracks along the sheet profile before it drops. Check fixing heads where accessible, and re-seal or replace corroded fixings before they work loose. Laps between sheets should be tight and sealed; any visible gap in a lap should be addressed before winter.
Surface rust on metal sheets does not immediately mean the sheet needs replacing, but it does need monitoring. Light surface rust that has not penetrated the sheet can be treated with a rust-inhibiting primer and a compatible coating. Once rust has eaten through the sheet, that section needs to be replaced.
A simple roof log, kept as a paper or digital document, is useful for any commercial building. Record the date of any inspection, what was found, and what action was taken. If you commission a roofer to carry out repair or maintenance work, keep the written report. This record is valuable when you come to sell or re-let the building, and it gives any future roofer the context they need to understand the history of the roof before they make recommendations.
Visual inspections from the roof edge or interior will catch many problems, but they have limits. If you see evidence of ponding water that is not clearing, staining on internal ceilings or steelwork, or any movement in a flat roof upstand or metal sheet, call a roofer to carry out a full inspection. Roof condition surveys on commercial buildings typically involve core samples from the membrane to assess deck moisture content, and thermal imaging is sometimes used on larger roofs to map areas of trapped moisture that are invisible to the naked eye.
We cover Clare and the surrounding area including Haverhill, Stoke by Clare, Poslingford, Ashen, Ashdon, Kedington, Ridgewell, Steeple Bumpstead and the villages nearby. Call us to arrange a commercial roof inspection and we will provide a written report on the condition of your roof and what maintenance it needs.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
