Haverhill Roofers carries out commercial roof repairs and replacements for businesses near Finchingfield, covering flat roofs, profiled metal sheeting, box gutters and roof lights across the area.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
Haverhill Roofers covers commercial roofing work in and around Finchingfield, working across the surrounding area and back through Haverhill. We repair and replace flat roofs using felt and EPDM rubber systems, carry out profiled metal sheet re-roofing and partial re-sheeting on farm and industrial buildings, re-line and replace box gutters, and repair or replace roof lights. The work is planned around your business so that access and disruption are managed properly.
When a commercial roof starts leaking, there is almost always a gap between the moment you discover the problem and the moment a roofer can get on the roof and fix it. This page explains what to do in that window to limit damage to your building and its contents, and just as importantly, what not to attempt yourself.
Water entering through a commercial roof does not always fall straight down to the floor below. On a flat roof with insulation above the deck, water can travel along insulation boards or between layers before it finds an exit point. This means the visible drip or stain on a ceiling or internal wall may be some distance from where the water entered the roof. Tracking the external source of a leak from an internal stain alone is unreliable.
On a building with a steel frame and metal sheet roof, water tracking along purlins or along sheet profiles can travel a long way before it drops. On older farm buildings with timber structure, a persistent slow leak can cause significant timber decay before it becomes visible as a water stain. The longer water is entering the building, the more damage it causes beyond the obvious wet patch.
Move any stock, machinery or materials away from the affected area before anything else. Water and electrical equipment are an obvious hazard; if there is any risk of water dripping near electrical panels, lighting or machinery, isolate the relevant circuit at the consumer unit or distribution board and leave it isolated until the roof has been repaired and the area has dried out. Do not restore power to a circuit that has been exposed to water until it has been checked by a qualified electrician.
Place buckets or containers under active drips, and lay absorbent matting or old towels around any pooling water on the floor. Wet floors are a slip hazard and should be clearly marked if staff or visitors are present in the building. If water is accumulating in a ceiling void or above a suspended ceiling, the weight of accumulated water can cause the ceiling to collapse suddenly. If a suspended ceiling tile is visibly sagging and wet, keep everyone out from beneath it and do not poke, prod or remove it - a waterlogged ceiling can come down without warning.
Take photographs of the internal damage before you start clearing up. Record the location of drips and stains, the date and time, and whether it was raining at the time. This record is useful for any insurance claim, for reporting to your landlord if you rent the building, and for the roofer when they arrive - it helps them understand the pattern of the leak and narrow down where to look on the roof.
If safe ground-level access allows, check whether any visible outlet, box gutter or downpipe is blocked. A blocked outlet during heavy rain can cause water to back up rapidly on a flat roof and find its way through any weakness in the membrane. Clearing a blocked outlet from the ground with a suitable tool can reduce the volume of water entering the building while you wait for the roofer. Do not attempt to access the roof itself.
The temptation to get on the roof and apply a quick fix is understandable, but it creates more problems than it solves in most cases. Here is why each of the common DIY fixes tends to fail or cause harm.
Applying sealant or mastic to an area of flat roof that looks damaged will sometimes stop an obvious surface split temporarily. But commercial roof leaks are frequently not at the point that looks most damaged. Applying sealant to the wrong area wastes time and money, and can mask the actual failure point so that it is harder for a roofer to locate quickly. Worse, some sealants are incompatible with the membrane beneath them and cause further deterioration of the roofing material.
Commercial flat roofs are not designed to be walked on without appropriate precautions. Felt membranes can be punctured by foot traffic, particularly if the membrane is cold and brittle. On a waterlogged or decaying deck, there is a risk of going through the surface. Beyond the damage risk, working at height on a commercial roof without appropriate equipment and, where required, a method statement is not something a building owner or manager should attempt.
Pressure washing a flat roof membrane to "clean it up" before a roofer arrives is a common mistake. It strips the surface dressing from felt membranes, forces water into existing splits and joints, and can displace flashing and upstand details. Leave the roof surface as it is.
If water is visibly ponding on the flat roof surface and not draining after 48 hours of dry weather, that is a sign that outlets are blocked or the falls on the roof are inadequate. Persistent ponding applies continuous pressure to the membrane and will find any weakness eventually. Report it when you call the roofer so they can prioritise the drainage assessment as part of the inspection.
Having a few pieces of information ready will help the roofer work efficiently and give you a more accurate assessment. Be ready to explain when you first noticed the leak, whether it happens in all rain events or only in heavy rain or driven rain, and whether the pattern of drips has changed since you first noticed it. If you have a record of previous roofing work on the building, share that too. Knowing what system is already on the roof, and what repairs have been made previously, saves diagnostic time.
Once the immediate leak has been stopped, take the time to commission a full condition survey before deciding on the next step. An emergency repair is rarely the end of the story on an older commercial roof. The repair stabilises the situation; the survey tells you what the roof as a whole needs, and lets you plan replacement or further repair in a controlled way rather than being forced into reactive decisions each time a new failure develops.
Planned commercial roofing work - where access, materials and programme are organised in advance - is consistently less disruptive and less expensive than emergency reactive work carried out under time pressure.
For an EPDM flat roof replacement on a commercial building in this area, costs typically run from around £80 to £120 per square metre, depending on deck condition, detailing and access requirements. Emergency patch repairs to isolated areas of a felt or EPDM flat roof are priced by the scope of the failure. Profiled metal sheet re-roofing varies depending on sheet profile and whether structural elements need attention. A proper survey is the only way to establish an accurate cost for your building.
We cover commercial roofing work around Finchingfield and through the surrounding area including Haverhill, Clare, Steeple Bumpstead, Ridgewell, Great Sampford and Castle Camps. Whether the building is a farm unit, a workshop, a small office or a retail premises, call us to arrange a proper roof survey and get a clear picture of what your roof needs.
No obligation · We'll call you to arrange a free visit
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
