Building owners should expect a commercial roofing job in Sturmer to run from the first inspection right through to clean-up, with no loose ends left for them to deal with.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
Most business owners and site managers want to know what is actually going to happen on their property before they agree to a job. A commercial roof replacement or major repair is disruptive - there is scaffolding, material deliveries, waste removal and access to manage. Knowing the sequence helps you plan around it and understand what a professional job looks like at each stage.
Below is a straightforward account of how a commercial roofing job proceeds from first contact through to completion. We work on industrial units, shops, offices and farm buildings in Sturmer, Haverhill, Clare, Withersfield, Steeple Bumpstead, Kedington, Ridgewell, Poslingford, Great Sampford, Castle Camps, Stoke by Clare, Ashen, Ashdon and nearby villages.
A commercial roof survey is not the same as a quick look from the ground. We access the roof surface - whether flat, pitched or a combination - and inspect the membrane or sheet covering, all upstands, penetrations, roof lights, box gutters and parapet copings. We look at the condition of the deck or substrate where it can be assessed, check outlet positions and drainage falls, and note any obvious signs of previous repairs.
Inside the building, we look for staining on ceilings and walls, and check whether any internal insulation or boarding has been affected by moisture. On older agricultural or industrial buildings we also look at the purlin or joist condition at the eaves where water tends to run if the gutter or fascia detail has failed.
A good survey takes time. A roof that is 500 square metres of flat felt with three roof lights and a box gutter on each side needs at least an hour on the roof alone. If you are offered a quote without a proper survey, it is worth asking how the contractor has priced what they cannot see.
After the survey, we put together a written specification and price. This sets out what we are going to do - the system being installed, the insulation specification, how penetrations and upstands will be detailed, what happens with the existing material - so you can compare it accurately against any other quotes you receive.
If the survey found anything uncertain - a deck area that could not be fully checked, or signs of structural movement that need an engineer's opinion - we flag that clearly rather than building an unknown contingency into the price and not telling you. Commercial roofing projects sometimes encounter unexpected deck damage when the old covering is stripped; a responsible contractor discusses how that will be handled before the job starts.
Before any work starts, access needs to be planned properly. On most commercial buildings this means scaffolding or a mobile elevated work platform (MEWP), not a ladder. For a full re-roofing job, scaffolding needs to be positioned to allow both safe working on the roof and the loading of materials. If the building is in use during the works, we agree the programme with you so that deliveries, noisy stripping work and any temporary protection requirements are managed around your operations.
Materials are ordered and scheduled to arrive when they are needed, not days before when they have to be stored on site. Profiled sheet deliveries in particular need to be co-ordinated because the sheets are long and require crane offloading or a telehandler.
For a flat roof replacement, the existing covering is stripped back to the deck. We do not simply over-lay new material on top of old unless there is a specific structural reason to do so and the existing material is confirmed to be dry. Saturated insulation must come off - new waterproofing laid over wet insulation will trap moisture and underperform from day one.
As the stripping proceeds, the deck is inspected. Flat roofs on commercial buildings often have plywood or OSB decking, and areas where water has been sitting for a long time may have delaminated or softened. Any deck sections that have failed are replaced before the new system goes on. On profiled sheet roofs being re-roofed, purlins and eaves beams are checked at the same stage.
All stripped material is bagged or skipped and removed from site. We do not leave waste stacked against the building or on the car park.
New insulation boards are laid tight to each other with joints staggered between layers. On a warm-roof flat system, a vapour control layer goes down first if one is required. Boards are either mechanically fixed or bedded in accordance with the system specification. Any penetrations - pipes, rooflights, ventilation ducts - are measured and the upstand details prepared before the membrane goes on.
On profiled sheet jobs, new purlins or repairs to existing steelwork are done at this stage if required. Fixing centres are marked out in accordance with the structural design or manufacturer's fixing schedule.
For torch-on felt systems, the base layer is laid and torched in sequence, followed by the cap sheet. Laps are fully bonded, upstands are taken to a proper height (typically a minimum of 150mm above the finished roof surface, more at roof light kerbs), and all penetrations are collared correctly. Outlets are inspected and replaced if worn.
For EPDM, the membrane is rolled out and either fully adhered or mechanically fixed. Laps are made with factory-prepared seam tape. All upstand and penetration details are made with pre-formed EPDM accessories where possible rather than cut patches.
For profiled metal sheet, sheets are fixed from the eaves up with the correct fixing pattern and lap sealant applied between sheets before they are pressed together. Ridge and hip cappings, eaves closures and barge flashings are fitted last.
Box gutters are re-lined or replaced as part of the overall job, not as an afterthought. Gutter falls are checked and corrected if needed. Flashings at abutments and parapet walls are made in lead or aluminium as appropriate to the building, dressed tight and pointed where they meet brickwork.
Roof light replacement happens at the membrane stage - a roof light set into a finished membrane without proper kerb detailing is a future leak. New kerbs are built to the correct height and the membrane is taken up over them before the new roof light is fitted.
When the main work is complete, the roof is walked and checked before scaffolding comes down. Outlets are cleared and tested with water if possible. Any snagging items - a lap edge not fully pressed, a coping not quite seated - should be dealt with at this stage, not left for a future visit.
Scaffolding is struck and removed, gutters and downpipes are cleared of debris from the works, and the site is left clean. We take photographs of the finished roof before the access equipment comes down so there is a clear record of the condition the work has been left in.
If you have a commercial or agricultural building in Sturmer or a nearby village and you need a roof surveyed or replaced, call us to arrange an inspection. When arranging a survey, ask how the contractor will work through the process described above and keep you informed at each stage, so there are no surprises.
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.
