Commercial roofing covers a wide range of flat, pitched and industrial roof systems on offices, warehouses, retail units and public buildings. We work on commercial properties across Ely and the surrounding area, from minor repairs to full roof replacements. Speak to us about your building and we will give you an honest assessment of what the roof needs.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
Commercial roofs are not the same as domestic roofs, and the approach to working on them needs to reflect that. The roof areas are larger, the consequences of a leak are more serious - stock, equipment and staff can all be affected - and the building is often occupied during the works. We carry out commercial roofing across Ely and the surrounding area, covering everything from small retail units to large warehouse roofs, farm buildings and public premises.
Each has its own set of common problems and its own repair and replacement options.
Flat roofs on commercial buildings are almost never truly flat - they have a shallow fall designed to drain water towards outlets or gutters. When those falls are poorly designed or the membrane has aged, ponding water sits on the surface and accelerates deterioration. The two most practical flat roof systems for commercial work today are torch-on felt (built-up felt) and EPDM rubber membrane.
Torch-on felt systems use multiple layers of bitumen felt, each torched to the one below, creating a thick, bonded waterproof layer. They are well-proven on large flat roofs, handle foot traffic during maintenance and can be repaired in sections if damage is localised. EPDM rubber is a single-layer membrane that has grown in use because it is light, flexible and bonds well to different substrates. A well-installed EPDM membrane can last several decades without significant deterioration.
Felt repairs are worth doing if the deck below is sound and the damage is isolated. If the existing felt is blistering across large sections, pulling away at the edges or showing multiple repair patches, a full replacement is usually the more cost-effective route over a five to ten year horizon.
Warehouses, farm buildings and light industrial units are commonly roofed with profiled steel or fibre cement sheeting. Steel sheeting corrodes at fixings first - the rubber washer on a fixing degrades, water tracks down the bolt into the purlin beneath, and rust follows. Replacing fixings and applying a specialist coating can extend the life of a sheet roof considerably if the sheets themselves are still sound.
When sheets are cracked, significantly corroded or missing, replacement is the better option. Box profile and sinusoidal steel sheeting are both available and both carry reasonable lifespans when properly fixed and sealed at the ridge and eaves. Lap joints are a common point of failure on older agricultural roofs - the mastic or sealant between sheets hardens and cracks over time, allowing wind-driven rain to enter.
Some commercial buildings carry a pitched roof finished in concrete or clay tile, particularly older offices and public buildings. These need the same attention as domestic tile roofs - pointing to the ridge, sound lead work at abutments and valleys, and tiles that sit flat without lift or slip.
On large commercial flat roofs, drainage design matters as much as the membrane itself. A blocked outlet can hold hundreds of litres of water on a roof that was not designed for that load. Outlets should be kept clear of debris and checked before winter. Where parapet walls are present, there should be overflow outlets set slightly higher than the primary drain - if the primary blocks, water escapes over the overflow rather than into the building. An annual check costs very little compared with the damage a failure causes.
Before committing to a repair or replacement on a commercial roof, it is worth understanding what you are actually dealing with. A proper inspection looks at the membrane or sheeting, the deck or structure beneath, the outlets, flashings, rooflights and any penetrations such as pipework or ventilation units. These penetrations are among the most common sources of commercial roof leaks - the collar or flashing around a soil pipe or extract duct degrades before the main membrane does.
We can carry out a condition inspection and tell you honestly what the roof needs. If it needs patching, we will say so. If it needs replacing, we will explain why and give you a price for both options where that makes sense.
Scaffolding, noise and foot traffic on the roof are all realities of commercial roofing work. On occupied premises, the programme needs thought. Work can sometimes be phased so that only part of the building is affected at any one time. Waterproofing at the end of each working day is standard practice on flat roof replacement work - the building should not be left open to the weather overnight.
If the building is a food unit, a medical premises or a school, additional care around dust, debris and access points is needed. We discuss these requirements at the survey stage so there are no surprises once work starts.
Commercial flat roof replacement costs vary with the membrane chosen, the condition of the deck, access and the complexity of the roof layout. Profiled steel re-roofing on agricultural or industrial buildings varies more widely depending on the span, the pitch and the fixing specification. Pricing is only a guide - the only accurate figure comes from measuring the roof and inspecting what is underneath.
Most of these are detectable on a proper inspection before they become serious. Catching a failed flashing early is a repair job; leaving it until the deck below is saturated is a replacement job.
If you manage or own a commercial building in Ely, Soham, Littleport, Witchford or the surrounding villages and you are not certain of your roof's condition, the sensible step is to get it looked at. Call us to arrange a visit and we will give you an honest opinion of what the roof needs and a clear price for the work.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
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