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.
A lot of building owners and facilities managers have experienced the frustration of a roofer who turns up, does something, sends an invoice and leaves - and six months later the same problem is back. Understanding what a proper commercial roofing job looks like, step by step, puts you in a much better position to ask the right questions and recognise good work when you see it.
Below is a straightforward account of how a commercial roofing project should run from the moment you make contact through to the day the crew leaves site. The specifics will vary depending on the building type, the roofing system and the scale of the work - but the sequence and the key checkpoints remain broadly the same whether it is a single-storey office roof in Chatteris or a large agricultural building.
No commercial roofing job should be priced or specified from a phone call or photographs alone. A proper survey means someone physically on the roof, looking at the surface condition, checking all upstands, perimeter details, flashings and outlets, and looking at the underside from inside the building where access allows.
During the survey, a good roofer is looking for more than just the obvious leak or worn surface. They are checking the fall - whether water has a clear path to the outlets or whether it is ponding somewhere. They are looking at the condition of the deck substrate beneath the membrane or felt, because a sound-looking surface can conceal a deck that has been softened by long-term moisture ingress. They are checking whether the existing insulation is wet, which affects both the specification of any new system and the cost.
If they are unwilling to explain the problems they are seeing on the roof before quoting, that is a reason to be cautious.
After the survey, the roofing contractor should be able to produce a written specification that describes what work will be carried out, what materials will be used and how the job will be managed on site. A price without a specification leaves you unable to compare quotes fairly or to hold the contractor to what was agreed.
Key things to look for in a commercial roofing specification:
Ask whether RAMS will be provided on request, and check that the quote describes exactly what is included.
Before any roof work begins, the access method needs to be established. On most commercial buildings this means scaffolding or a mobile elevated work platform (MEWP - a cherry picker or scissor lift). The right choice depends on the building height, the perimeter conditions and how much material needs to be moved to and from the roof surface.
For occupied buildings - offices, retail units or food businesses - the preparation stage also covers protecting the interior from dust and debris during strip-off, planning how noisy or disruptive work will be scheduled (often outside trading hours if necessary), and making sure the delivery of materials does not block loading bays or customer access.
Good site management at this stage avoids the most common causes of complaint: debris on the car park, skips placed where they block deliveries, or stripping work that starts on a Monday with no temporary waterproofing in place by the time rain arrives on Tuesday.
Where the existing roof covering is being replaced rather than over-roofed, the old material is stripped back to the deck. This is the most revealing part of the job. The deck - whether it is concrete, timber boarding, metal decking or a screed - can only be properly assessed once the old covering is off.
Wet or degraded insulation found at this stage needs to be removed and replaced. Damaged decking - whether it is soft or rotten timber boarding or corroded metal deck - needs to be repaired or replaced before any new system is applied. Skipping this step to save time or money is one of the most common causes of new roofs failing within a few years of installation.
Any structural concerns identified at deck level should be flagged to the building owner before work proceeds. This is also the point at which the falls can be assessed and, where necessary, tapered insulation specified to improve drainage across the roof.
The installation sequence depends on the system chosen. For a single-ply membrane such as EPDM or PVC, the general sequence is: vapour control layer to the deck, rigid insulation boards, then the membrane itself - either fully adhered, mechanically fixed or ballasted. The perimeter upstands and all penetrations (pipes, rooflights, plant bases) are detailed last, as these are the areas most prone to failure if rushed.
For built-up felt, layers are bonded progressively, with each layer inspected before the next is applied. On metal sheet roofing, the purlins are checked for alignment, fixings positions are set out, and sheets are fixed with correctly torqued self-drilling screws with new EPDM-sealed washers at every fixing point.
Good practice at every stage includes:
Before scaffolding comes down and the job is signed off, the completed roof should be walked thoroughly. Outlets should be checked clear. All laps, upstand details and flashings should be inspected. Any areas of concern should be addressed before access equipment is removed - because bringing the scaffold back up to fix a missed detail costs far more than taking the extra hour to check properly in the first place.
For occupied buildings, a walk of the interior ceiling after rain - or after a hose test on a dry day - confirms the installation is watertight before final sign-off.
A commercial site should be left cleaner than it was found. Stripped material, packaging and debris should be removed via a skip or direct to a licensed waste carrier. Gutters and outlets should be cleared of any swarf, membrane offcuts or grit. The car park or yard should be free of roofing materials and fixings.
At handover, you should receive information about the system installed - the product type and any manufacturer documentation - so that if a future contractor needs to carry out repairs, they know what they are working with. Ask for this at the outset if it was not offered.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
