Diss Roofers covers commercial roofing work in and around Stowmarket - and if your roof has failed or is leaking right now, here is what you should do before we arrive, and what to avoid.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
We carry out the full range of commercial roofing work: flat roof replacement, EPDM rubber membrane systems, single-ply membrane installation, profiled steel sheet roofing, and repairs to existing commercial roofs on warehouses, offices, industrial units and retail premises. Work is planned from survey to sign-off to keep your business running as normally as possible during the job.
When a commercial roof fails, the priority is limiting the damage until a proper repair or replacement can be carried out. What you do in the first hours matters, and what you decide not to do matters just as much.
If water is entering the building, the first concern is the contents, not the roof. Move stock, equipment and documents away from the affected area. On a flat roof, water entry into the building is often some distance from the actual point of failure - water travels along ceiling voids and structural members before dripping through. Check the ceiling over a wider area than just where you can see the wet spot.
If the ceiling is bulging, that means water has pooled above it, adding significant weight to a potentially weakened ceiling structure. In that situation, the area below should be cleared and the ceiling not touched. A bulging ceiling that holds a large volume of water can fail suddenly.
If the roof surface is safely accessible and you have appropriate fall protection, a heavy-duty tarpaulin weighed down with sandbags can reduce water ingress temporarily. This works best on simpler failures - a displaced sheet, a lifted flashing, a visible tear in a membrane. It is a holding measure only.
Tarpaulins on large flat roofs are difficult to secure effectively. Wind can get under them and cause more damage than the original failure. On a profiled steel roof, a loose tarpaulin can foul in the profile and be impossible to remove safely. If in doubt, leave it and focus on protecting the interior.
Some buildings have internal drainage troughs or gutters that can be directed temporarily. If your building has these features and they are accessible, use them to direct water away from sensitive areas and towards a drain or container.
The instinct when a roof is leaking is to get up there and fix it. On a commercial roof, that approach carries serious risks and can create new problems.
While you are waiting for a roofer, take photographs. Document the internal water entry points, any visible damage on the roof surface if you can see it from a safe vantage point, and the timeline of when the problem started and what weather preceded it. This information is useful for two reasons: it helps the roofer diagnose the cause quickly, and it creates a record should you need to make a claim through your building or contents policy.
Note down whether the roof has been accessed recently by other contractors - HVAC engineers, aerial or satellite installers, or anyone else. Penetrations made or damaged by third parties are a surprisingly common cause of sudden leaks on commercial roofs, and identifying that early can save a great deal of time and discussion.
When we attend a commercial property near Stowmarket, we access the roof properly and carry out a full inspection - not just of the area above the visible leak, but of the wider roof surface. As mentioned, water travels. The point where it enters the building is rarely directly below the point where it got in.
We check the membrane or sheeting condition, the fall, all flashings and upstands, drainage outlets, any penetrations for pipework or plant, and the condition of the deck or structure beneath the surface covering. We will tell you what we find, explain the options - whether that is a targeted repair, a section replacement or a full replacement - and give you a clear written quote before any work starts.
If you are facing an emergency call-out, the repair-or-replace question will come up quickly. Here is a short guide.
A repair is appropriate when the failure is genuinely localised - a failed seam, a lifted flashing, a single damaged sheet - and the rest of the roof is in good condition. Repairs on commercial flat roofs typically cost from a few hundred pounds to around £1,500 depending on the nature and scale of the problem.
Replacement makes more sense when the roof is old, has multiple failure points, or when the underlying deck or insulation is damaged. Replacing a flat roof with a new felt or EPDM system typically costs £70 to £120 per square metre. Profiled steel sheet replacement on an industrial building varies considerably by size and specification, but £30 to £60 per square metre for the roofing element is a realistic planning figure. These are typical current UK ranges - a proper quote for your building requires a site survey.
Commercial roofing work on an occupied building requires planning. If your premises near Stowmarket handles deliveries, employs staff or serves customers, the timing and access logistics of a roofing job matter. Tell us at the survey stage what your operational constraints are - delivery windows, customer hours, areas that cannot be disrupted - and we will factor that into the programme.
Scaffolding, if required, needs to be placed where it does not block access routes. Stripped roof materials need a skip or grab vehicle, and that needs a position. Noise from stripping and laying materials is unavoidable, but the noisiest phases can often be scheduled for times that suit your operation.
If your commercial roof has failed or you suspect a problem is developing, call us to arrange a proper inspection. We will get to your building, give you a straight assessment and a written quote, and explain what the work involves before you commit to anything.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
