Mildenhall Roofers handles commercial roofing projects across Bury St Edmunds and West Suffolk, covering everything from the initial roof inspection through to the final clean-up, with the work planned to keep disruption to your business to a minimum.
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Every commercial roofing job should start with someone getting on the roof. A ground-level look tells you very little beyond the obvious - slipped slates, broken sheets, sagging gutters. The problems that matter most on a commercial roof are usually only visible from the surface itself.
At the survey stage we are looking at the condition of the membrane or covering, the state of the drainage outlets and gutters, any penetration details such as pipe collars, rooflights and upstands, and the condition of the deck beneath where we can assess it. On flat roofs, a spongy or soft feel underfoot often points to a wet or degraded deck - that changes the scope and cost of the work.
On pitched commercial roofs we check the flashings at every abutment and penetration, the condition of ridge and hip mortar, and the state of any underlayer beneath the slates, tiles or sheets. A missing or damaged underlay means that even with the surface covering intact, the roof is not weathertight.
Once the survey is done you should get a clear breakdown of what needs doing and why - not just a single figure. A proper commercial roofing quote should distinguish between what is urgent, what can be monitored and what could be planned for later. That distinction matters when you are running a business and managing a maintenance budget.
The scope will vary considerably depending on what is found. On a flat roof in reasonable condition with isolated damage, the work might be a targeted repair - cutting back to sound material and installing a compatible patch or overlay section. On a roof that is at the end of its life, the honest recommendation is a full strip and replacement, and a quote that reflects that rather than a series of repairs that will keep failing.
It is worth asking specifically whether the quote includes stripping the existing material back to the deck, inspecting the deck and replacing any damaged sections, and making good all drainage outlets and penetration details. These are not optional extras on a quality job - they are the difference between a roof that lasts and one that fails prematurely.
On commercial premises, access planning matters. Most business-hours work is possible, but some jobs - particularly larger flat roof replacements on occupied buildings - benefit from being phased so that not all of the roof is open at once. This reduces the risk of an unexpected rain shower affecting the inside of the building.
Scaffold or access platforms need to be properly set up before roofing work begins. On low-rise commercial and agricultural buildings, mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs) are often used instead of tube scaffold - faster to position and move, appropriate for most single-storey commercial roofs. The access method affects both the programme and the cost, and a good roofer will explain which approach suits your building.
Before work starts, drainage outlets should be protected from debris and the roof cleared of any loose material, old fixings and accumulated grit. On a felt replacement, this means stripping back to the deck - or to a sound existing layer if overlay is appropriate - and sweeping down before the new system goes on.
On a flat felt replacement, the sequence runs from deck inspection and any necessary boarding repairs, through to laying insulation if required, then the first felt layer, the intermediate layer and the cap sheet. Each layer is torched or bonded and lapped before the next goes on. The drainage outlets are re-set and dressed into the new membrane, upstands are formed at the perimeter and around any penetrations, and the edge detail is finished in aluminium or lead trim.
For an EPDM single-ply installation the sequence is similar up to deck level, then the membrane is either fully bonded or mechanically fixed to the substrate before the seams are bonded and the perimeter and penetration details are formed. Getting the seams and upstands right is where installation quality is proved - these are the points where a poorly done job will fail first.
On pitched commercial roofs, the sequence depends on what is being replaced. A full re-slate or re-tile involves stripping the old covering, checking and replacing any damaged batten or underlay, then laying the new covering from eaves to ridge and finishing with re-bedded or dry-fix ridge and hip details. Flashing replacement runs alongside this - lead or aluminium is dressed into the wall and lapped over the new covering at every abutment.
On a commercial project, checking the work as it progresses matters more than a single end-of-job inspection. Laps and seams on flat roofs should be checked before the next section is laid over them. Drainage outlets should be tested to confirm they run freely before the roof is signed off. On pitched work, the underlay and batten line should be checked before slates or tiles go on.
If deck timbers or structural members are found to be damaged or wet once the old covering is stripped, the right approach is to stop, show you what has been found and agree how to proceed - not to continue over damaged structure and hope it holds.
At the end of the job the site should be cleared of all stripped material, old felt, broken slates, off-cuts and fixings. Gutters and drainage outlets should be cleaned through. Any areas of the building that were protected during the work should be reinstated.
Before leaving, confirm with whoever manages the building that all drainage is running freely and that there are no areas that were not covered by the agreed scope. If anything was found during the job that falls outside the original quote - additional deck damage, failed sections of gutter, a rusted flashing that was not visible until the covering was stripped - that should have been flagged to you during the work, not mentioned for the first time at the invoice stage.
Mildenhall Roofers works across Bury St Edmunds and the wider West Suffolk area including Mildenhall, Barton Mills, Culford, Risby, Lackford and Kentford. If you have a commercial roof that needs a survey or you are planning a replacement, call us to arrange a visit and we will walk you through exactly what the job involves before any work starts.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
