Newmarket Roofers handles commercial roofing in Burwell, from urgent leak response and flat roof repair to full re-covers and pitched roof work on offices, warehouses, and agricultural buildings.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
We carry out commercial roofing work across Burwell and the surrounding area - flat roof replacements and repairs using felt and EPDM rubber systems, pitched roofing in slate and concrete tile, leadwork, guttering, and zinc detailing. The work covers everything from small retail units to large agricultural and warehouse buildings.
Flat roof replacements on commercial buildings typically cost in the region of £70 to £110 per square metre depending on the system, deck condition, and access requirements. Pitched roof repairs vary by scope, and a proper price cannot be given without seeing the roof. Any contractor who quotes a commercial roofing job without surveying it properly is guessing.
A roof failure at a working commercial property puts you under immediate pressure. The natural instinct is to do something. But some of the things people do while waiting for a contractor to arrive make the situation worse, not better. Here is what is worth doing, what is not, and what you should leave entirely to the professionals.
The first priority when water is getting in is to protect whatever is at risk below the roof. Move stock, equipment, and anything valuable away from the area directly beneath the leak. Place containers under drips if the volume is manageable, and lay down absorbent matting or sheeting to protect floors from water damage.
Document what you can. Photographs of the water ingress point, the ceiling staining, and any visible damage are useful both for the contractor when they arrive and for any building insurance purpose. Note the date and time, and record approximately how much water is coming in and under what weather conditions.
If you have a building manager or landlord arrangement, notify them immediately. On leased commercial premises, responsibility for the roof structure usually sits with the landlord, but your obligation to report promptly and protect your contents sits with you.
Check gutters and outlets from the ground if you can see them safely. A blocked outlet is sometimes the entire cause of a flat roof leak - water backs up to a joint or weak point rather than draining away. If you can see a visibly blocked outlet or a gutter overflowing, this is useful information for the contractor.
Do not get on the roof yourself. This applies even if you have access, even if the roof looks accessible, and even if the problem seems obvious from ground level. Commercial roofs - flat and pitched - present real fall risks. Felt and rubber membranes can be slippery when wet or when dry and dusty. Fragile or partially failed sections of flat roof decking are not always visible from above. A second problem on top of a leaking roof is not what you need.
Do not apply DIY sealants, expanding foam, or adhesive tape to any part of the roof. These materials do not bond reliably to wet or contaminated surfaces, they trap moisture, and they complicate a proper repair later. A roofer who arrives to find sealant applied to a flashing or membrane joint has to remove it before they can assess what is actually happening underneath.
Do not attempt to clear debris from outlets by reaching up from a ladder unless you are confident the ladder is stable, footed, and you are not leaning out to reach. More than this, do not attempt to lift or pull at loose membrane or flashing sections. Pulling at a partially detached section can tear a larger area away and expose more of the deck to water.
Do not assume the leak point on the ceiling is directly below where water is getting in on the roof. Water travels. On a flat roof, it can enter at one point, run along the deck or the insulation layer, and drop through the ceiling several metres away. The ceiling stain tells you there is a problem but not precisely where it starts.
In some situations, particularly where a large area of roof has failed or where tiles have been stripped by wind, a temporary covering is appropriate while a proper repair is arranged. Heavy-duty polythene sheeting weighted or battened down at the edges can protect the interior in the short term. This is something a contractor can arrange as an emergency measure; it is not really a DIY task on a commercial building, where the scale and risk involved is greater than on a domestic property.
If a contractor offers to tarp a commercial roof as an emergency, make sure they confirm in writing what they have done and that it is explicitly a temporary measure, not a substitute for a proper repair. Some operators have been known to charge a significant sum for temporary protection and then quote again for the actual work.
The more information you can give a contractor when you first call, the quicker they can assess what is needed and organise the right materials and access equipment. Useful things to have ready:
None of this is essential before calling - but having it to hand saves time and helps a contractor give a more accurate initial assessment before they visit.
A survey is not a quick look from the car park. A contractor should physically access the roof, inspect the membrane or tile surface, check all flashings, outlets, upstands, and penetrations, and look for signs of deck deterioration where the covering has already failed. On a flat roof, this includes checking for blistering, cracking, ponding marks, and any previous repair patches that may have failed.
After the survey, you should receive a clear explanation of what has been found, what options are available, and what the likely cost range is. If you are comparing quotes from more than one contractor, ask each one for a written scope of work rather than just a price. A written scope lets you compare what each contractor is actually proposing to do, not just what they are proposing to charge.
We work across Burwell and the surrounding area. If your commercial property has a roofing problem - urgent or otherwise - call us to arrange a proper survey before committing to any work.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
