Flat roofing in Lilliput

Repairs to an existing covering. Not every leak means a new roof. A split in felt, a failed seam in a rubber membrane, a blister in torch on felt or a crack in GRP at a joint can often be cut out and patched. We only suggest that when the rest of the covering is sound and the deck beneath it is dry. Put a patch on a wet deck and it only buys you a few months.

New coverings. We lay three systems. EPDM, a single ply rubber sheet bonded to the deck in one piece, suits most extensions and garages and has no seams in the middle of the roof. GRP fibreglass is laid wet over the deck with preformed edge trims and gives a hard surface that takes some foot traffic, so it suits a roof you step onto. Built up felt, usually a three layer torch on system with a mineral cap sheet, is still right on some roofs. We will tell you which we would choose for your roof and why.

The deck and the falls. Most flat roof failures in Lilliput start under the covering. An old chipboard deck soaks up water and sags between the joists, water stands in the dip, and ponding wears the membrane out early. We lift the old deck, replace it with OSB or exterior plywood, and set proper falls with firring pieces or tapered insulation so the water runs to the outlet.

Edges, abutments and outlets. Where a Lilliput flat roof meets a wall, the upstand needs a lead cover flashing chased into the brickwork. At the free edges we fit an edge trim with a drip into the gutter, and we make sure the rainwater outlet sits lower than the roof around it.

Warm roof or cold roof. When a flat roof over a heated room is re-covered, the insulation usually has to be brought up to standard under Approved Document L. We build a warm roof, with PIR insulation boards and a vapour control layer above the deck, which keeps condensation out of the joists. A cold roof with the insulation between the joists needs a ventilated void and is easy to get wrong.

Rooflights and lanterns. A skylight or a lantern is the most common leak on a flat roof. We check the kerb and the seal, and re-cover around it or replace it.

When we would talk you out of it. A garage roof with one split and a dry deck needs a repair, not a new roof. We will say so.

No rate per square metre, because the square metres are the easy part and what is under the covering is what decides the job.

Getting to it. A single storey extension reached from a back garden is a tower job, while a roof terrace over a second floor room on a Lilliput house facing the water needs scaffold and a safe way up. A garage or a single storey extension will often come off a tower, anything above a two storey wall wants a scaffold, and the platform has to stand while the deck is open rather than for an afternoon. The work at height rules are why it is a priced line rather than something folded into a rate.

The deck under the covering. A sound deck can be re-covered. Chipboard that has been wet for years, or ply that gives underfoot, has to come off and be replaced, and you cannot tell which you have from the ground or from a photograph. We lift a corner before quoting, because the deck is the single biggest swing in the price.

The falls, and where the water is meant to go. Most flat roofs that fail were never laid to a fall, or the fall runs at an outlet that has since been blocked or built over. Correcting it with firrings is more work than laying a membrane and it is the difference between a roof that lasts and one that ponds. Upstands, edge trims and each outlet are priced one at a time, because that is where the hours and the leaks both are.

Comparing quotes? Ask which system is being quoted and how many layers, whether the deck is being renewed or covered over, whether the falls are being corrected with firrings, how the upstands, outlets and edge trims are detailed, and whether the scaffold and the skip are in the price.

We cover Lilliput and all of BH14, from Whitecliff and Lower Parkstone along Sandbanks Road to Evening Hill and Salterns, and on to Canford Cliffs and Penn Hill. BCP Council is the planning and building control authority, and our base in Boscombe is about five miles away.

You are dealing with Bournemouth Roofing & Building, the trading name of Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719, which you can look up in a minute. Thomas Hannen's business, and he is the one who comes out to price the job, not a salesman. A verified customer's 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. The visit and the written quote are both free. Before you book a visit in Lilliput, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Lilliput need no application at all. What decides whether a change to the outside of your house does is who the council is, whether a conservation area or a listing applies, and whether the place sits in a protected landscape.