Flat roofing in Lymington

Balconies, garages and the roofs over the back rooms. Lymington throws up more balcony and terrace roofs than most places, along with the usual garages, rear extensions, porches and flat topped dormers. A balcony is a flat roof you also walk on, which changes the specification rather than the principle. Coverings we meet are torch on felt, three layer built up felt beneath a mineral cap sheet, GRP fibreglass, and single ply on the larger newer roofs. Every job starts the same way, by stripping a section to see the deck. Dry plywood or OSB takes a new covering. Chipboard decking that has been damp has to be lifted and new boards screwed to the joists first.

Falls, outlets and standing water. Ponding on a roof this close to open water is more punishing than it looks, because the surface barely gets a chance to dry. Standing water works into every lap and seam and one frost opens them. The reasons are always the same three: no fall built in, firrings or tapered insulation cut too shallow, or a rainwater outlet blocked. We reset the falls so it drains at an outlet rather than in the middle, to the minimum in BS 6229:2025 on flat roofs, and prove the gutter, hopper and downpipe carry it away.

Where it fails, and how we put it right. Flat roofs go at the perimeter and the penetrations, not the middle. The edge trim, the drip, the apron against a wall, the kerb round a rooflight and the laps are the weak points. Felt shows a blister, a bubble or a split. Single ply lifts at a failed seam where the weld was hurried. Fibreglass cracks at a sharp internal angle. Failed material is removed, the upstand is built up behind the covering to a height that suits an exposed elevation, and every seam is welded or bonded.

Openings, abutments and the build up underneath. A rooflight, a lantern, a Velux, a hatch or a soil and vent pipe needs its own kerb and collar. Against brickwork a lead cover flashing is chased in and dressed down. A parapet gets particular attention, coping and tray both, because a parapet is exactly where wind driven rain is pushed. Older roofs here are cold roofs, insulation between the joists with a dead void above, and condensation and interstitial damp quietly rot the deck in there. Built back as a warm roof, the insulation goes above the boards on a vapour control layer, so the deck sits inside the insulated envelope rather than on the cold side of it.

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 garage off a narrow lane, a balcony over a room you sleep in, and a rear extension reached only through the house are three different jobs before a sheet moves. 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. Two quotes for the same job are usually two different jobs.

The exposed side of a house in Lymington faces south west, which is the direction the weather arrives from off the Solent. On a pitched roof that mostly means driven rain. On a flat roof it means two things: wind trying to get under the perimeter, and rain being pushed sideways at every upstand instead of falling onto it. That is why so many roofs here fail at the edge while the middle of the covering still looks almost new.

It changes what you should ask for. The perimeter wants mechanically fixing rather than relying on adhesive alone, and the edge trim wants fixing at proper centres into a sound deck. Upstands need to be taller on the exposed side than the minimum you would get away with inland, and the flashing that covers them needs dressing tight rather than left proud. A balcony door threshold on that elevation deserves particular attention, since it is the one detail where wind driven rain and standing water meet. None of it costs much when the roof is open. All of it is expensive to add later.

We cover Lymington, Pennington, Woodside, Buckland and the streets down to the quay, along with the rest of SO41, and the site visit costs you nothing. 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.