Flat roofing in Ringwood

Parapet roofs and hidden gutters. On the older buildings the flat roof sits behind a parapet, and everything that lands on it has to leave through one or two outlets in the wall. Block one with leaves and the water rises above the upstand and goes straight into the building. So we clear and size the outlets, fit guards, and put an overflow through the parapet so a blockage shows itself down the wall instead of on somebody's ceiling.

The estate roofs. Felt, in one form or another: a three layer built up system with a mineral cap sheet, or a single torch on layer laid over the previous one. It splits at the creases, blisters where damp was shut in, and lifts at a seam against an upstand. We strip to the deck and lay EPDM rubber in a single sheet where the roof is a plain rectangle, GRP fibreglass where there are kerbs and corners to laminate round, or single ply hot air welded on a long run.

Deck, joists and falls. Plywood, OSB or chipboard decking on joists, with firrings creating the fall. Wet chipboard swells, gives underfoot and comes off. A roof laid dead flat holds standing water, and that ponding shortens a covering far more than the weather does. Where re-firring is impractical we build the fall in tapered insulation. BS 6229 is the code the falls and the drainage come from, and it is the part of the job that decides how long the next covering lasts.

Warm build up over heated rooms. Kitchens, bedrooms and flats all count, and when the covering over one is renewed Part L asks for the insulation to come up too. The sensible place for it is above the deck: vapour control layer, then PIR, then the membrane, which keeps the timber warm all year. Leave it between the joists in the old cold roof arrangement and the boards sit under the dew point, warm air from the room reaches them, and interstitial condensation rots them from above without a drop of rain getting in. Building control are notified and inspect it before it closes.

Junctions and openings. The detailing is where a flat roof is won or lost. At an abutment we cut a chase and dress a lead cover flashing into it, with a cavity tray above on a cavity wall. Anything that breaks through the covering is raised on a kerb first, so the membrane turns up an upstand rather than butting a frame: a rooflight, a lantern, a Velux style flat roof window, a hatch, a soil and vent pipe. The open edges finish over a drip trim, and the rainwater outlet runs to a hopper, a downpipe or the gutter. A garage is a day, an extension two or three working days.

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 flat above a shop with a parapet roof, a garage on an estate and a rear extension behind a terrace are three different jobs before anyone gets a ladder out. 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.

Ringwood carries several dozen listed entries, and a good number of them are ordinary looking buildings in and around the town centre rather than landmarks. Plenty of them have a flat roof somewhere at the back, over a rear range or a later addition, which nobody would ever see from the street.

It matters because a listing covers the whole building, not the front of it. On a listed building the covering itself is controlled, so swapping felt for fibreglass or rubber is a change of material and wants consent before the work rather than after. Adding a rooflight to let some light into a back room is the other thing that catches people out. None of that means you have to live with water coming in. We make a leak safe first and then deal with the permanent covering once the position is clear. If you are not sure whether your building is listed, tell us the address at the first visit and we will check it with you rather than guess.

We cover Ringwood, Poulner, Ashley Heath, Burley and the rest of BH24. 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.