Small commercial & business premises roofing
In short
Shops, offices, workshops and small industrial units — repairs, re-covers and maintenance on the flat roofs, single-ply systems and profiled sheet that most small commercial buildings have. The practical constraints are usually access and keeping the business trading.
Also called: Commercial roof repair · Shop roof · Industrial unit roof · Office roof
Signs you need this
- Water getting into a shop, office, workshop or unit
- A flat commercial roof at the end of its covering life
- Ponding across a large area of a single-ply or felt roof
- Corroded or damaged profiled sheeting
- Blocked commercial gutters or internal outlets
- Fragile rooflights on an older industrial unit
Small commercial roofing is a different problem to domestic work in three ways: the coverings are different, the building normally has to keep operating while the work happens, and the person paying is thinking about downtime as well as cost.
The coverings on a small commercial building are usually flat or shallow. Single-ply membranes, hot-air welded at the seams, are the standard on modern flat commercial roofs. High-performance built-up felt systems are still widely specified and perfectly good. Older units often have profiled steel or fibre-cement sheet on a shallow pitch, and anything from before the mid-1980s in cement sheet very likely contains asbestos — which changes how it is handled entirely.
Access is normally the biggest practical constraint. A shop on a town-centre street has no yard, deliveries arriving, a pavement full of people and often a flat above it. Scaffolding on the highway needs a licence from Cheshire East as highway authority, and on a busy frontage that may come with conditions about hours and pedestrian protection. All of that has to be worked out before a start date is promised.
Keeping the business trading is the other. Roof work over occupied retail or office space means sequencing — opening only what can be closed the same day, protecting what is underneath, and often working outside trading hours. That costs more and it is usually worth it, and it should be a discussion at quote stage rather than an assumption either way.
The regulatory position is slightly different too. Where the work is on a commercial building the client has duties under CDM 2015 that a domestic client does not — appointing competent people, allowing adequate time, and providing pre-construction information about known hazards such as asbestos or fragile roof areas. Fragile roofs are a real and serious issue on older industrial units, where a rooflight or a corroded sheet will not take a person's weight.
The commercial argument for maintenance is stronger than the domestic one, because the cost of a leak is not just the repair. Water into a shop is stock, into an office it is equipment and data, and into a workshop it is downtime. A planned inspection and gutter clearance schedule on a commercial roof pays for itself considerably faster than it does on a house.
What the job covers
- Survey of the covering, outlets, upstands and rainwater system
- Asbestos identified and handled under the 2012 Regulations
- Fragile roof areas identified and worked over safely
- Access and highway licensing arranged where the frontage requires it
- Work sequenced to keep the premises trading
- Planned maintenance schedule where that makes sense
What it costs
We don't publish a price for this yet, because a number pulled out of the air is worse than no number at all — your roofer has to honour it. On roofing it would also be close to meaningless: access is often the biggest single factor, and it varies enormously house to house. You'll get a firm price for your actual job when they ring you back, before any work starts. The quote itself is free and there's no obligation either way.
Common questions
Can you work without closing the business?
Usually, with sequencing. That means opening only what can be closed again the same day, protecting the space below, and often working outside trading hours. It costs more than an unrestricted job and it is normally worth it — but it needs to be part of the quote rather than an assumption.
Our unit has old cement sheeting. Is that a problem?
If it went on before the mid-1980s it very likely contains asbestos, and work on it is controlled by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. As a commercial duty holder you also have obligations to manage asbestos in the building. It is not dangerous while it is sound and undisturbed; it changes the job as soon as anybody works on it.
What is a fragile roof?
One that will not safely take a person's weight — old fibre-cement sheeting, corroded steel, and particularly rooflights, which look like part of the roof and are not. Falls through fragile roofs are a well-documented cause of serious injury in this trade, and they are why access on an older industrial roof needs planning rather than improvising.
Do commercial jobs have different rules?
Yes. On a commercial project the client has duties under CDM 2015 that a domestic client does not — appointing competent contractors, allowing adequate time, and providing pre-construction information about hazards such as asbestos or fragile areas. It is straightforward when it is handled at the start.
Need this doing in Macclesfield?
Tell us the job and it goes straight to our local roofer — one call back, usually the same day. Free quote, no obligation.