How to Overcome Three Common Flat Roofing Challenges

When you’re working on a refurbishment for a hospital, commercial building, or school during term time, the buildings can’t close. This means installers need to complete their work on a live site. This often means balancing logistical issues, like deliveries outside of peak times, minimising disruption, and working in way that keeps the buildings watertight. 

IMA approved roofing contractors Itech were working on the T3 Transfers building in Heathrow. As it was at a busy airport, the building needed to remain open and active throughout. This meant they needed to keep the roof watertight, without using a temporary roof covering. 

This is one of the reasons they chose to use BMI Icopal’s Sealoflex Prima PU Waterproofing system, which had been specified, and installed, on the other 22,000sqm buildings in Terminal 3. Sealoflex Prima is solvent and VOC free, making it safter to install with virtually no odour. This helped minimise impact on Heathrow’s passengers during the installation. Plus, it also features an accelerated curing time, enabling faster installation, which was important to help maintain the weatherproof integrity for the passengers using the corridor below. 

From ensuring a long-lasting roof with guarantees or specific product requirements, working to public sector specifications can add complexity to a project. When the roof at Cottingley Vale’s shopping centre was in need of repair, Leeds City Council wanted a product that would future-proof their roof. IMA approved contractors Tucker and Tunstalls chose BMI Icopal’s Thermaweld bituminous waterproofing system, which comes with a 20-year guarantee and offers the perfect solution for this challenge.

As well as looking at the longevity of the flat roofing system, many public sector organisations are also looking at environmental impact. The work at Rossington All Saints Academy is just one example of this. 

The leading school and sixth form in South Yorkshire went through an extensive rebuild in 2009, but they had been facing challenges of leaks since then. Several contractors had been brought in over the years, but they hadn’t managed to solve the water ingress. This is where Tucker and Tunstalls were brought in, as part of a £730k replacement project over 5,000 square metres of roofing. 

But, as part of the specification, the academy wanted to use eco-friendly products and materials where possible. That’s why Tucker and Tunstalls and BMI Icopal specified Noxite Classic. This roofing solution delivers a high-quality insulated flat roofing that transforms nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrates, meaning the building’s environmental impact is reduced.