If you want to know exactly what happens when we carry out a flat roof repair or replacement in Sudbury, this page walks you through every stage of the job.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
We carry out flat roof repairs and full replacements for homeowners in Sudbury and the surrounding area, working from our base in Bury St Edmunds. On domestic properties, a flat roof might be a garage, extension, dormer or bay - any flat or near-flat surface that needs either a repair to an existing membrane or a complete new roof.
People often ask what the process actually involves. What happens on the day? How long does it take? What do we need from you? This page answers those questions honestly, step by step, so you know what to expect before you call.
Before any work is priced or planned, someone needs to look at the roof properly. A flat roof inspection means getting up onto the surface, not just looking at it from the ground. We check the membrane across the whole area, pressing on it to feel for soft spots and looking for cracks, splits, blisters, open seams and areas where the membrane has lifted or pulled away from the edge.
We also check the deck beneath. A membrane can look reasonable from the surface while the plywood or OSB below has rotted out due to slow water ingress over months or years. Soft or spongy boards need to come up and be replaced before any new surface goes on. We check the outlets and drainage points, examine the flashings where the roof meets the house wall, and look at any upstands around pipes or skylights - these are all common failure points.
At the end of the assessment, we will tell you clearly whether we are looking at a repair or a replacement, what material we are recommending, whether the deck needs any work, and what the job will involve. You should never accept a quote that was priced without the roofer having been on the roof.
Once we have assessed the roof, we set out clearly what needs doing. For a straightforward repair - a split at a corner, a failed flashing or a small area of lifted membrane - the scope is simple. For a full replacement, we will confirm the material (typically EPDM rubber for a new installation, or torch-on felt where that suits the specific situation), whether any deck boards need replacing, and how the edges and flashings will be finished.
If additional work emerges once the old material is stripped back - rotted timber that was not visible from the surface, for example - we will show you and discuss it with you before proceeding. No reputable roofer should carry out significant additional work without your knowledge and agreement.
For most domestic flat roofs in Sudbury, this means putting up a short ladder to access the roof and laying boards or sheets on the ground below to protect the driveway, garden or path from falling debris. If the roof is above a first-floor extension, extra care goes into access and fall protection. We carry all materials needed for the job with us on the day - sheets of EPDM, adhesive, deck boards, timber for edge details and any flashing materials.
The old membrane comes off first. On a felt roof, that means cutting the felt into sections and pulling it back from the deck. On an EPDM roof, the membrane is cut free and peeled back. All old material goes into the skip or into the van for disposal - it should not be left on your property.
With the membrane removed, the deck is exposed and we can see its true condition. Any boards that are soft, delaminated or rotten get cut out and replaced with new structural-grade plywood or OSB. This is one of the most important stages of the job - a new membrane on a failing deck will not last, and the problem will return faster than you expect.
For a repair rather than a full replacement, the stripping is confined to the affected area only. We remove the damaged section cleanly to give the repair patch a proper edge to bond to.
Once any rotten boards are out, all replacement boards are fixed down firmly to the joists with screws rather than nails - screws will not work loose over time the way ring-shank nails can. The whole deck surface is then checked to make sure it is flat, tight and free of any raised fixings that could eventually telegraph through the new membrane. Any gaps between boards are addressed. For an EPDM installation, the deck must also be clean and dry before the adhesive goes on.
If the specification includes insulation - which is worth considering on any flat roof above a heated room - this goes on at this stage, above the deck and below the new membrane, in what is called a warm-roof build-up.
For EPDM, the membrane is rolled out across the deck and trimmed to size, leaving enough to turn down at the edges and up at any upstands. Bonding adhesive is applied to the deck and to the underside of the membrane, and the two are brought together carefully to avoid folds or air pockets. Once bonded, the edges are folded down over the fascia and fixed with specialist trim. Upstands around pipes, vents and any skylights are carefully detailed with EPDM patches and lap sealant.
For torch-on felt, a vapour control layer goes down first, then a base layer of bitumen felt is torched onto the deck, and finally the mineral-faced cap sheet is torched on top. Seams between rolls are overlapped and fully bonded. Edges and upstands are finished with cut pieces of cap sheet folded and torched into place.
In both cases, the flashings where the roof meets the house wall are re-dressed or replaced. A common failure point is a flashing that has never been properly chased into the mortar joint - water gets behind it and runs down into the structure. We chase flashings into the joint and point them in with fresh mortar.
Before we leave, we confirm that the outlets and any gutters connected to the flat roof are clear and flowing properly. On a new replacement roof, we also check that the falls are correct - water should drain naturally to the outlet, not pool in the middle. Flat roofs are never completely flat; they need a minimum fall to drain, and getting this right is fundamental to the long-term performance of the roof.
All off-cuts, old membrane, packaging and debris are removed from the site. We sweep the area around the property and check that the garden, driveway and any planting have not been damaged. You should be left with a clean site and a roof you can see has been properly finished.
A repair to a small area typically takes half a day. A full replacement of a garage or single-storey extension roof - up to around 30-40 square metres - is usually a full day's work, sometimes two days if the deck needs significant board replacement. Larger or more complex roofs with multiple penetrations will take longer. We will give you a realistic timeframe when we assess the roof.
If your flat roof in Sudbury needs attention, call us to arrange an assessment. We will come out, get on the roof, and tell you honestly what needs doing and what it will cost before any work starts.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
