No roof is maintenance free, and maintenance is also key to a successful warranty. When correctly designed, installed and maintained, a flat roof will give a building owner confidence that it will perform as planned.
However, maintaining a flat roof is not without its risks, and maintenance should be carried out by a professional, not only to ensure the work is done properly, but ensure warranties aren’t voided.
This article describes some key points on how you can ensure that flat roof maintenance is carried out effectively on your buildings. Scroll down for other related advice on flat roof maintenance.
Warranty, maintenance and flat roof performance
Once a flat roof is completed it should perform correctly throughout its intended lifetime, if the maintenance programme is followed. AccuRoof issues maintenance programmes with our warrantees, and they need to be followed to comply with the warranty.
Flat roof maintenance is essential to:
- Keep your warranty valid,
- Identify problems before they grow,
- Offer guidance for workers who have to go on the roof, and
- Protect the building owner from unnecessary cost and expense.
Maintain your flat roofs! You wouldn’t buy a new car and then not have it serviced.
To deliver the warranty on the projects AccuRoof supports, our field technicians carry out on-site inspections during the flat roof installation. These inspections confirm that the warranty can be met and give the client and building owner confidence that they should not have to call in the Warranty.
Flat Roof Maintenance and safe methods of working
Here are some key points about safe methods of working on flat roof maintenance. details of how to keep people safe during all roof work can be found in the HSE Document HSG33 Health and safety in roof work.
Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations
Compliance with the CDM Regulations is essential when carrying out any works on a roof, including maintenance and inspections.
The client or building owner has an obligation under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Some of the client’s duties will probably be outside of the capability of a building owner, for example the staff of an Academy or multi academy trust, so it is good practice to appoint a specialist health and safety consultant to act on your behalf. HSG33 includes a section on responsibilities under the CDM Regulations.
Only qualified professionals on the roof
People without proper training and qualifications should NEVER go on the roof. Instead, flat roof maintenance should always be carried out by a qualified and insured contractor.
In normal circumstances, the contractor who installed your flat roofs would carry out a maintenance regime. If you don’t have a contractor carrying out regular roof maintenance, get in touch and we would be happy to identify an AccuRoof Registered Contractor (ARRC) in your area.
Safety during roof inspections
AccuRoof has a dedicated team of experienced Specification Managers who carry out inspections of existing roofs. Commonly they are the first people to go onto the roof. Risk Assessments are carried out and the inspection follows in accordance with best practice, always with health and safety at the fore. All roofs should be treated as fragile until a competent person has confirmed that they are not.
The inspection is carried out by our Specification Managers, who attend the site and survey the building externally and internally, including carrying out intrusive surveys if required and approved. For the convenience of clients at sites with vulnerable persons, any Specification Manager will have been Data Background Search (DBS) checked.
Design for safety during roof maintenance
If a flat roof has been correctly designed, it will incorporate features to enable contractors to remain safe on the roof.
These may include temporary or permanent features:
- Safe access to and from areas of the roof
- A safe place to work on the roof
- Temporary platforms, walkways and scaffolding
- Edge protection to prevent falls
- Demarcation barriers
- “Mansafe” devices (personal fall protection)
- Safety nets and debris netting
- Crash decks or working platforms under the working area.
For guidance download HSG33 Health and safety in roof work for free from the HSE website.
How Often should you carry out Flat Roof Maintenance?
Roof maintenance should be carried out twice yearly – once in the Autumn and once in the Spring.
AccuRoof recommend that their built-up roofing and waterproofing systems are inspected and maintained in accordance with the guidelines given in British Standards BS 8217:2005 Reinforced bitumen membranes for roofing – code of practice Clause 10 & BS 6229:2018 Flat roofs with continuously supported flexible waterproof coverings – code of practice, which state as follows:
BS 8217:2005 Clause 10 Maintenance and Repair
A flat roof, which has been designed and installed in accordance with the recommendations of this British Standard, can be expected to provide trouble-free service provided it is properly maintained.
BS 6229:2018 section 7.2
A flat roof should be inspected at least twice yearly; in autumn to ensure it is clear of leaves, dirt and debris, outlets are not blocked and the roof is free draining; in spring to discover and rectify any damage due to weather. Green, blue and other specialist roofs should be inspected in accordance with the designer’s original inspection plan.
Support for roof maintenance
If an ARRC contractor installed your flat roof, we would have provided a suggested Maintenance Contract for the flat roof waterproofing.
The suggested maintenance contract includes such elements as:
- The cleaning of gutters, downpipes and other drainage components.
- Removal of obstructing debris from the roof area.
- The check of flashings and trims.
- Care of surface protection etc.
We highly recommend the client takes out maintenance with the same roofing contractor who installed the roof waterproofing. This maintains your obligations under the warranty but even more importantly, ensures a long and fully functioning, trouble free life for your flat roofing system.
