Cambridge Roofers provides commercial roofing in Fulbourn and the surrounding area, covering flat roofs, pitched roofs, repairs and full re-roofs on offices, warehouses, retail units and light industrial buildings.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
When a commercial roof needs replacing or significant repair, the choice of material matters as much as the quality of the installation. Get it wrong and you'll be spending money again within a few years. Get it right and the roof should give you a long, largely trouble-free service life.
This page sets out the main options available for commercial flat and pitched roofs, along with honest pros and cons of each. There is no single best material - the right choice depends on your building type, your budget, the condition of the existing deck and what you're trying to achieve.
The majority of commercial buildings with flat roofs fall into one of the following categories. Understanding which system is currently on your building - and what its limitations are - helps you make a better decision when the time comes to replace it.
Traditional built-up felt roofing uses multiple layers of bitumen-impregnated felt bonded together with hot or cold bitumen. It has been used on commercial buildings for decades and is well understood by most roofers.
Honest pros: Relatively low upfront cost. Well-established system, widely available. Suitable for straightforward flat roofs with adequate falls.
Honest cons: The shortest service life of the common flat roof systems - typically 15 to 20 years for a quality installation, less if the falls are poor or the deck was wet when the felt was applied. Prone to blistering in heat and splitting at seams over time. Repairs can be straightforward but quality varies significantly between contractors.
Built-up felt is a reasonable choice where budget is the primary constraint and the building is not expected to remain in its current use for decades. It is not the right choice for a building where you want to minimise maintenance visits over the long term.
EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) is a single-ply rubber membrane that has become increasingly common on commercial buildings. It can be installed as a fully adhered, mechanically fastened or ballasted system depending on the building.
Honest pros: Longer expected service life than felt - well-installed EPDM systems are often specified to last 30-plus years, though actual performance depends on installation quality and the condition of the substrate. Handles thermal movement well, which reduces the risk of splitting at seams. Resistant to UV degradation. Repairs are straightforward using compatible patch materials and adhesive.
Honest cons: Higher upfront cost than felt. Relies heavily on correct installation - lap joints must be properly cleaned, primed and bonded or they will fail. Punctures from foot traffic or sharp debris are a risk, though the material is more resistant than felt. Not every roofer has experience with it.
EPDM is generally the better long-term choice for commercial flat roofs where the deck is sound and the building has a predictable future use. The higher initial cost tends to be offset by fewer maintenance interventions.
Warehouses, industrial units and some retail buildings use pitched roofs, often with large spans. The material choices are different from flat roofs but the same principle applies: the right material depends on the building and the budget.
Steel or aluminium profiled sheeting is the most common covering on large-span commercial pitched roofs - warehouses, distribution units and light industrial buildings. It is fast to install on large areas and can be laid over existing sheeting in some cases (an over-roofing approach that avoids the cost and disruption of stripping).
Honest pros: Economical at large scale. Available with factory-applied coatings that extend the maintenance interval. Over-roofing can significantly reduce cost and disruption for occupied buildings.
Honest cons: Fixings can corrode and fail before the sheets do - if fixings are not replaced as part of a re-roof, leaks reappear quickly. Poor insulation unless a composite panel (with built-in insulation layer) is used. Not suitable for every building type visually.
Some smaller commercial buildings, particularly in mixed-use or retail settings, have concrete or fibre cement tiled roofs. These are closer in character to domestic roofing and are maintained in a similar way - individual broken or slipped tiles replaced, ridge and hip mortar repointed, valleys re-lined.
Honest pros: Familiar to most roofers. Individual components can be replaced without disturbing the whole roof. Generally a long service life for the tile itself.
Honest cons: The mortar bedding on ridge tiles deteriorates and needs periodic attention. Underlays beneath older tiled roofs may have failed even where the tiles look intact from the ground.
Some older commercial buildings carry natural slate roofs. Slate on a commercial building is typically found on converted older structures or period buildings now in business use.
Good-quality natural slate is extremely durable. The weak points are the nibs (which hold the slate on the batten) and the nails, both of which corrode before the slate itself deteriorates. A slated roof where the slates are sound but the fixings have failed can be re-nailed rather than re-slated, which is significantly cheaper than a full replacement.
Like-for-like replacement with natural slate is the preferred approach for period buildings. Synthetic slate alternatives are available at lower cost, though the appearance and longevity differ.
The roof covering is only part of the system. Gutters, downpipes, fascias, soffits and leadwork around flashings, parapets and roof lights all play a role in keeping water off and away from the building. Replacing a flat roof while leaving deteriorated guttering in place simply shifts the problem.
On commercial buildings, gutters are often cast iron, uPVC or aluminium box gutter systems running inside a parapet. These need to be checked for blockages, corrosion and adequate falls when any roofing work is planned. Box gutters that hold standing water will always leak eventually.
Lead flashings at abutments, chimneys and around roof lights need to be correctly lapped and fixed. A common failure is lead that has been over-dressed (stretched rather than properly worked), which cracks over time. Replacing like-for-like with correctly dressed lead is the right solution.
Not every roofing problem requires a full replacement. A localised split in a membrane, a failed flashing, a blocked outlet or a handful of broken tiles are all repair jobs. The key is identifying whether the problem is genuinely localised or is a symptom of wider deterioration.
A good commercial roofer will be honest about this. If a patch repair will give you another five years of serviceable life at low cost, that may be the right answer. If the same repair will fail again within twelve months because the surrounding material is also failing, a re-roof is the better financial decision.
A proper quote for commercial roofing work should specify the system being proposed, the reason for that choice, what happens to the existing material and deck, how drainage and falls will be handled, and what the finished edge details will look like. Vague quotes make for disputed jobs.
If you're comparing quotes, make sure they are for the same scope and the same materials. A lower price can mean a thinner membrane, fewer layers of felt, or skipped deck preparation - all of which cost more in the long run.
We cover Fulbourn and the wider Cambridgeshire area including Cambridge, Trumpington, Ely, Newmarket and the surrounding villages. Call Cambridge Roofers for a straightforward assessment of your commercial roof and honest advice on the material options that suit your building.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
