Case Study:Efficient Felt Roof Replacement and Roofing Works

A large townhouse on Woodchurch Road in West Hampstead, North London, required an overdue felt roof replacement and other roof maintenance services.

With straight edging and no permanent anchor points or parapet walls, learn how our talented rope access technicians renewed the entire roof and established a fall restraint system with portable anchorage for rope access.

The Logistics:   

The client hired Spectrum for this felt roof replacement service due to our ability to cut costs and minimise unwanted disruption via rope access.

Our pre-site assessment of the site and communication with the client revealed the following requirements:

• The felt replacement needed replacing across the entire roof.
• The roof was worn and weathered, with all the tiles requiring removal, cleaning, and checking for defects.
• The roof had three straight edges, one slope and no permanent anchor points or parapet walls.

The Project:

Arriving on site, we assessed the roof to gauge the safest way of completing the felt roof replacement and other roofing services.

It didn't take long to realise that a deadweight trolley wasn’t suitable due to the roof having no parapet walls. But with enough space, we set up an A-Frame for abseiling to provide the subsequent protective rigging and avoid any accidents with a thorough fall restrain system.

On close inspection, the entire roof required renewing with new felt, tile cleaning and new skylight installation services. Typically, after 20 years of exposure, cracks and defects appear within the felt, making it prone to water ingress, especially during heavy downpours.

While some felt roof replacements can be applied in patches, we recommended an entire felt replacement to prolong the longevity of the roof’s condition and reduce any further damage to the building and expensive repair costs in the future.

Picked for the job based on our ability to conduct and complete the work without scaffolding, our rope access technicians could scale the roof with minimal disturbance and maximum convenience.

With a safe system of work through fall restraint measures, our team began the felt replacement by removing the tiles before checking their condition and cleaning them before re-laying.

We used torch-on felt for its overall strength and weatherproofing properties and fixed the felt securely across the entire roof area. The sloped side of the roof is where we required the A-Frame for abseiling. Here the roof maintenance team could abseil at ease continuing the tile removal and felt replacement with minimal delay.

During the roof replacement, we also installed a large skylight and restored the tiles after cleaning and checking for defects.

The Site:

The building on Woodchurch Road is in a busy residential district of North London.

With both neighbouring buildings on each side significantly close to the site, large trees nearby and the front of the building overlooking a busy residential road, the area posed a real challenge for our team.

When considering the sloped side and straight edges of the roof alongside the proximity of the neighbours and public areas, rope access presented the ideal access option to complete the felt roof replacement.

Challenges:

As with any service involving rope access from dangerous heights, the safety of our roof maintenance team remained the top priority and presented the first challenge.
While most of the roof was easy to access with a safe system of work in place, one sloped edge required specialised navigation via rope access. But with no parapet walls or permanent anchors, an A-Frame was the only viable option to establish protective rigging for a safe and convenient means of access.

The roof contained multiple intake/exhaust roof vents and electrics underneath, which our team had to carefully navigate when removing tiles and replacing the felt.

Due to the felt replacement covering the entire roof area, our team had to work efficiently to remove all the tiles and ensure they returned to their original condition after being cleaned and checked for defects.

The Result:

The felt roof replacement and other roofing services were completed by Spectrum efficiently while maintaining minimal disturbance and cost-effectiveness to our client.

In 5 weeks, our team of roofing repair and cleaning specialists managed to:

1. Install an A-Frame portable anchorage system for rope access.
2. Establish a safe system of work with fall restraint requirements.
3. Remove all the tiles before cleaning and checking for defects.
4. Install a brand-new felt layer across the entirety of the roof.
5. Fit a new large skylight.
6. Return the exterior of the roof to its original condition.

After providing minimal disturbance and a cost-effective option with our rope access capabilities, we delighted the client with a brand-new felt replacement and skylight installation service. 

Our access ability and top handiwork helped our client avoid expensive scaffolding costs and enjoy services to the highest industry standards.

 
For more details on our roof repair, maintenance or cleaning services, get in touch.
 
Alternatively, you can look over our case studies that showcase our range of extensive rope access capabilities.