Agricultural roofs work harder than almost anything else we cover. Large spans, minimal maintenance access, corrosive environments in livestock buildings, and a use pattern where a leak over a grain store at the wrong point in the year is a genuine financial event rather than an inconvenience. Timing matters as much as technique.
What fails on an agricultural roof
Fixings go before sheets do. Washers perish, the fixing loosens, and water runs down the shank, a pattern of small drips across a wide area rather than one obvious hole. End laps open with thermal movement. Rooflight panels go brittle and yellow, then crack, and they are the single most common cause of falls on this type of roof.
Gutters on long spans collect an extraordinary amount of debris and are frequently the actual source of what looks like a roof leak.
Fragile roofs and safe access
Old fibre-cement and asbestos-cement sheets, and every rooflight panel of any age, must be treated as fragile. Working on them needs proper staging and precautions, this is not an area for improvisation, and any contractor walking a sheeted roof without them is a risk to themselves and to you as the occupier.
- Fragile-roof precautions and staging as standard
- Asbestos-containing materials identified before any disturbance
- Access planned around livestock, machinery and stored crop
- Materials and waste kept clear of yards and tracks
Repair, over-sheet or replace
A tired sheeted roof does not always need stripping. Over-sheeting a sound structure gives a new weatherproof covering with far less disruption and, importantly, without disturbing an existing asbestos-cement covering. Where sheets or purlins have genuinely failed, replacement is the answer and it needs programming carefully around the building's use.
Timing around the farming year
Work over a grain store happens when the store is empty. Work over livestock happens when the building is not housing stock. That is obvious to anyone who farms and apparently not to everyone who quotes. We plan around it and we would rather book the right month than the earliest one.
Common questions
Can you replace individual rooflight panels?
Yes, and it is worth doing before they crack. Brittle rooflights are the biggest single hazard on this type of roof.
Do you over-sheet asbestos cement roofs?
Over-sheeting can be an appropriate approach because it avoids disturbing the existing covering, but it depends on the structure and the condition. It is assessed on the specific building and handled through the correct procedures.
Can gutters on a long barn be lined rather than replaced?
Often, yes, a seamless liner inside a structurally sound gutter is considerably cheaper and quicker than replacement.
How far out do you travel for farm work?
We are based in Costessey near Norwich and work across Norfolk and East Anglia. Tell us where you are and we will be straight about whether we can cover it properly.