Reroofing hits the media

If you have to pick one group which is generally known for having an eye for detail, those working in the media would come fairly high up the list.  Lighting, camera work, prop placement, editing; whether you look at films or TV, radio shows or adverts it is the attention to detail which turns the average into the award winners.

Luckily attention to detail is also a trait with which we are very familiar.  After all, if we don’t pay attention to the correct choice and installation of flat roofing materials then our customers would soon be sitting in damp or mouldy premises.  So when we were asked by EBC to help with a refurbishment project at Falmouth University’s Media Centre we were more than willing to assist.

The concrete roof surrounds were proving too heavy for the structure and this was leading to cracking inside the building.  Accordingly EBC had to remove the concrete sections by crane and then rebuild the surround using lighter weight materials.  The flat roof on the building was covered with 60 ton of stone ballast and this also had to be removed by crane in order for the roof to be renewed, insulated and waterproofed.

Recticel was chosen for the insulation layer.  Based in the UK, Recticel is part of a larger group which has its headquarters in Belgium.  All Recticel products are manufactured to the European standard EN 13165:2013 and also meet UK building standards.  The company manufactures a number of products including PIR Insulation boards which are suitable for a variety of uses including insulating flat roofs.  With a 482m² roof space to cover, it was important that the materials used were cost effective and would continue to provide warm and waterproof conditions for the media study students for years to come.  Recticel insulation boards are also manufactured to have good compressive strength and ‘a homogeneous consistent volume of PIR foam to improve the board’s structural integrity, meaning that structural weaknesses are greatly reduced’.

The roof was waterproofed via a Cefil ballasted system using 1.5mm RVF.  Not only does the ballast help to prolong the life of the roof covering, adding to the UV protection, the product chosen enabled us to provide a 20 year guarantee.

Although the task was complicated by the need to remove existing ballast safely before the work of renewal could be started the roof was stripped, waterproofed, insulated and re-ballasted within the time frame allowed.  An independent company carried out a satisfactory leak test before the final ballast was applied.