School computer room roof in Aberaeron

Aberaeron school computer room roof - a leaking patchwork of old repairs
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The finished roof - more than a match for the Welsh weather!
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This flat roof repair and replacement project was undertaken at Aberaeron, not far from Aberystwyth, on the wet and windy West Wales coast.

The school computer room roof, now a leaking and rotting patchwork of repairs, originally had a flat ash felt roof that had fissure-cracked over the school’s sixty year life and been felted over at some point with non-vapour permeable felt.

Rainwater and internal vapour had leaked in, becoming trapped between the layers, with water condensing then feeding back between the concrete slab construction of the roof and the ash felt layer. Hot weather causes this moisture to heat up, turn to steam and expand, causing large ‘vapour blisters’ that stretch and crack the felt... making the roof useless.

The felt patches in the picture show the inevitable scars of repair after repair of these molehill-like vapour blisters. For the school, this meant closure of the classroom for months while a budget had to be found. Funds were extremely limited but a successful, safe, long term solution was also a must.

We removed the felt and the ash felt, and fitted sturdy, deep, metal drip edges around the perimeter for water to drain into the guttering without being blown behind the guttering and down the facing and walls. The concrete roof slab was scraped and prepared before being bonded and primed. A 15 year vapour permeable jointless and seamless reinforced liquid membrane flat roofing system was applied.

The building's coastal, south-westerly elevation means that it is regularly exposed to heavy rain and gale-force winds - so finally having a weatherproof computer room roof that the staff and students can rely upon means everyone can at last learn in comfort!

Find out how we can help with your roof - call today on 01970 610047