Background

The Winsover Centre in Spalding, Lincolnshire, provides a number of retail and office units to a variety of national and local businesses, housing large supermarket chains including Lidl and Poundland. The Centre is home to 20 Winsover Road, located on the southwestern corner of the development, comprising of a restaurant with residential units located above. Also present is Bond Street Court, which a two-storey parade of six smaller retail units. When the Client, Loud Water Building Consultancy, required multiple roof replacements across the extensive site, London Seamless Flat Roofing Ltd were called upon to conduct the installation of Polyroof’s market-leading range of liquid roofing systems. 

The Challenge

The Centre is made up of multiple different roof types, all comprising of varying pitches and finishes that create one singular expanse. Due to this, the Client sought the expertise of a manufacturer that could not only cater to their waterproofing needs, but also provide one single point of technical support to ensure the project requirements were met in the most efficient manner. Here at Polyroof, we can provide a singular source of technical assistance for our customers on any project, bolstered by our team of experts who share between them many decades of flat roofing industry experience and knowledge. 

Upon conducting the initial site survey, the Polyroof Technical Team identified a number of potential remedies to increase the longevity of the multiple roofs, which would ultimately futureproof the structure of the building. The survey highlighted that the aged metal roofs would benefit significantly from a new protective coating to extend the lifespan of the existing plastisol-coated pitched metal roof sheets. Additionally, Polyroof recommended that in order to provide further protection and enhance the service life of the metal gutters and existing asphalt roof, a new high-performance waterproofing system would ultimately provide long-term protection from water ingress and subsequent leak damage.  

The Polyroof specification also required some of the roof light and vent heights to be altered to ensure conformity to BS 6229, which outlines best practices around the design, construction, installation, and maintenance of flat roofs. This stipulates that where flat roofs have continuous supported coverings, the roof lights are required to incorporate upstands that are raised to at least 150mm above the finished roof system. 

The Solution

Working in conjunction with Polyroof Approved Contractor, London Seamless Flat Roofing Ltd, five areas of the Centre’s pitched metal roofs were overlayed with Polyroof’s PRX Restore (formerly known as Roofcoat Elite) System, which is a high-performance spray or roller applied coating ideal for long-term exterior protection. Based on a two-pack polyurethane-acrylic hybrid formulation, PRX Restore is an extremely rapid and economical alternative to traditional strip-and-replace works, saving both time and money whilst ensuring that operations within the building continue with minimum disruption.  

PRX Restore forms excellent adhesion to plastisol and is designed to provide a durable and colour-fast coating to extend the serviceable lifespan of the metal sheets. In addition to PRX Restore, the Polyroof XtraFlex Gutter System was also specified, which is ideal for coating industrial gutters and non-corrugated metal roofs due to its enhanced flexibility. XtraFlex is fast curing as well as being impervious to standing water, therefore, making the system ideal for providing long-lasting waterproof performance, even in zero falls applications.  

The Polyroof Protec System was also specified to provide lasting protection to the existing asphalt roof, being highly suitable for a wide variety of applications, owing to its highly versatile nature. Featuring the optimum combination of flexibility and toughness, the Protec System also encompasses RapidCure technology for extremely fast application, with cure times as low as 30 minutes. Protec’s performance benefits lend themselves well to application within commercial environments, ultimately keeping operational disruption to a minimum, whereby reducing the need for any periods of closure and subsequent lost revenue is paramount.   

With full BBA certification for a projected lifespan of at least 30 years, Protec provides added assurance for specifiers that the installed membrane will provide robust and seamless protection, reducing the regularity of maintenance procedures and repairs. In preparation for the installation of Protec and the SA Foil Faced Carrier Layer, the copings from the existing parapet walls were removed to allow for new 18mm of plywood, which were mechanically fixed to the inner and top faces, with 18mm of Polyroof Pre-Formed GRP 100mm Upstand Tims being used for the detailing. 

The Result

By collaborating with Polyroof, this enabled Loud Water Building Consultancy to achieve their single source solution requirement for the waterproofing works. Despite the complex installation details, namely the differing roof types, pitches, and alteration of the roof lights, this was of no consequence owing to the capabilities of Polyroof’s leading product range. The installation was completed by London Seamless Flat Roofing Ltd to the Client’s specification, with the system subsequently receiving a 20-year guarantee.  

Speaking of the project success at the Winsover Centre, Rafal Drabik from London Seamless Flat Roofing Ltd said: “The Protec System’s ability to provide high performing, long-lasting waterproofing has once again lived up to its reputation. Following the installation at the Winsover Centre, the roof will be fully waterproofed for many years to come, providing long-term protection to the structure of the building. The full system solution offering from Polyroof significantly enhanced the installation’s efficiency and the Client was pleased with the result.”  

Alex Oswald from Loud Water Building Consultancy added: “We are very impressed with service provided by Polyroof and London Seamless Flat Roofing Ltd, who ensured our waterproofing requirements were met in a systematic and effective manner. It was important for us to receive a single source of technical support to streamline the installation process, and this was made possible through the expertise of Polyroof. “ 

To find out more about Polyroof’s range of liquid flat roofing solutions, please get in touch.