PROJECT

A Garage Roof Refurbishment with Joist Reinforcement

A weakened garage roof strengthened with additional joists, re-decked in OSB and finished in Lloyd's approved resin. What we found once the covering came off.

GET IN TOUCH

At-a-glance

Location: Thanet, Kent

Property Type: Domestic garage

Service: Structural repair and fibreglass flat roof

Year: 2024

Duration:

Materials: Additional joists, 8x2 OSB interlocking boards, Lloyd's approved resin and topcoat

The brief

A garage roof refurbishment — on the face of it, one of the most straightforward jobs we do.

Except that garage roofs are almost never just about the covering. They tend to be the oldest, least-maintained roof on a property, they were often built to a modest specification in the first place, and they've usually been leaking quietly for a while before anyone gets round to doing something about it. Water that's been getting into a flat roof deck for years does not leave the timber underneath alone.

This one is worth reading precisely because of what turned up once we stripped it.

The challenge

The frame had weakened. Once the old covering was off we could see that the structure itself needed attention before anything went back on. That's the moment a job stops being a simple recover and becomes a decision.

The easy option was to cover it over. And plenty would have. A new covering laid straight over a weakened frame looks exactly the same on the day it's finished, costs less, takes less time, and the customer is none the wiser — right up until the deck starts to sag under the new roof and the whole thing has to be done again.

Anything laid on a moving deck will fail. Fibreglass is rigid. Lay it over a frame that flexes and you'll get cracking, however good the resin is. Fixing the structure wasn't optional if the finish was going to last.

What we did

Told the customer what we'd found before carrying on. That conversation is the whole job, really — everything after it is straightforward.
Installed additional joists to strengthen the overall frame and stop further deterioration.
Re-decked in 8x2 OSB interlocking boards, giving a solid, continuous base for the covering to bond to.
Applied Lloyd's approved resin across the deck — laid as a liquid and cured in place, so there are no seams or joints anywhere for water to find.
Finished with a Lloyd's approved topcoat for a smooth, weatherproof, UV-stable surface.

The result

A smooth, weatherproof surface that stands up to the UK's climate, on a frame that can actually carry it. The garage stays dry and secure in all weathers.

The honest summary is that this job cost more than the customer was expecting when they rang us, and it was still the cheaper outcome. Laying a new roof on that frame would have bought a few years. Fixing the frame first bought decades.

If we strip your roof and find something underneath, you'll hear about it before we carry on — not after.