Find a Roofer you can trust in West Malling.

Most Sun Tunnel Kits are available in sizes from 250mm Diameter to 550mm Diameter. This gives you a good range to choose from depending on the size of the room you are trying to brighten.

• 250mm Sun Tube – Perfect for room sizes up to 10m2. (Hallways, Small Bathrooms)
• 350 – 450mm Sun Tubes – Perfect for rooms 10 to 15m2. Larger Hallways, Stairwells and Bathrooms.
• 550mm Sun Tube – Ideal for rooms 15 – 22m2. Kitchens, Bedrooms, Living Rooms.

You should inspect your roof at least once a year, to check there are no leaks or infestations. It’s best to do this just after it has rained, so leaks are as obvious as possible. You may find over a period of time there is a build up of moss on the roof, this should be cleaned so rain water has a clear path to the guttering.

While it sounds like it could be difficult to plasterboard around a Velux window, it needn’t be. As long as you have the right tools and materials, you should be able to plasterboard around your roof window easily and make good ready to be skimmed. When you or a tradesperson has fitted your Velux window into your roof, you’ll probably need to plasterboard over it to create a good ceiling. To do this, you’ll need:

• Plasterboard sheets – make sure you measure your room so you know how much you’ll need
• Screws to secure the board in place
• Drill
• Hammer
• Straight edge and pen knife to score the board before trimming
• Fine toothed saw the cut the plasterboard

When you’re ready to plasterboard around your roof window, make sure you’ve cleared enough space to work in. Then you can begin by cutting your plasterboard to size using your straight edge and pen knife to score, then your saw to get a clean cut. A common way of plasterboarding around your Velux window is to use the groove on the window frame to hold one edge of the board, then screw the other edge to the battens on the ceiling. People often use drywall screws these days as they have a better grip of the plasterboard as they drive through. You’ll need to use a drill to screw these in. However, you could use plasterboard nails, which are galvanised to stop rusting. When you’ve done this, you can then skim the walls or ask a plasterer to do it for you. Plastering, while it looks easy, is a tricky skill so it’s always best to ask a professional to do it.

Yes, it’s a dirty job, but every homeowner out there has got to do it! Your gutter needs to be free of dead leaves, birds’ nest and other debris as well as being through clean in order to perform its functions effectively. It’s just a part of the responsibilities that comes with owning a home. Dry leaves, tree branches and other materials build up in your gutters overtime especially during the dry summer and you won’t notice until the point where your gutters start overflowing during the first main rain of the season.

In the event whereby your dirty and clogged gutter is left unattended to, this can lead to several issues like a leaky gutter and mold, leaky roof and basements,cracked foundation, driveway and yard damage and several more which will definitely make you incur more unnecessary expenses. So the question is, how often should the gutters be cleaned? The answer is, it depends. According to several experts, gutters should be cleaned at least twice a year - which is once in the late spring and once in the late summer or early fall. However, there are a couple of factors that may make you have a rethink.

If you happen to have a pine tree growing above your house, it’ll be wise to consider inspecting your gutters every 3 months. This is because pine trees shed needles year-round and they usually have a lot of these needles to shed. In the situation whereby you’re located at a higher elevation, ice is will most likely be your greatest source of concern. Making sure that your gutters remain clean throughout the winter can be quite a headache, but damage to your roof cause by ice can be an even greater pain. Prevention is always better than cure.

The feasibility of this will depend on the roof’s strength, in particular its load bearing capabilities. This is simply because tiles are heavier than the metal sheeting. Normally a tiled roof will need to take a load capacity of 60kg per square metre. You will need a trusted roofing company to advise on this.

Blisters are most common on membrane roofing systems. Lots of contractors will tell you that if there are no signs of further damage, there might not be any need to repair flat roof blisters. They form when pockets of air or water get trapped between layers of the roof’s membrane or between the membrane and the frame. When the sun is out and it heats the pockets expand and stretch the membrane. If you do want to repair your flat roof blisters, there are a few ways to go about it.

If you have a membrane flat roof, cut away the membrane until you reach a place where the membrane is still stuck tightly to the roof. Reapply as many new membrane layers as you cut away over the blistered area. You might even need to do more. To make sure your patch remains watertight, you’ll need to leave at least 6 inches around the edges of the blister.

If you’ve got a felt roof, you can cut an X shape through the blister. Peel back the triangles that you’ve made and let the timber frame dry for a while (so don’t do this when rain is forecast!). Then, coat the area with lots of bitumen adhesive and leave it to dry until it feels tacky. Then press down the triangles of felt firmly into the adhesive.

After that, you’ll need to add more bitumen adhesive to the cuts you made. If you’ve got any spare roofing felt, cut a square that’s about 100mm bigger than the cuts then lay this over the adhesive. If you’ve not got any felt, it’s cheaper to use a self-adhesive flashing strip. Once you’ve laid the strip or patch over, seal the edges with more bitumen adhesive.

Commercial roofing simply refers to any roofing work, including installation and repair, that is done to commercial buildings. This might include office roofs, shop roofs or commercial unit roofs. Every building needs a roof to keep out the rain!

Since looks aren’t usually the first priority with commercial buildings, lots of commercial properties have flat roofs. These are often made from felt, EDPM rubber or fibreglass. Felt is the cheapest commercial roofing material, while fibreglass tends to be the most expensive. In felt roofs, roofers use an adhesive to stick roofing felt onto a frame. EDPM rubber roofs have a rubber membrane that is laid down and glued onto the roof and coated with a contact adhesive, while fibreglass uses a cut glass fibre mat that is pressed on before a resin and topcoat are applied.

Not all roofing companies will offer commercial roofing services, because generally the buildings tend to be bigger. Small companies won’t have enough tradespeople to work on a roof without making it very expensive for you. Commercial buildings also tend to need more scaffolding to make it safe for the professionals to work, so some smaller roofing companies won’t offer commercial services. Make sure you check a company’s website or social media if you’re looking for commercial roofing – on the Quotatis Directory, our roofers will show whether they do commercial roofing to make your search easier.

How To Replace Flat Roof Felt

Also referred to as tar paper, roofing felt is installed underneath the roof’s shingles to help deny water access to your home. Installing the roofing felt in overlapping layers builds a water barrier in situations whereby the weather damages or blows away the shingles. Although the application of a roofing felt on a flat roof is relatively easier and safer than working on a peaked roof, it’s advisable to take enough care and precautions. If you lack proper training and experience for this task, we’d recommend you employ a reliable professional to guarantee the best results and save you from further headaches especially in cases whereby unfortunate errors are made. This step by step guide will give you a good insight into the flat roof felt replacement process.

• Take a measurement of the width and length of the roof.

• Calculate the square footage by multiplying the numbers.

• Multiply the square footage gotten by three (it’s advisable to install three layers of roofing felt to create a really strong weather barrier).

• Use a claw hammer to remove the existing roofing felt.

• Use utility knife to cut the new felt to fit the length of the roof.

• Place the first piece along the roof’s edge and use a hammer tacker to tack the felt in place with staples or galvanized nails and hammer.

• Put the staples or nails at every 6 inches along the side touching the roof’s edge as well as down the short sides.

• Repeat the same process for the second piece, laying it out beside the first row of felt.

• Cut a piece of felt to the appropriate length using a utility knife to begin the second layer of roofing felt, and cutting it in half, lengthwise.

• Apply construction adhesive along the first row using a trowel.

• Press the first piece for the second layer onto the adhesive. Repeat this process until the roof is covered with a second layer

• Apply construction adhesive over the second layer to install the third layer. Begin with a full piece of felt without cutting it in half.

• Overlap each piece by 2 inches until you’ve completely installed the third layer.