What Happens If Something Unexpected Is Found During Roof Coating Works?
Unexpected defects during roof coating works are not unusual, particularly once cleaning and preparation expose areas that could not previously be seen.
Roof refurbishment does not always go exactly to plan
Industrial roofs can hide things.
A roof may have been inspected, photographed and specified carefully, but once cleaning and preparation begin, conditions can sometimes be uncovered that were not previously visible.
That does not necessarily mean somebody has made a mistake.
It is one of the realities of working with existing buildings.
What matters is what happens next.
Typical examples
Cleaning may reveal more extensive corrosion than anticipated.
A previous repair may prove to be poorly adhered.
Sealant may have been applied over an unsuitable substrate.
A fixing that looked serviceable may turn out to be badly corroded once surrounding material is removed.
Water may be entering from somewhere different to the location originally suspected.
Previous coatings may also behave differently once preparation begins.
These are precisely the situations in which contractors can be tempted to improvise.
We would prefer them not to.
Stop, record and ask
Where an unexpected condition could affect the specification, the sensible approach is straightforward.
Stop work to that particular area.
Record what has been found.
Photographs are often extremely useful.
Then contact Liquasil.
Our technical team can review the information and, where necessary, determine whether the original detail remains appropriate or needs to be changed.
Sometimes the answer is simple.
Sometimes further preparation is required.
Occasionally something is uncovered that should be investigated independently before coating work continues.
The important thing is that the decision is made for a reason.
Why this matters
Many coating failures do not begin with a defective coating.
They begin with an apparently small site decision.
Somebody encounters something unexpected and uses whichever sealant happens to be in the van.
A difficult detail gets covered rather than investigated.
Additional corrosion is treated as though it were sound substrate.
A joint is sealed because it looks as though sealing it must be helpful.
Those decisions can create problems that only become apparent much later.
Roof refurbishment is full of interfaces between materials, details and existing defects.
That is why access to technical support matters.
Direct access to people who understand the system
Liquasil approved installers have access to people who understand the products, their limitations and the reasons behind the specification.
Technical questions are not simply sales enquiries.
If a contractor on site needs to understand how a particular condition should be treated, we want that question raised while something can still be done about it.
The same applies to surveyors, project managers and main contractors.
A photograph and a conversation before work proceeds can prevent a considerably more difficult conversation later.
Specifications can change
A specification is based upon the information available when it is prepared.
Where materially different site conditions are discovered, changing a detail is not a failure of the specification.
Continuing regardless can be.
Any change should be considered in the context of the roof, the substrate and the system being applied.
That is part of managing refurbishment work properly.
Our approach
We do not expect contractors to know the answer to every unusual condition they encounter.
We do expect them to ask.
And when they do, we believe they should be able to speak to somebody who can give them a meaningful technical response.
That is why Liquasil remains involved after the specification has been issued.