Why temporary roofs exist
For most of the history of UK construction, re-roofing work happened in summer on dry weeks, and when a shower came the roofer tarped over the exposed area and called it a day. That still works on small jobs with short duration. It doesn’t work on anything bigger — loft conversions with three-week exposure windows, major structural alterations with four to six weeks of exposed structure, or re-roofs scheduled into winter months when dry weeks aren’t reliable.
A temporary roof turns the weather into a non-issue. The project runs to its programme regardless of rain, the exposed structure stays dry, the internal finishes aren’t damaged by water ingress, and the property stays habitable or at least dry enough to not sustain secondary damage. On any project where the roof is off for more than a few days, it’s worth specifying.
Sizing the cover
The temporary roof has to span the building’s full footprint plus a margin, at a height above the existing ridge, with support from the surrounding ground or existing walls. On a semi-detached or terrace we may need to support one end off the party wall scaffold; on a detached property we usually build independent support on both gable ends. Each design is a custom piece of work, and we’ll produce drawings showing the roof in elevation against the building.
Emergency response
We keep capacity in the yard for emergency temporary roofs. After a structural fire, a storm-damaged roof, or a major structural failure, a homeowner or insurer often needs emergency weather protection in 24-48 hours to prevent secondary damage. Call us and we’ll check what we can do — if we can get there, we usually can, and we work well with insurance loss adjusters on the paperwork.
If you’ve got an upcoming re-roof, loft conversion or emergency weather situation, get in touch.
