Flat roofing specialists · Bromley, Kent & London
A seamless, fully reinforced coating that wraps around the pipes, plinths, upstands and awkward corners a sheet membrane struggles with, installed cold, with no torches on your building. Free fixed-price quotation and a 10-year workmanship guarantee.
16 years in flat roofing · reinforced liquid systems · fully insured
Overview
Reinforced liquid waterproofing is a cold-applied resin system laid over a fleece or matting reinforcement so that the finished waterproofing is one continuous, seamless layer with no joints anywhere on the roof. It is applied by roller and brush, which means it can be taken up walls, around soil pipes, over plinths, into gutters and around plant bases in exactly the shape the roof presents rather than in flat rectangular sheets.
It suits roofs that are complicated rather than large: roofs crowded with pipework, plant and vents, small dormers and porch roofs, box gutters, balconies, parapet details and any roof where a torch or hot-air welder is impractical or unwelcome. It is also the sensible choice on occupied commercial buildings where hot works are restricted, and on properties where access limits what can be lifted onto the roof.
You need liquid waterproofing when detailing is the problem rather than the field of the roof, when an existing sound substrate needs overcoating rather than stripping, when a gutter or upstand keeps failing at the same point, or when a balcony needs a durable, trafficable finish. It is also the fastest route to a warranted repair on a roof with dozens of penetrations.
The strength of a liquid system is entirely in the preparation and the reinforcement. Resin over dust, damp or a contaminated substrate will not bond; resin without properly embedded reinforcement is a paint coat, not a waterproofing system; and film thickness that drops below specification fails early at exactly the details you bought the system to protect. Getting those three things right, every time, is a skill built through repetition, and flat roofing is all we do.
What happens if it is left
Pipe penetrations, plinths and upstands are the first places water gets in. Once it does, it travels under the existing covering across the whole roof, so a single failed detail wets an area far bigger than the fault.
A failing box gutter or parapet gutter does not drip, it discharges. Blocked or split gutters back up over the upstand and put water straight into the building at the wall head.
Balcony and terrace failures soak into the structural deck and the ceiling below. Left alone, it becomes joinery, plaster and decoration work on top of the roofing bill.
Unreinforced paint-on coatings applied over a failing roof crack over movement and split at every corner within a season or two. The money is gone and the roof is no better.
Our process
We survey the roof and the details, check moisture in the existing build-up and confirm whether the substrate can be overcoated or has to come off.
We specify the reinforced liquid system, the primer for that substrate and the film thickness, then issue a free fixed-price quotation setting it out.
Cleaning, drying, cutting out failed sections, priming and forming any fillets or repairs the substrate needs. This is the stage that decides whether the finished system lasts.
Base coat, fleece reinforcement fully embedded, then the top coat to specified thickness, with details, upstands and penetrations wrapped as part of the same continuous layer. Coverage and cure are checked before sign-off.
Roof walked, outlets cleared, site left clean and the work covered by a 10-year workmanship guarantee, with manufacturer-backed guarantees available where applicable.
What you get
No laps, no joints, no welds; the weak points of sheet systems simply do not exist on a correctly applied liquid roof.
Pipes, plant plinths, handrail posts, gutter angles and irregular corners are all encapsulated in the same continuous membrane.
Cold-applied throughout, which removes fire risk on site and keeps the system usable on occupied and sensitive buildings.
Often applied over a sound existing substrate, which means less strip-out, less waste and less time with the building open.
Anti-slip aggregate finishes are available where the roof, balcony or walkway will be walked on regularly.
A 10-year workmanship guarantee on every installation, priced fixed before we start.
In detail
The distinction that matters is reinforcement. A reinforced liquid system uses a fleece or matting layer sandwiched between resin coats so the finished membrane has tensile strength and can bridge minor movement. An unreinforced coating cannot, which is why it splits at corners first. Every liquid installation we carry out is reinforced across the full field and detailed areas.
Concrete, asphalt, felt, single-ply, timber, metal and GRP all need different preparation and different primers, and each has its own moisture tolerance. We check the substrate, clean it back, cut out anything unsound, prime to the system's requirements and only then start the build-up. Adhesion failures on liquid roofs are almost always preparation failures.
Liquid comes into its own where sheets do not fit: soil vent pipes, extract ducts, cable trays, plant feet, handrail posts, rooflight kerbs, parapet copings and internal gutter angles. Each is reinforced individually with cut fleece before the field is coated, so the detail is stronger than the surrounding roof rather than weaker.
Trafficked areas take a different top-coat specification and usually an anti-slip aggregate broadcast into the surface. Thresholds and door details are the critical point on any balcony, upstand heights and drainage have to be resolved so water leaves the balcony instead of finding the door line.
Box gutters, parapet gutters and valley details between roofs are common liquid applications because they are narrow, awkward and full of angles. Lining a gutter in a reinforced liquid system, with the outlets detailed in, removes the joints that were leaking without rebuilding the gutter itself.
If the insulation below is saturated or the deck has failed, coating over the top traps the problem. In that situation we will tell you the roof needs stripping and rebuilding, usually as a warm roof or single-ply build-up, rather than sell a system that cannot succeed.
Common questions
It is quoted per roof. Substrate condition, the number of details, access and the specified film thickness all move the figure, so we survey first and issue a free fixed-price quotation rather than a 'from' price.
Small roofs, dormers and gutters are often a matter of days. Cure times between coats depend on the weather, so we programme the work around dry conditions and confirm timings with the quote.
A correctly prepared, reinforced system installed to specified thickness is a long-life waterproofing layer, not a short-term repair. We back the workmanship for 10 years, and manufacturer-backed guarantees are available where applicable.
Often yes, provided the existing build-up is dry and sound. We take moisture readings and inspect before recommending overcoating, if the insulation is wet, we will say so.
Yes, with a trafficable top coat and an anti-slip finish. Balcony thresholds and drainage need resolving at the same time so water is directed away from doors.
The systems we use are cold-applied, so there are no torches or hot works on your building. That is one reason liquid is often specified on occupied commercial premises.
Application depends on temperature, dew point and dry conditions rather than the calendar. We will be straight with you about whether the conditions suit the work or whether waiting produces a better result.
Yes. RAMS are provided for commercial projects and we are asbestos awareness trained, useful on older commercial roofs. We work across London, Kent and the South East, and nationwide on larger commercial projects.
Bromley, Kent, London and the South East, including Orpington, Beckenham, Croydon, Dartford and Sevenoaks.
Tell us about the roof and your postcode. We will inspect it, tell you what has actually failed and give you a fixed price, backed by a 10-year workmanship guarantee.
16 years in flat roofing · Sika, Danosa and Bauder trained · fully insured · 10-year workmanship guarantee