Roofers in Radstock

The centre of Radstock has the usual mix of a small town: shops with flats above, offices, workshops and community buildings. Their roofs vary as widely as the buildings do. Some are pitched and tiled, some are flat and covered with felt or a single-ply membrane, and many combine both, with a pitched front and a flat rear extension that was added later.

For a commercial owner the roof is a business asset. A leak that reaches stock, a ceiling or electrical equipment costs money and trade, and a repair that closes a shop for a day costs more. That is why the survey comes first. We look at the roof, its drainage, its access, the way it is used and whether anything on it, from plant to aerials, adds load or breaks the membrane, and write a scope that sets out the work and how it will be done around the business. We price a commercial roof after the survey, since the system, the insulation, the access and the edge details all move the figure.

Maintenance has more weight here than on a house. Outlets on a flat roof clog with leaves and litter; the membrane at upstands and parapets suffers from sun and frost; rooflights crack and their kerbs leak. A regular check and a clear of the outlets is an inexpensive way to avoid emergency calls. When something does fail, the first visit is about stopping water getting in; the lasting repair is planned afterwards.

Shops with flats above raise a second question, which is who owns and pays for the roof. If a freeholder, a managing agent and several leaseholders are involved, a written scope with photographs gives everyone the same information. Our commercial roofing page describes the systems we work with and how a commercial survey runs.

A flat roof is never quite flat. It has a slight fall, so that rainwater runs to an outlet, and a membrane that must hold together at laps, edges and penetrations. In a town like Radstock, with many extensions and rear additions, flat roofs matter a great deal.

Three coverings are common, and each behaves differently once it has been in the weather for a few winters. Bitumen felt, including torch-on systems, is laid in layers and sealed at the joints. EPDM is a synthetic rubber sheet, supplied in one piece for a small roof, so there are few joints to fail. GRP means glass-reinforced plastic, applied wet over the deck with a topcoat, which cures to a jointless surface with its own trims. Each has a place. EPDM suits simple shapes. GRP suits awkward ones. Felt suits larger areas where repairs may be needed over time.

The covering is only part of the story. If the deck beneath is damp or rotten, a new membrane will not last. If the roof is a cold deck, with insulation between the joists, condensation can be a hazard. A warm deck puts the insulation above the structure and keeps it dry. We lift a corner during the survey and check the deck before recommending a system. Where the boards are soft, we replace them first, and where the insulation is wet, we say what it will take to dry or renew it. A flat roof that has been covered over without that check usually fails at the same place again, so the order of work matters as much as the product chosen.

Typical UK flat-roof prices, as reported by MyBuilder in 2026, run at about £90 to £130 per square metre for EPDM and £95 to £150 for GRP, depending on size and detail. Your fixed quote follows the survey. Our flat roofing page describes each system, including how long it lasts and when repair is enough.