How Much Downtime? Planning a Commercial Flat Roof Replacement Without Disrupting Business
"How long is this going to take, and will I have to close up shop?"
This is the first question every business owner asks when it comes to replacing a commercial flat roof. Having worked on numerous commercial properties around and throughout the UK for over two decades, we can tell you that in most cases, you won't even have to close up shop. There will be caveats, but disruptions on your day to day will be minimised, if not affected at all. Allow us to explain….
Two Approaches to Commercial Flat Roofing Replacement
Complete Shutdown
This is where you close up shop and we get to work. We would recommend this in the following circumstances:
• Food production businesses where dust is a problem
• Businesses that are already due to close up shop anyway
• Small businesses where phased work is not possible
Pros and cons of this approach are obvious. We get it done quickly and cheaply, but you lose money.
Phased Work
We divide the roof into sections and work on each section at a time while keeping you open. A good example is a school in Northampton that we worked on, which had phased works on three sections over the course of the term. We completed each section over the course of a week, and the school was still open and running normally.
Phased works mean more time and money spent on the job, which is about 10-20% more than usual. However, your business is still running and generating revenue.
What Actually Disrupts Your Business
To be more particular about what disrupts your business, let's list these:
Noise: Roof works are noisy, and there is no way to get around it. We do our best to schedule the loudest works during your least busy times. We did just that for an office block in Milton Keynes, whose topmost floor housed a contact centre.
Access: We need scaffolding and proper routes for our workers to get on and off the roof safely. This may mean that some parking spaces are affected for a short time.
Weather Protection: Your building is not left exposed to the elements. We ensure that each section is weather-tight before we leave each day. If we are already on the roof and it is near the end of the day, we put up temporary weather protection.
Planning Around Your Operations
Before we begin our works, we need to understand your business:
• What are your busiest and quietest times?
• What are your critical areas that cannot be disrupted?
• What are your customer flows and operating times?
• Any special events coming up?
• Vehicle access requirements
For example, for a logistics warehouse in Luton, our busiest times were in the morning dispatch and afternoon deliveries. We planned noisy work and crane work for mid-morning and early afternoon, respectively, when it was quieter.
Different Business Types
Retail Properties
For retail properties, we do major work outside trading hours, keep all customer entrances open, and keep sites clean during trading hours. For example, we completed work on a garden centre in Bedford during trading hours. We completed deliveries and crane work before opening hours.
Offices
For offices, we identify quiet-critical areas, schedule noisy work outside core hours, and provide advance notice of meeting rescheduling.
Warehouses and Industrial Units
For warehouses and industrial units, we work around shift patterns, keep loading bay areas open, and schedule deliveries around your vehicle movements. For example, we completed work on a manufacturing unit in Northampton, which had 24-hour production and couldn't be disrupted.
Schools
Maximum work during holidays, safety segregation during term times, and quiet work during exams. We have completed work on several school roofs, completing the maximum work during summer holidays and only completing finals during term times.
How Phasing Actually Works
We usually create between 2-5 sections depending on the building size. Each section is large enough to work efficiently, usually between 150-400 m² per section.
Process:
1. Strip and replace first section (your quietest area)
2. Complete weatherproofing before moving on to next section
3. Repeat this process until all sections are complete
4. Final details and sign-off
Weather conditions may also be factored in; for example, add 10-15% for summer and 20-30% for winter.
The Cost of Minimising Disruption
- Being Upfront: The Cost of Minimising Disruption
- Phased working: 10-20% more than single-phase approach
- Weekend/evening working: 15-30% premium
- Improved site management and cleaning
- Compare these costs to closing your business.
- Phased approach for our Luton warehouse: added £3,500 to the £35,000 job.
- What about closing for three weeks? Over £100,000 in lost production.
Real Example: 800 m² Electronics Assembly Unit
Our challenge: 24-hour operation, six days a week, requires quiet conditions.
Our solution:
- Phased over four weeks
- Noisy works on Sundays (only non-production day)
- Phasing ensures no disruption to precision areas during production
- Office space, then warehouse, then production areas
- Our results: no stoppages to production, 10% reduction in output on one day, and completed on schedule.
- Our client said: "we barely knew you were here."
- That's our aim every time.
The Bottom Line
In most cases, most businesses can operate as normal during the roof replacement.
What are the critical factors?
• Experienced contractor who knows occupied buildings
• Thorough pre-work planning
• Phased work if appropriate
• Realistic scheduling around your operations
• Good communication at all times
Yes, there is disruption – and there has to be. But it is manageable, it is minimizable, and it is schedulable around your operations. The cost is invariably far outweighed by the cost of closing your business down altogether.
Concerned about disruption to your business from work on your commercial roof? Avant Garde Roofing Solutions has replaced flat roofs on operating businesses across the UK with absolute minimal disruption to your business. Call us on 0800 456 1104 to arrange a survey and let's talk about how we can work around your operations.
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Avant Garde Roofing Solutions: Avant Garde Roofing Solutions has been installing flat roofing to commercial and domestic properties across the UK since 2003. We're Which? Trusted Traders and part of Buy with Confidence – and we never use subcontractors. The team who surveys your roof is the team who installs it.