They may both be forms of roofing service but that does not mean that commercial roofing and residential roofing are the same or that the work can be carried out in the same way.

Commercial and residential roofing are different in a number of ways including the design, materials, maintenance and installation cost.

At Balmore Specialist Contracts, we are one of the leading roofers in the Central Belt of Scotland and have a team of commercial and residential roofers, specialised in their individual sectors. Roofing may involve working at height but we wanted to explain the key differences to you beginning with roofing design.

Roofing Design

Commercial buildings by their nature are larger that a residential properties and that means that there are differences in the actual design of the roof. The larger sizes of commercial roofing means that the roof needs to support extra weight and therefore the actual design of the roof has to be different. The angle of the roof is a lot shallower on commercial roofs that residential homes which normally have a higher slope that is also easier to install. A commercial roof also has to incorporate ventilation and air conditioning systems. whereas the standard home in Scotland will have a chimney and lead flashing.

Even the access for roofing has to be considered in the design. Larger commercial roofing may need ladder access for the more regular commercial roofing maintenance programmes that we can provide.

Roofing Materials

Your historic buildings in Glasgow, Edinburgh etc are made of sandstone and come with slate or tiled roofs. But a commercial building with a slate roof would be incredibly expensive and require a lot more roofing maintenance. Because so many commercial properties have ventilation and air conditioning systems fitted, the roofing materials have to be able to support this.

A commercial property may use single-ply flat roofing membranes and metal roofing panels as a different solution so that the installed roof can last through the various weather conditions that mother nature can throw at her.

Roofing Maintenance

The larger the roof, the more maintenance it requires. While a domestic home will require annual gutter cleaning and replacement slates tiles to be replaced because of nail rot, commercial roofs with metal roofing may start to disintegrate with time under harsh weather conditions. This means that they require more regular inspection and maintenance. With our drone roof surveys, we are able to complete periodic inspection of roofing systems for commercial properties operating on restricted budgets.

Residential roofs are easier to maintain because they are naturally smaller in size and this means it is easier to spot any storm damage compared to commercial buildings where issues with the roofing can require visual inspection and thermal imaging with a drone to spot the leak.

Roofing Installation Costs

Commercial roofs, because of their size are naturally more expensive. This is because of the increased cost of materials and labour as well as the access equipment required to install a new roof.

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Roofing leaks and damage can produce mass disruption to a business and their day to day running. We work diligently to ensure that businesses do not suffer from potential disruption due to roof leaks and damage.

For over 35 years, we having been providing a professional, reliable roofing service for businesses across Glasgow who understand the true value of having a roofing firm that they can rely on. Over the decades, we have formed strong relationships with our customers who know they can depend on us to offer a quality service.

While no roof is safe from the weather that Glasgow and Mother Nature can conjure up, our roofing team are some of the best in the business and have seen it all and worked on it all.

If you are looking for a reliable, dependable and quality commercial roofing firm for either one off maintenance and repairs or as part of a scheduled maintenance program, then call our Glasgow head office today to discuss your requirements. Call on 0141 944 6100.