Roofing Clinics for Architects Launched

This month we hosted the first ever Roofing Clinic at the Architecture Today Technical Seminar at the Building Centre in Store Street, London. Here’s what happened.

 

 

 

 

Over the coming months we will be hosting several interactive Roofing Clinics in partnership with Architecture Today. These sessions will help architects learn more about correctly specifying roofing products and give them the opportunity to ask the experts anything they like.

The interactive morning of our first Roofing Clinic in London began with breakfast and a series of quick-fire presentations on various topics including flat roofing design, roofing guarantees, choosing the right insulation, flat roofing for education buildings, upstands best practice and slate roofing design and best practice. There was standing room only at the Building Centre, which was a great way to kick off the series.

Roofing Clinic Introduction

Standing room only for the Roofing Clinic launch. Photo: SIG Design and Technology

These short presentations served to set the scene for the meat of the event, our roofing clinic round tables. Eight roofing specialists from the SIG stable hosted tables where specifiers could discuss ideas generated from the presentations and bring their own questions about flat roofing and slate roofing.

Roofing Clinic in session

Roofing clinic in session. Photo: Architecture Today

The roofing clinic tables were so busy, it was a challenge to break the tables up for drinks and a delicious lunch!

Here are some of the questions asked in the clinics.

  • How can we be confident that the slate we specify is used on site? This is all about checking the crate labels. Find out more here.
  • What is BROOF(t4)? There’s no such thing as a stupid question. Here’s a blog post explaining external roofing fire testing methodology and terminology.
  • Is NHBC worth it? What should we be aware of? There were some interesting answers to this question!
  • Can we turn the slates over, so we get a completely flat surface? Not really, best to understand what the dressed edge on a natural slate is doing.
  • Rockwool or Foamglas insulation? Something for a knowledgebase post!
  • What products do you offer? – we don’t just do flat roofing (membrane, liquids, hot melt, green, biodiverse and blue roofs) we also do slate, zinc, copper, aluminium, tiles, solar, cladding, and as one of the largest specialist suppliers we take a systems approach.
  • How much does your service cost? It’s free to specifiers! Read more about this here.

Our Approach

Roofing Clinic ApproachSIG D&T is a one stop shop for roofing. Our approach is to support good design, good product selection, manage the installation and thereby reduce risk to you and your client.

For example, here’s how we work with installers:

A good installation is essential in roofing. We have accredited installers for whom we provide training and the work they do is inspected by our field technicians. This allows us to provide a guarantee, but it also means you can be confident the work has been done to an appropriate standard by an accredited installer.

Main contractors often have preferred installers, and our accredited contractors provide a main contractor with confidence. They know that we will provide technical support throughout the process, which is why we often partner with main contractors across their project portfolio.

At the core of a good roofing project is a collaborative relationship. Clear lines of responsibility and accountability, risk sharing and an open approach to meeting the clients’ requirements is key.

Flat Roofing Specifier Checklist

Flat Roofing Specifier Checklist During our roofing clinics we made use of our flat roofing checklist. This tool enables specifiers to identify their key client priorities and prepares you for the best technical support. You can download a copy here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look out for our next Roofing Clinic

We were delighted to be the first company to host a technical seminar for Architecture Today. The interactive nature of the event opens up the challenge of designing roofing to enable tailored technical support to specifiers at all levels of experience, whilst reflecting our company ethos of providing accurate, agnostic advice. In the coming months, SIG Design and Technology will be rebranding to Accuroof to better reflect the service we provide to specifiers.