One single outhouse roof – that’s how this project started in 2013 – as a trial for Hull City council on an outhouse joining a pair of houses in Cropton Road, Hull. The Council’s Housing Department was considering several waterproofing systems for covering roofs on a potential scheme to upgrade post-war Wimpey ‘no fines’ concrete houses, and in the end, Dryseal, due to its aesthetics, excellent detailing capabilities and tough, durable finish, was deemed to fit the bill.

In late 2014, Dryseal Approved Contractor L A Hall (Hull) Ltd began work with the re-roofing of 61 main house roofs. As the project progressed into 2015, the brief was extended from simply installing Dryseal in a ‘cold’ configuration on the outhouse roofs to include porch/canopy ‘warm’ roofs, effectively doubling the roof area.

Andy Fell Hambleside Danelaw’s Dryseal Manager said “The standard of installation and finishing delivered by L A Hall’s operatives has been exceptional, resulting in very robust and aesthetically pleasing roofs.”

The external concrete walls were upgraded to current Building Regulation Part L standards, the main house roofs recovered with a new insulated Decra lightweight tile specification and all the ‘flat’ roofs refurbished using Dryseal.

The development of the specification from one 20 m² roof to over 200 roofs totalling 1,800 m² is testament to Dryseal’s quality. But the story doesn’t end there – at time of writing, L A Hall (Hull) Ltd are awaiting an instruction to confirm the addition of another batch of properties.

Steve Copeman, Managing Director of LA Hall (Hull) Ltd, said: “Having worked closely with Andy Fell on the prototype a couple of years ago it was clear from the start that everyone was happy with the finish we could achieve with the Dryseal system. Not only did it give the desired look it also gave a level of durability the roofs needed. We are carrying out the roofing works on several different types of ‘non-standard’ constructed properties and now the Dryseal works have commenced on our original list of properties it’s become clear to our Client that the system is suitable to cover other sections of low roofs on certain house types which were originally going to be covered with composite insulated panels. This allows us to achieve uniformity to the scheme that the Client didn’t originally think was possible. We will end up completing over 230 roofs using Dryseal.”

Flat roofs can be the most cost-effective solution for commercial properties, as they can maximise the internal space of a building and are usually far more energy efficient than pitched roofs. Ease of access and maintenance are two major factors that lead to flat roofs being preferred over pitched.

Commercial properties often have a large roof area, and yet flat roofs require less material and can be made far more robust than pitched roofs. Tight deadlines and budgets can dictate the specification of the roof, as a cost effective and long lasting system is crucial. Thus, reduced cost during construction and in annual maintenance can mean that a flat roof is a more cost effective waterproofing method for commercial buildings.

Environmental qualities strongly influence the construction industry as a whole these days. If a commercial build needs to achieve a stringent BREEAM  goal, a ‘warm’ GRP flat roof build-up can achieve an ‘A’ rating in accordance with Green Guide generic definitions and can also form the ideal base for a solar array or ‘green’ roof.

GRP waterproofing is ideal for commercial property as it is easy to maintain, is not easily damaged and can be simply repaired and refurbished ‘in situ’, thus reducing landfill costs. GRP will also withstand extreme weather conditions; Dryseal’s  Agrément Certificate 95/3114 was recently revised to full ‘zero falls’ accreditation by the BBA after spending 6 months underwater at 60°C, and then being subjected to a series of rigorous destruction tests – a process that broke the BBA’s test machine!

Dryseal GRP was chosen as the ideal roofing solution for a recent health sector project in Ireland. St Joseph’s Surgery and Diagnostic Centre in Sligo, Ireland, was in need of a new roof covering over the main hospital building. Approved Installer and Irish distributor PQ Fibreglassing completed the re-waterproofing and insulation upgrade works to six roofs, totalling 750m², with the hospital only having to close for one day. Read more in the case study here.

With a 20 year insured guarantee that can be extended by refurbishing the top-coat, the Agrément certified Dryseal system can have its life extended almost indefinitely and continues to grow in popularity with specifiers.

The RIPPLE container home project has been constructed by a team of volunteers working with Ceardean architectural design + selfbuild and Buyers Broker International. Over three days during late November 2014, the team of volunteers completely refurbished this container unit and turned it into a fully functioning home, see below.

The St Vincent de Paul charity is the recipient of this smart new home, intended to be made available as short-stay accommodation for families as an alternative to a hostel or hotel.

Dryseal Approved contractor P Q Fibreglassing of County Longford have gladly donated their services and Hambleside Danelaw have supplied the Dryseal materials free of charge to waterproof the new home.

Scheduled for a 1 hour TV programme in Ireland in the near future, followed by a book documenting the whole container home process in 2015, the project has attracted considerable media attention.

Sales Director Ian Weakford said “Supporting this project reflects Hambleside Danelaw’s continued sponsorship of worthwhile charities both in the UK and now in Ireland, which is an important and growing market for our Dryseal GRP roofing system”.

Hambleside Danelaw are proud to have been one of many corporate sponsors of this worthwhile project.

Following a number of customer and specifier requests, Hambleside Danelaw submitted the Dryseal GRP mechanically fixed, component based waterproofing membrane to the British Board of Agrément for ‘zero-falls’ testing and accreditation.

After 6 months underwater at 60°C, Dryseal was then subjected to a series of rigorous tests for water penetration, material bond strength, indentation and tensile characteristics.

It passed with flying colours in September 2014, with “no water penetration”, and withstood a maximum tensile load requirement of over 22 kN/m, with negligible change from the original sample.

Now Agrément Certificate 95/3114 has been re-issued with full ‘zero-falls’ accreditation, meaning that Dryseal can be used on roofs with falls less than 1:80, a common requirement for terrace areas and roof gardens.

The NHBC will only allow the use of fully independently accredited waterproofing systems in ‘zero-falls’ installations. Dryseal has now been proven to achieve the requirements.

Andy Fell, Hambleside Danelaw Dryseal Manager, said: “We’re delighted at this authoritative proof that the advanced characteristics of Dryseal can easily satisfy the ever increasing demands made on modern roof covering systems.”

INEX Works are the latest company to join Hambleside Danelaw’s Approved Dryseal Contractors. At the end of September our Technical Manager John Godley visited Ireland for a training course at PQ Fibreglassing in Lanesboro, County Longford, to train the team from INEX Works.

In June, the Dryseal team decided to run a training course in conjunction with PQ Fibreglassing, our Approved Distributor in Ireland. The course took place in PQ Fibreglassing‘s new training facility over two days. After some short theory work, John demonstrated how to install the Dryseal system. The trainees then tried out the installation process for themselves, with great success.

The two days went well and we are pleased to have INEX Works as Approved Dryseal Contractors as John highlights: “We were delighted when Ivan from INEX Works approached us earlier this year to look into becoming an approved contractor as the company always demonstrates excellent workmanship on their various construction projects. When conducting a Dryseal training course, we ensure contractors know the product inside out and are confident with the tools, and more importantly we make sure they leave knowing why Dryseal is the best flat roofing solution.”

To become an Approved Dryseal Contractor contact us via telephone on 01327 701900 or email dryseal@hambleside-danelaw.co.uk and for details on INEX Works visit http://www.inexworks.ie/contact.php.

Come and see the Dryseal GRP roofing system for flat and low pitched roofs in the NFRC’s Roofing Pavilion (N440/41) at Ecobuild, 4th to 6th March 2014 at ExCeL London, and find out how the market-leading UK manufactured product can help save customers money under the CompetentRoofer scheme whilst taking advantage of Green Deal work.

With a long proven presence in domestic, commercial and public sector buildings, the BBA approved system is ideal for meeting the ECO/CSCo requirements and it carries a 20-year insured guarantee.  For refurbishment projects when thermal performance is being increased under the Green Deal, Dryseal allows the work to be done without need for any structural changes  and when installed in a warm roof configuration can achieve a U-value as low as 0.18w/m²K.  It is also suitable for use as a primary waterproofing membrane, including green roof applications.  The carbon footprint of the GRP materials in the Dryseal system is only 13 kgCO_2em^-2 following installation, over 80% less than other traditional materials.  Easy to fit, Dryseal is aesthetically attractive and perfect for tackling diverse detailing requirements. It has been recognised as a sensible alternative to metal roofing materials, such as lead, zinc, stainless steel and copper, which means that it can be increasingly found on the roofs of listed buildings.

Whether for new build or over-roofing, the system can totally encapsulate the roof with a single material and it is very cost-competitive.  Dryseal should only be installed by a Hambleside Danelaw trained Approved Contractor to ensure quality workmanship. Full details of approved contractors can be found on our website.

To find out more about the flat roofing system, please visit the Dryseal pages of our website or contact Andy Fell, Dryseal Sales Manager at Hambleside Danelaw on 01327 701900.

We look forward to seeing you there! (If you haven’t registered yet, just click here http://bit.ly/1emLJXt)

Hambleside Danelaw is delighted with the interest in our Dryseal roofing system generated by architects since our building information modelling (BIM) components went live on BIM Store at the beginning of this year.

We worked with BIMstore earlier this year to create AutoCAD revit BIM components for our Dryseal flat roofing system. These show the various components that make up the Dryseal system, different roof build ups and details.  The BIM box gutter detail appears to be most popular being the most viewed component!

Andy Fell, Dryseal Manager at Hambleside Danelaw commented, “Indications to date are very positive.  In three months we have had 750 visits to the site and over 180 downloads with the most downloaded component being the full Dryseal system.  We believe that Dryseal is one of the first flat roofing systems to be available via BIM, suggesting that we are at the forefront of development.”

There has also been a lot of interest from international architectural students, who are keen to learn about the Hambleside Danelaw products.  Downloads have come from Poland, the Czech Republic and even as far as Canada.

Bimstore.co.uk was created in 2010 by three individuals who were frustrated at the lack of good quality BIM components available from UK manufacturers on the web.  UK manufacturers’ content is now freely available to all members of the industry for use in their BIM models via BIM Store.  Hambleside Danelaw BIM components are available from BIMstore.co.uk and from the Hambleside Danelaw website – click here.

Sometimes it is easy to be complacent about change but sometimes change can be helpful.

One of our products, Dryseal, requires the use of mechanical fixing to secure the pre-cured fibreglass roofing membrane.  These fixings originally featured galvanised steel stress plates, which were really designed for use with PVC roof covering systems.

However, we have now developed an improved stress plate (Code DP40) which is designed for universal use, manufactured using a high performance nylon based material.  Nylon was selected as the new material as it poses no risk of corrosion whilst offering better rigidity.  It also provides a smoother profile which enhances the quality and aesthetics of the laminated GRP seam for jointing the Dryseal GRP roofing system.  Nylon also will not suffer from long term creep when placed under loads and stress, as would be expected from polypropylene and polyethylene based materials.

Manufactured by us this new product has been subjected to rigorous testing prior to being made available to the market and is now in production.

For more details about our Dryseal GRP Roofing System please click here

One thing that is always required is a waterproof roof and even when times are a bit tough it is difficult to ignore the steady drip drip of a leaking roof!  No matter what the state of the economy a waterproof roof is a must and repair and maintenance work continues even in times of austerity.

Consequently, we have seen a steady expansion in the number of roofing contractors participating on our Dryseal training courses to enable them to install our Dryseal GRP roofing system.

Dryseal is a component based GRP roofing system which provides an alternative approach to the traditional wet lay fibreglass flat roofing products, providing a long service life supported by our Guarantee and an independent insurance backed warranty. For more details about Dryseal, click here.

A full listing of approved contractors can be seen here and the two most recent additions to that Contractor base are:

• John Williams and Company based in Lympne Kent, a well-established business with 140 years of history
• PQ Fibreglassing from County Longford Ireland

Andy Fell, our Dryseal manager, recently welcomed both Companies to the Dryseal Contractor network and looks forward to steadily increasing the contractor base over the coming months.  If you are a Contractor and would be interested in working with us and Dryseal please contact 01327 701907 or email dryseal@hambleside-danelaw.co.uk

It was interesting to see the item on BBC’s Breakfast programme yesterday (23rd May 2012) regarding metal theft and St John’s Church at Bromsgrove.   The presenter referred to the material used to replace the stolen lead as being “fibreglass”.

We are the manufacturers of the roofing system , Dryseal, which was chosen as an alternative to replacing the stolen lead.   Whilst it is technically correct to describe the replacement material as “fibreglass”, our product is a modern component based system manufactured using polyester resins and glass fibres (GRP) and is a very different product.

The main differences are:

• It is manufactured in a factory environment at our production centre in Inverness. The production process is very sophisticated, capable of forming complex profiles. The resins, reinforcements and other chemicals are very precisely controlled.
• Dryseal is believed to be the only component based GRP roofing system available within the UK. It is suitable for flat roofing and pitched roofing and also as a waterproof membrane.
• It is supplied to site as a kit of parts for installation by our approved contractors
• It is highly adaptable and can replicate the appearance of many traditional metals, lead being one.
• As was illustrated with the use at St John’s, it is designed to complement lead and we do not argue that there is no role for lead in heritage buildings.  That material is important to the buildings heritage, however when funds are “tight”, Dryseal offers a very cost effective way of protecting a building (circa 40% the cost of lead) and perhaps most importantly the interior artefacts.

In addition to those points, perhaps the most important additional one is that the system is mechanically fixed to the roof substrate,  which means that it is totally possible to restore the roof to its original state at some point in the future – the traditional “fibreglass” system will be laid as a “wet lay” surface, which means that it is not so easy to deal with that type of roof restoration work in the future.

So yes its fibreglass but not as you know it!

Hambleside Danelaw’s GRP flat roofing systems has received a significant boost with the appointment of Andy Fell as the company’s new Dryseal Manager.

Andy brings to Hambleside extensive experience of installing GRP flat roofing products since 1984 and fitting Dryseal as a contractor since the mid 1990’s. Previously with Ashgate Roofing, his new brief is to secure a larger profile for Dryseal and especially the RibTec membrane within the roofing market.

Manufactured in the UK by a British company, the Dryseal GRP component based roofing system for flat and low pitched roofs comes with the easy ‘Fit and Finish’ installation. It has been available as a proven solution for new build and refurbishment projects for over 20 years and the system totally encapsulates the roof with a single material. It requires no heat or flames for installation.

In 2010, the improved Dryseal range for domestic, commercial, industrial and heritage applications arrived on the market after a comprehensive product evaluation, carried out in conjunction with its network of approved contractors.

The new role of Dryseal Manager will oversee the strong promotion and branding of RibTec as a product, identifying its unique properties and advantages over ‘wet-lay’ systems with the emphasis on the robustness of the warranty. Marketing will also emphasise the green credentials of Dryseal to assist in clients’ carbon neutral aspirations.

Commenting on his appointment, Andy Fell said:

“As a former Dryseal contractor of 17 years, I am determined to help boost the market profile of Dryseal, improve our relationship with customers, contractors and specifiers alike and to improve the sales and performance of the range. We have a first class product here and I want everybody to know about it.”

Chris Avery, Hambleside Danelaw’s managing director, said:

“With over 30 years of installation and management experience, Andy’s unique skills make him a very welcome addition to the team at Hambleside Danelaw and his long term commitment to the company will ensure that Dryseal continues to be the roofing system for the future.”