Learning About Dryseal

To become an approved contractor for Dryseal flat roofing system the important first step is to undergo detailed training.

Bethany McTrustery, Marketing Executive for Hambleside Danelaw, was given the opportunity to attend the course and get to grips with installing a Dryseal flat roof.

“Of the three training locations in the UK and Ireland, I recently attended the two-day course at the Woodford Halse Training School in Daventry.

Because of the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, training courses were put on hold, but with the success of the vaccination roll-out, restrictions have begun to ease, so on 18^th and 19^th May 2021, Hambleside Danelaw delivered its first Dryseal training in over a year.

Here are the details of the course”.

Day One:  Laying the Foundations, starting the roofing training

On a windy Tuesday morning Paul Lambert, Dryseal’s Field Technical Support was there to greet the trainees.  There was another member of the Hambleside Danelaw team alongside two contractors who had travelled all the way from Wales.

Starting with a quick cup of tea and a round of introductions, Paul launched into an immersive and informative presentation.

Paul covered the key differences between ‘wet lay’ GRP systems and Hambleside Danelaw’s Dryseal system.  He also offered an overview of what GRP is and the benefits of using Dryseal.  With examples at hand, Paul discussed the key components of Dryseal and handed round a piece of the woven matt that is used to help waterproof the joints.

We took a break to eat a delicious lunch, which was a chance to have a chat.

After lunch we went out to the roofing rigs, donning overalls, dust masks, high visibility vests, and eye protection.

Paul brought out an angle grinder and tucked a pencil behind his ear.  He explained we would be covering a small roofing rig with Dryseal, measuring and cutting the pre-cured parts, tacking them down, and finally applying resin to the joints.

As someone who has had little chance to use a hammer this was a challenge for me in a few ways.  The contractors from Wales seemed to speed ahead, with me struggling to even hit the tacks.  My fingers, unfortunately, seemed to be better targets!

We affixed the pre-cured components using an angle grinder to create the joints, and then it was time to create the waterproofing seal.  This is done through adding a catalyst to resin and applying it with a roller firstly on to the woven fibreglass matt, and secondly to tissue.  Once this had cured the ‘roof’ was watertight.

Tomorrow, Paul stated, we would be installing Dryseal onto the larger rigs.

Day Two: Building Knowledge

We exchanged greetings and climbed into a new set of overalls, it was time for day two of the roofing training.

The large roofing rigs are about 7 metres of roof space.  They feature every angle, joint, slope, and challenge you could imagine.  This is the true test for installing Dryseal.  It equips contractors with demonstrable skills that can help with their growth when installing the flat roofing system.

Paul showed us the small rigs we covered yesterday, the resin had well and truly cured and the errors we made during the process were pointed out.  This allowed us to approach the larger rigs with an understanding on how we could do the best job.  The contractors had one roof rig, and Jeff (a Hambleside Danelaw employee) and I had the other.  The aces versus the amateurs!

On to bigger things…

We plugged in the angle grinder, sharpened our pencils, and got to work.

By 12’o’clock we had the structure covered, using a wide variety of the pre-cured parts.  For a layman such as myself, the hardest part was knowing how to measure to make the cut.  This often resulted in dodgy angles which had to be Frankensteined together.  The contractors seemed to be doing a much better job…

We took a tea break to admire our creations while the lightning sparked across the sky.  Thunder rolled as we put on our goggles and got back to work.

We measured out the catalyst, making sure we had all the equipment we needed.  The task now was to make the roof watertight.  It was immensely satisfying rolling the resin over the joints to lay the GRP matting over, finally to top it with tissue paper, using a brush to dab the material into the crevasses and nooks.

Once we covered every joint and Paul had given the nod of approval we went to sit down, have an all-important cuppa, and munch some sandwiches and mini rolls.  We just needed to wait for the resin to dry before we could apply the UV resistant topcoat.

And we did apply it, firstly cleaning the roof with acetone, then rolling on the topcoat.  We needed to apply the topcoat thickly to ensure the finished product looked consistent and clean.

Key Takeaways for Dryseal Approved Contractor Roofing Training

The roofing training provides a thorough and detailed insight to Dryseal.  It includes both a session in the classroom and a hands-on practical.  There was also a period during day two where one of the contractors had a session about estimating for projects.  The course covered everything needed to ensure correct installation of the system.

To learn more about Hambleside Danelaw’s Approved Contractor training please contact our Dryseal Team on 01327 701900 or email us at dryseal@hambleside-danelaw.co.uk.