If you’ve an extension or any flat roof with worn or leaky felt, joiner Ben Swinson has the perfect solution – rubber.
His roof coating from Firestone can last up to 50 years – and is guaranteed for 20 years by the tyre giant itself. “It’s a great product,” said Ben, who trained with Redman and Bispham, Ashton, “and the same price as felt, which lasts up to 12 years.” The roofing material is made of tyre rubber. It comes in a single sheet, ordered to fit the roof size, so there are no joints to leak, and it is applied with the same glue used for tyre punctures. Once stuck on, it will not come off!
Among the first in Preston to start laying Firestone rubber, Ben’s firm has now laid over 10,000 square metres, from a porch to a block of flats –probably more than any other roofer in central Lancashire. “If you’ve a cold room – with a dormer roof, for instance – you can put insulation board on top of the existing roof, then put the rubber cover straight on top – it saves money long-term.”
Note: Most insurers expect felt roofs to be recovered every 12 years for cover to apply not just to buildings but to the contents, too.
Ben believes he has installed more Firestone rubber flat roofs around Preston than anyone else. “My supplier says we’re the biggest buyer around Preston,” he says. “We’re always busy and there’s a waiting list – I generally have about 15 waiting to do, though leaking roofs go to the top of the list.”
Weather temperature can affect installation – it has to stay above five degrees centigrade for 24 hours before a roof can be installed. Ben’s training course performance and subsequent expertise has gained him a place on his supplier’s approved list of contractors. “We’re asked to do them all over the country, particularly in the north of England,” he adds, “from Maryport and Whitehaven over to Newcastle.”
Ben’s supplier sends a written 20-year guarantee to every customer on completion of the work.
