NEW COMPOSITE PANELLED ROOF FOR SIG ROOFING BRANCH IN DUDLEY

Background:

SIG Roofing has operated from a branch in Dudley for the past 20 years (2005). It is a large 48,445 sq ft facility that has previously housed products from various SIG divisions. Now dedicated solely to SIG Roofing products, the branch has undergone a much-needed refurbishment, creating a better workplace for staff and allowing a wider range of roofing products to be stocked to better serve their customers.

The work began with the roof area, which covers over 4,000 m², is 20 years old, and was in poor condition. The original roof was a single-skin material containing asbestos, which leaked quite badly, and its rooflights were badly degraded, so not much light could pass through.

Process:

At the beginning of 2024, the facilities department at SIG contacted the SIG Industrial Roofing Centre (IRC), headed by Lorraine Rae, to ask for design advice and assistance with the reroofing project.   

It was to be quite an involved process with a number of parties involved, including the SIG facilities team, branch staff, contractors, manufacturing suppliers, and the building landlord. But it was the type of industrial roofing project that the IRC thrive on at SIG.

The first step was to contact the building owner, who, along with his insurance company, would determine the specifications required for the building. They wanted FM approval (an American Standard) and aimed to meet certain fire regulations.

From a commercial perspective, the tenants, in this case SIG Roofing, wanted to ensure that the branch continued to trade throughout the process, so they required a quick installation process and a logistics plan that would minimise disruption and usable space. There was also a requirement for some insulation in the building to ensure a comfortable working environment for staff.

SIG IRC presented the available options to help all parties make an informed decision. The option of replacing the old roof with a single skin was ruled out because insulation was necessary in the roof. An ‘overskin’ roof on top of the existing roof was also rejected since the current roof was in poor condition. A ‘built-up’ system was considered because the costs were favourable, but it was ultimately dismissed due to the expected offset of material savings by higher labour costs and the lengthy installation process. It was therefore agreed to proceed with a composite panel option, which could also be used for the wall cladding.

Since SIG IRC deals with all manufacturing suppliers of Industrial Roofing products, they provide completely unbiased advice on which product options they consider suitable for a project. In this case, they recommended a solution from Kingspan and contacted the manufacturer to design and price the roof, incorporating more roof lights to maximise natural light throughout the warehouse.

Once the building owner approved the proposal, the project passed to Gemma Green in the IRC team to start the bidding process for a suitable contractor to carry out the work. The winning contractor was a customer of the SIG Leicester branch, Gary W Allen Roofing and Exteriors, so Gemma involved this branch with the supply of fixings and accessories, whilst the main Kingspan materials were delivered directly from the manufacturer to the Dudley branch site.

Once the roofing contractor was appointed, more work was required on the design plus some product training, to ensure confidence in the installation.

Work started in early March 2025, and the installation was planned across 3 phases. Roof slopes 1-3, then 4-5, then 6-8. A crane remained on site for lifting material to the required height, and the deliveries, which came in timed batches, comprised five articulated trucks each time. Deliveries of materials were timed to the requirements of the contractors, again all coordinated by the team at IRC, through to early June.

There was a lot of communication throughout the installation with the roofing contractor, with SIG IRC acting in a design and advisory capacity, and coordinating supply with relevant SIG branches.

Gary Allen, the specialist roofing contractor for the project, commented on the project:

“The only real issue we had to overcome was that the building was to stay live, so we had to carry out the work in phases and wait until the next phase of the building was empty and ready for us but this was coordinated with precision by the SIG IRC staff and we stayed on target throughout the project. 

 We thoroughly enjoyed working on this project for SIG Roofing, it was one of the larger jobs we have completed but working with the SIG Roofing branch staff on site made it far less of a challenge, they were accommodating and went above and beyond to help with any changes required on the ground. Peter Goodson was especially supportive throughout to coordinate the staff and the materials on the ground to enable us to get the work done competently. We received a lot of support and hard work from Graham Coy at the SIG Leicester branch in regard to ordering materials. We look forward to hopefully having the opportunity to work on other SIG projects.” 

Roofing product choice:

Kingspan QuadCore KS1000RW roof panels, 120mm deep, were selected for the reroof. They are through-fixed, profiled, insulated roof panels suitable for building applications with roof pitches of 4 ° or more. The panels came in a width of 1000mm and, as they are prefabricated, are quicker to install than traditional built-up roof structures, making the roof instantly wind- and water-tight.

These modular composite panels are factory-bonded, comprising two metal sheets bonded with PIR insulation (Polyisocyanurate). Although more expensive to purchase, they are easier and quicker to fit. The panels were fitted with Kingspan Day-Lite Trapezoidal Rooflights, which offer a U-value of 1.0w/m²k.

Insulated gutter, complementary flashings, fabrications, and fixings were also supplied.

Summary:

The project, completed in July 2025, exemplifies how SIG Industrial Roofing Centre (IRC) can enhance the value of a commercial roofing project.

It offers a proactive service, provided free of charge to SIG Roofing customers, to assist with product selection advice and to coordinate the many different parties involved in a project.

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