The waterproofing on the roof of footwear manufacturer Hotter Shoes’ head office and manufacturing facility in Skelmersdale, West Lancashire had exceeded its serviceable life and begun experiencing significant water ingress, requiring urgent remedial work.

The specification

Prior to any work commencing on site, Bauder undertook a comprehensive condition and moisture mapping survey of the roof area to help identify the exact extent and locations of water ingress, so that a fully informed decision could then be made to best suit the client’s needs. As a result, the optimal solution was for approved contractor BBR Roofing to strip off the existing deteriorated and delaminating, oxidised bituminous capping sheet and overlay the underlayer with 12,500m2 of Bauder’s high quality, two layer bituminous system Bauderflex. This partial strip allowed for a quick and undisruptive installation, which was important to the client as they wanted the factory below to remain fully operational throughout.

Project challenges

One of the major challenges for this project was the quantity of intricate detailing requirements, which is understandable given the sheer scale of the roof. As part of the necessary works redundant vents and associated frameworks also needed to be removed and replaced prior to new cladding being added to the perimeter and 69 of Bauder’s structural glazed units being expertly fitted to give essential daylight to the building’s interior. Moreover, asbestos was found within the redundant vent apertures and therefore required specialist disposal. 

Because the factory workers have variable shift patterns it meant that the roofing works programme had to be regularly changed and all deliveries needed to be timed as not to conflict with vehicles moving in and out of the facility. However, despite the logistical challenges encountered all works were completed on time and to budget much to the delight of the client. Upon completion an additional moisture mapping survey was performed to confirm to the client that the overlay was performing as specified and the roof was now completely watertight.

The result

Andy Glover, Facilities Manager at Hotter Shoes, stated, “The readings from Bauder’s moisture mapping survey provided us with objective information and a visual representation of the exact condition of the roof; enabling us to take the best remedial action and save money in the process. The resulting overlay solution was expertly installed, without causing any disruption to ongoing work at our facility. We are delighted with our refurbished roof and the expert technical support we received throughout.”