About Richard
Richard has worked for Giromax for over 5 years and has a wealth of technical knowledge relating to the preparation and application of our products. Before working for Giromax, Richard worked as a landscape gardener, he was in the RAF and the police force, based on the Tactical firearms unit. He believes these experiences have provided him with essential communication skills, helping him to interact with a range of different people. Read more…
Liaising with surveyors, contractors, landlords and building owners, Richard provides written reports and verbal advice to ensure the correct preparation and application of our roof coatings. He oversees the Technical Services Managers, who have designated regions across the UK. Richard also has his own region, which starts from Nottinghamshire and covers the north, including Scotland and Ireland. He makes regular site trips to inspect roofing works.
Let’s hear what Richard has to say about the challenges he often faces in his daily work, along with some of the varied projects he has worked on over the years…
Poor preparation leads to problems
Correct preparation and application of our coatings is the key to ensuring a roofing project meets our high standards, which then allows us to sign off our guarantee. We can recommend contractors, who we trust to follow our preparation and application guidelines. The problems can start when an inexperienced contractor has got the job and they don’t follow the guidance. This can lead to costly remedial works needing to be done.
A typical example of poor preparation of a metal profile roof usually consists of the incorrect pressure washer being used to remove old coatings. As a minimum, we recommend a 3,000-psi pressure washer with a turbo head. In some cases, 4,000 psi might be required. Unless the correct preparatory work is carried out, the application process can be hindered. We won’t confirm any roof is ready for application until the area has been correctly prepared.
Roofing projects
A recent project, which is drawing to a close, has involved inspections and roof coating advice for a large organisation with multiple depots. The area of the metal profile roof is around 15 – 16,000 square metres. The contractor had issues with adequately preparing the surface for a coating application. The incorrect pressure washer was being used, which meant the old coatings were not being removed to a secure edge and was still flaking from the metal roof sheet. The contractor’s had to prepare the roof to the correct standard.
We regularly work with the NSS Group on roofing projects, providing assistance, as required. We recently advised on a roof area measuring several hundred metres for a company based in Washington. This job required a wide variety of works, from cut-edge corrosion to recoating a skylight, valley gutters and small areas of roofing. At present, we are assisting with a large cut-edge corrosion project on a building in Sunderland.
But not all of our jobs are large-scale; many are much smaller and can be very varied in terms of sites. Nowadays, metal profile roofing is not only used on industrial buildings. Over the years, we have advised on projects for a wide range of buildings, from convention centres to football stadiums and stands, as well as scout huts.
Advising on roofing projects
The role of a Technical Services Manager is very varied, and our team are multiskilled. Along with providing recommendations, Richard also reviews every remedial job that comes in. Diplomacy and clear communication are important to ensure contractors follow the correct guidelines to avoid costly mistakes for the main contractor’s client in the long run. We provide advice at the start of a job and at regular intervals throughout, as required.
Every single job will involve a certain level of interaction from us with the contractor or surveyor. We attend most jobs in person, and we always attend if requested.
It’s often important to ensure a pre-sign off, which we recommend before the scaffolding comes down, so we can inspect the roof up close. Small misses can lead to large problems in the long run, and careful inspections are essential to obtaining our guarantee. We can provide technical guidance in a variety of forms, including factsheets and videos.
When it comes to roof coatings, we’re the original leader in our market. Our product range is continuously being developed and improved. If you need technical advice on preparation, application or remedial works, please speak to the Giromax team or call 01455 558969.
