Maintenance

Cut edge corrosion repair

Rust streaks at the sheet laps are the roof telling you the coating has failed. Treating it costs a fraction of a re-roof.

Call 0800 246 1537
  • Since 2018Cleaning and maintaining commercial buildings across the North West
  • Fully insuredComprehensive public liability cover on every job
  • Trained teamsAccredited operatives, trained for work at height
  • 24 hoursTypical turnaround on a written quote

When profiled metal sheet is cut to length at the factory, the cut leaves bare steel exposed at the edge with no protective coating on it. Water sits in the lap, the steel corrodes, and the rust creeps back under the coating and lifts it.

Left alone, it works its way along the sheet until the laps perforate and the roof starts leaking. Caught early, it is a straightforward treatment that adds another decade or more to a roof you already own.

Cut edge corrosion treated and sealed along a roof sheet lap
Wire brushed back, primed, then sealed over the lap.

How we treat it

The area is jet washed, then mechanically prepared: ground and wire brushed back to sound steel so all loose rust and failed coating comes off. Bare steel then gets a rust inhibiting primer, followed by a colour matched topcoat carried out onto sound sheet either side.

Sheet joints get an extra step. After priming, the joint is sealed before the topcoat goes over it, because a joint left unsealed will simply reopen and let water back to the steel. The finish is colour matched to your existing roof, so the repair does not read as a stripe across the elevation. Typical life expectancy is ten to fifteen years depending on exposure and the system specified.

When it is too late

If sheets are already perforated, or the corrosion has spread across the sheet face rather than staying at the lap, treatment is patching a problem rather than solving it. We will say so and recommend overcladding or sheet replacement instead of taking money for a repair that will fail.

The honest test is simple: if a screwdriver goes through the sheet, treatment is the wrong answer.

Why treat rather than replace

  • A fraction of a re-roof

    Treatment typically costs a small percentage of replacing the sheets, with no disruption inside the building.

  • No production shutdown

    All work happens from outside. The building carries on operating underneath.

  • Colour matched finish

    Systems tinted to your existing sheet colour so the roof looks maintained, not patched.

  • Survey and photo report

    You get a documented condition survey, which is useful for a landlord, an insurer or a dilapidations discussion.

The sequence of work

  1. Condition survey

    We photograph the laps, gutters and fixings and grade the corrosion so you know what actually needs doing.

  2. Jet wash and prepare

    The area is jet washed, then ground and wire brushed back to sound steel. Everything after this depends on how well this step is done.

  3. Prime

    A rust inhibitive primer on all exposed steel, applied the same working day so nothing flash rusts before it is covered.

  4. Seal the joints

    Sheet joints are sealed after priming. An unsealed joint reopens and lets water straight back to the steel.

  5. Topcoat

    Colour matched topcoat over the primed edges and sealed joints, carried out onto sound sheet either side.

Ready for a price?

Send a few photos and a postcode and we will come back with a fixed written quote, usually within one working day.

Call 0800 246 1537

Frequently asked questions

Where we work

We cover the whole of the North West and travel further for multi-site contracts. If your site is not on the list, ask anyway.

  • Manchester
  • Liverpool
  • Chester
  • Warrington
  • Preston
  • Blackpool
  • Lancaster
  • Bolton
  • Stockport
  • Wigan
  • Rochdale
  • Salford
  • Leeds
  • Sheffield

Request a quote

Send us the details and we'll come back with a fixed price. No pressure, no sales calls.

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