Roofing and roof repairs in Barbados

What we do

• Full re-roofing and roof replacement — timber structures, sheet coverings, tiles and shingles.
• New roofs on extensions, verandahs, garages and outbuildings.
• Concrete roof repair — spalling, cracking, exposed reinforcement and waterproofing to flat roofs.
• Leak investigation and repair. Finding where water gets in, which is rarely where it comes out.
• Hurricane tie-down and strapping upgrades to existing roofs. See hurricane strengthening.
• Fascias, soffits, guttering and downpipes, and tank connections.
• Post-storm repair, including making safe and working with your insurer's requirements for evidence.

The load path is the whole game

A hurricane does not push a roof down. It lifts it. Wind flowing over the roof creates uplift, and the roof will leave unless there is a continuous, connected path holding it down: covering fixed to battens, battens to rafters, rafters strapped to the wall plate, wall plate anchored into the ring beam, ring beam tied into the walls and down to the foundation.

Break any one link and the whole chain is worth nothing. Most roof losses in the Caribbean are a broken link, not a broken material. When we re-roof, we check and correct the chain from covering to ring beam — not just the part you can see.

Repair or replace?

An honest answer needs someone in the roof space, not a look from the ground. We will tell you which it is and why, and if it is repair we will say so even though replacement is the bigger invoice. Signs it is replacement: widespread rot or termite damage in the structure, fixings corroded through, coverings at the end of their life, or a tie-down arrangement that cannot be brought up to standard piecemeal.

Timing it

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November. A roof is best replaced outside it. If yours needs doing and it is already August, we will still do it — but we sequence it so the building is never left open, and we watch the forecast like everyone else.