Commercial roof surveys in Colchester
Roofcheck provides commercial and industrial roof surveys across Colchester and north Essex, for the managers of its hospital, university, colleges, shopping centres and business parks who need a full account of each roof’s condition. Moisture mapping, thermography, electronic leak detection, drone and RAAC surveys reach the CO postcode area, from Stanway and Wivenhoe to Tiptree, Halstead, Manningtree and Clacton-on-Sea.
The roofs we survey here
Colchester’s commercial roofs run from Colchester Hospital on Turner Road and the University of Essex at Wivenhoe Park to Culver Square, Lion Walk and the High Street’s department store, and the offices and labs of the Knowledge Gateway.
Old town-centre buildings with flat roofs hidden behind their parapets sit alongside newer sheds on the edge of the city, and both hide water well: behind the parapets on the first, under long runs of insulation on the second.
Colchester Hospital
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, the largest NHS organisation in East Anglia with more than 11,000 staff, runs Colchester Hospital, one of its two hospitals with a major emergency department. Ward and theatre roofs are checked from the outside with thermography and electronic leak detection, so the hospital runs as usual beneath.
The University of Essex and Colchester Institute
The University of Essex’s Colchester Campus is set in 200 acres of parkland at Wivenhoe Park, two miles from the city centre, and Colchester Institute teaches at its Sheepen Road campus. Labs, halls and teaching blocks are surveyed in visits planned with each estates team.
RAAC in schools
Three Colchester secondary schools appeared on the Department for Education’s last published list of settings with confirmed RAAC, among more than 60 settings in Essex. Flat concrete roofs laid between the mid-1950s and the mid-1990s on the city’s other schools, clinics and offices call for the same check.
Culver Square, Lion Walk and Fenwick
Culver Square sits in the heart of the city centre, Lion Walk Shopping Centre and Red Lion Yard lie off the High Street, and Fenwick has its Colchester store at 152 High Street. Electronic leak detection traces water through the flat roofs over shops and stores without lifting the membrane. Older shops along the High Street often hide flat roofs and box gutters behind their parapets, out of sight from the street.
The Knowledge Gateway
The Knowledge Gateway, the University of Essex’s research and technology park on its Colchester Campus, gives science, technology and digital creative firms space in the Innovation Centre and Parkside. Office and lab roofs are surveyed by drone and thermography, with access agreed with the park’s operations team. Parkland around the campus brings leaves and moss into gutters and outlets, a common cause of ponding.
Solar on business units
Colchester’s business units and campus buildings have plenty of flat roof for solar, and a condition survey with moisture mapping should confirm that each roof is sound before an array goes on.
How a roof survey works
Request a quote
Tell us about the building, the roof and what you need to find out.
The right survey
We recommend the methods that suit the roof and send a written quote.
Survey on site
A qualified surveyor carries out the survey, planned around your site, tenants and access.
Report on your roof plan
Every finding is pinned to a plan of your roof, online in your dashboard and as a PDF.
Manage your roof surveys online
From a single building in Colchester to an estate across north Essex, approve quotes, follow every survey and open reports in one place, then share them by link so everyone works from the same information.
Areas we cover
- City centre CO1
- New Town CO1, CO2, CO3
- Hythe CO1, CO2, CO5
- Greenstead CO1, CO2, CO4
- Mile End CO1, CO4
- Highwoods CO4
- St Anne’s CO4
- Lexden CO3, CO4, CO6
- Prettygate CO3
- Shrub End CO2, CO3
- Berechurch CO2
- Stanway CO2, CO3
- Wivenhoe CO4, CO7
- Marks Tey CO5, CO6
- Tiptree CO5
- West Mersea CO5
- Brightlingsea CO7
- Halstead CO9
- Sudbury CO10
- Manningtree CO11
- Harwich CO12
- Clacton-on-Sea CO15, CO16
Questions about roof surveys
Can you survey a hospital, school or campus without disrupting it?
Yes. Surveys are carried out from the roof, and visits are planned around clinical areas, term dates and building access. Any method that needs access inside the building, such as some RAAC inspections, is agreed with you beforehand.
Can you check a Colchester school or public building for RAAC?
Yes. A RAAC survey confirms whether panels are present, records cracking, deflection and water staining, and sets out a next step for each area. It is worth considering for any flat-roofed building from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s.
Do you survey business units and offices in Colchester?
Yes. Office and business unit roofs at the Knowledge Gateway and on the city’s estates are surveyed by drone and thermography, with access agreed with each landlord.
Do you offer pre-solar roof surveys?
Yes. Before panels go on, a condition survey and moisture mapping show whether the roof needs work first. Once the panels are up, anything the roof needs means lifting them first, and the bill for that dwarfs the cost of a survey.
Can you survey the hospital and the university in Colchester?
Yes. Ward, lab and teaching roofs are surveyed from above with thermography and electronic leak detection, in visits agreed with the estates teams first.
What roof systems do you survey?
All the main systems on UK commercial roofs: single ply membranes from manufacturers such as Bauder, IKO, Fatra, Renolit and Sika Sarnafil, built-up felt, liquid applied coatings, mastic asphalt, profiled metal and standing seam.
Can you survey several buildings across Colchester and beyond?
Yes. For estates and portfolios, every building can be surveyed to the same scope, with reports in the same format so they can be compared side by side.
Do you survey historic and town-centre buildings in Colchester?
Yes. Non-intrusive surveys suit older roofs behind parapets in the city centre, and access is agreed with each owner and, for a listed building, its conservation advisers.
Do you work on tenanted buildings?
Yes. One report can serve the landlord, the tenant, the contractor and the insurer, so everyone works from the same findings.
How much does a roof survey in Colchester cost?
Cost depends on the roof area, the roof system and the methods needed. Call 0113 868 0097 or start a quote online with the approximate roof area and what you need to find out, and you’ll receive a written quote.
Do you cover the towns around Colchester?
Yes. Surveys cover Colchester and the CO postcode area beyond it, from Stanway, Wivenhoe and West Mersea to Tiptree, Halstead, Manningtree, Harwich, Clacton-on-Sea and Sudbury.
Get a roof check in Colchester
Whether you’re investigating a problem or planning ahead, we’ll help you choose the right survey for your roof. Get in touch for a free quote.
Free quote
A few details about the building and what you need to find out. It commits you to nothing.
Start your quote