Social Housing Re-Roofing With Residents in Their Homes
Whole-roof replacement on occupied social housing, phased to keep homes weathertight and documented for the asset manager.
Social housing re-roofing means replacing the whole roof covering on homes that stay occupied while the work is done. Globe Roofing delivers it for housing associations, local authorities and the principal contractors who hold their regeneration contracts, as part of our regeneration, repair and maintenance division.
The constraints are not those of new build. Residents are living underneath the roof, the programme runs through the seasons, and the landlord has to be able to show that each home was treated safely and to standard. Our method is built around those constraints rather than adapted from plot-by-plot work.
Restricted stripping on occupied homes
An occupied home cannot be stripped and left open. We restrict how much of each roof is stripped at one time to what the gang can protect again before they stop, and we sequence the work so the home is kept weathertight as it moves across the roof. Before any covering comes off, a pre-work survey confirms the existing construction, whether cut timber, trussed rafter or a mixed pitched and flat arrangement, and identifies structural issues that need resolving first. That means decisions are taken in planning, not with the roof open.
Weather constraints and phasing
Re-roofing on occupied stock carries on through the year, so weather is planned for rather than hoped around. When conditions turn, whether rain, wind or icy battens, work stops until it is safe to continue and the exposed area is secured. Properties are grouped by area and released in tranches, so gangs move through a street or estate in a predictable order and residents know when their home is due.
Scaffold is the other half of the sequence. Where Globe Cambridge provides the scaffold, it is designed around the roofing work, handed over with a certificate and inspected every seven days, and changes forced by weather are agreed directly between the two teams rather than across separate contracts.
Resident communication
We work inside the housing provider's resident communication framework. Residents receive programme information in advance, know what access is needed and who to contact, and the housing management team is kept informed as each tranche progresses. Sites are kept tidy and considerate, because the work is happening at someone's front door for the length of the programme.
Avoiding decants
Moving residents out while a roof is replaced is a cost and a disruption that asset managers want to avoid. Restricted stripping, weathertight sequencing and access agreed in advance are what allow residents to stay at home while the work goes on above them. Where a survey shows a property needs more than a covering replacement, it is raised with the client before the programme reaches that address.
Compliance evidence for asset managers
Each property is photographed and documented as it is completed, giving the landlord a clear record of what was done and where, and an updated condition baseline for their asset management records. Defects found after handback are expensive to put right once access has returned to residents, which is why our ISO 9001 quality management and property-by-property documentation matter on regeneration schemes. For the wider approach to prioritising stock, see how we support housing associations with planned roofing programmes, and our stock condition surveys and planned maintenance programmes services.
Planning a re-roofing programme on occupied homes? Contact the Globe Roofing team, email enquiries@theglobegroup.co.uk or call 01223 890727.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
The aim is that they do not. Restricted stripping, weathertight sequencing and access agreed in advance allow residents to stay at home while the roof is replaced. Where a pre-work survey shows a property needs more than a covering replacement, we raise it with the client before the programme reaches that address, so any decision is made in planning.
Only as much as the gang can protect again before they stop work. The sequence is planned so the home is kept weathertight as the work moves across the roof, rather than stripping a whole roof and leaving it exposed. The exact extent depends on the roof, the weather and the resident's circumstances.
Work stops when conditions become unsafe, including rain, high wind and icy battens, and the exposed area is secured before the gang leaves. Where Globe Cambridge provides the scaffold, any reconfiguration or temporary protection is agreed directly between the two teams, which shortens the time between the weather turning and the property being made safe.
Yes. A pre-work survey confirms the existing roof construction, whether cut timber, trussed rafter or mixed pitched and flat, and identifies structural issues that need resolving before the new covering goes on. The findings inform the specification for that property and give the landlord an updated condition baseline for its asset management records.
Each property is photographed and documented as it is completed, giving a clear record of what was done and where. Survey findings update the condition baseline, and our ISO 9001 quality management keeps the documentation consistent from one address to the next, which matters once access has returned to residents and defects are harder to put right.
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