RESTEC SYSTEMS
Restec Approved Installer Surrey: Flexitec and GRProof Flat Roofs
GB Roofing is a Restec trained and approved installer. We fit Flexitec and GRProof fibreglass flat roofs across Surrey, Middlesex and London, and register the work so Restec’s 20 year materials guarantee applies.
A fibreglass roof is made on site
Restec is a British manufacturer of GRP fibreglass and liquid flat roofing systems, and has been making them in the UK for around forty years. Their systems are fitted by installers they have trained and approved, and we are one of them. That matters more than it sounds, because a fibreglass roof is mixed and laid on your roof, not delivered finished.
Who Restec are and what they make
Restec has been manufacturing GRP fibreglass and liquid flat roofing systems for around forty years, and the products are made in the UK. In practice that means stock arrives quickly and technical support is a phone call rather than an email to another country.
Two systems cover most domestic work. Flexitec overlays most existing surfaces, so a sound old roof can stay where it is. GRProof is classic fibreglass laid on a new deck, which is what goes on when a roof is stripped back and rebuilt. Both are glass reinforced and both are cold applied, so there is no torch and no naked flame anywhere near your soffits.
Why manufacturer training matters
Fibreglass is made on your roof rather than in a factory. The resin is mixed with a catalyst on site, and the amount of catalyst changes with the temperature and the humidity on the day. Too little and the roof stays soft. Too much and it goes off in the bucket before it can be spread. The glass matting then has to be rolled out and consolidated so there are no dry patches and no trapped air.
Training is how a roofer learns those figures for one manufacturer’s products, and approval is how that manufacturer confirms it is satisfied with the work. It is also why the materials guarantee is tied to the installer. Restec is not going to stand behind a roof laid by somebody who read the tin and guessed.
Flexitec, over the roof you already have
Flexitec is a glass reinforced system designed to overlay most existing surfaces, including felt, asphalt, concrete and old fibreglass. Because it is reinforced, it is not simply a coating brushed over the top. It bonds to what is underneath and cures into a continuous waterproof layer with no joints and no laps for water to find. On a sound roof it is quicker, cleaner and far less disruptive than a full strip out.
GRProof, a new roof from the deck up
GRProof is the classic fibreglass build-up, laid on a fresh deck. The old covering comes off, the timber is checked and replaced where it has gone, the falls are corrected, insulation goes in and new boards are fixed down. The laminate is then rolled out across the whole area and taken up every upstand in one piece. It is the right choice when the roof underneath has had its day.
Registered before we finish
The paperwork is part of the job. We register the installation with Restec so the materials guarantee applies to your roof, and you keep the details with your house documents. If you come to sell, that is a useful thing to hand over. If anything ever goes wrong with the materials, the record exists and nobody has to argue about who fitted what.
The 20 year guarantee, and exactly what it depends on
Our own work sits alongside it. Every new project we take on is backed by a full guarantee on our workmanship, so you are covered for the materials by Restec and for the way they were fitted by us. If a roofer tells you the 20 years is their own guarantee, ask them to put that in writing.
Restec offers a 20 year guarantee on their materials. It is a materials guarantee from Restec, not our own guarantee, and it is only available through installers Restec has trained and approved. Three things have to be true for it to apply.
- The roof is installed by an installer Restec has trained and approved. We are.
- The full Restec system is used, from the primer through to the trims and the topcoat, with nothing substituted from another manufacturer.
- The installation is registered with Restec. We handle that registration as part of the job rather than leaving it to you.
Choosing between Flexitec and GRProof
The deck decides it. Where the existing covering is dry, firmly fixed and sitting on sound timber, and the roof still drains, Flexitec can go straight over the top. That saves a strip out, saves a skip and gets the roof watertight sooner, which counts for a lot when it is a garage full of your belongings or an extension you are living under.
Where the deck is soft, sagging, rotten at the edges or laid with no useful fall, an overlay just hides the problem. That job is a strip back to the joists, new decking, firrings to correct the fall, insulation brought up to current standards, and GRProof over the lot. We tell you which one you are looking at after we have been up there, not before.
What happens on site
We work Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Fibreglass needs dry conditions and a workable temperature to cure, so we plan around the forecast and let you know the day before if anything has to move. We will not open up a roof we cannot get watertight.
- Strip or clean back to a sound surface, then check the falls, the outlets and the timber.
- Replace decking and firrings where needed, and fit insulation for a warm deck build-up.
- Fix the trims, then lay the matting and resin, worked out to every edge and up every upstand.
- Apply the topcoat in your chosen colour, with a non-slip finish where the roof gets walked on.
- Clear the site, take the waste away, and register the installation with Restec.
Where we install Restec flat roofs
We cover Surrey, Middlesex and London. Most of our fibreglass work is in Addlestone, Weybridge, Chertsey, Cobham, Oxshott, Esher, West Byfleet, Woking, Lightwater and Bagshot. Garages, dormers, porches, bay roofs, single storey extensions and small balconies are the usual jobs.
Estimates are free and there is no obligation. Grant comes out, looks at the roof properly and tells you whether you need a new one at all. Sometimes the honest answer is a repair, a new outlet and a clear gutter.
Three questions worth asking any fibreglass roofer
Ask who trained them, ask whether the whole system comes from one manufacturer, and ask whether your job will be registered. A roof laid with mixed products from three suppliers can look identical on the day it is finished. It will not carry a manufacturer’s materials guarantee, and you tend to find that out at the worst possible moment.
How we work
Four steps, and no surprises
The same run of events on every job, whether it is one tile or a whole roof.
Ring or email
Tell us what you have noticed. Grant can usually tell from a description whether it is a morning’s work or something bigger, and he will say so.
We come and look properly
We get up on the roof rather than guessing from the drive, and photograph anything you cannot see for yourself.
A written price
Set out clearly, so you can compare it fairly against another quote. Free, and no obligation to go ahead.
Booked in and cleared up
We hold the date as far as the weather allows, sheet up, and the rubbish leaves with us at the end of it.
THE 20 YEARS
What the 20 year materials guarantee actually rests on
Restec offers a 20 year guarantee on its materials. Here is what it rests on, and what it does not cover.
- Fitted by an installer Restec has approved. The guarantee is only available through installers Restec has trained and approved on its systems. We are one of them, which is worth asking about before you accept any fibreglass quote.
- The whole system has to be Restec. Resin, matting, trims and topcoat all from the one manufacturer, with nothing swapped for something cheaper on the day. A roof laid with products from three suppliers looks identical when it is finished and carries no manufacturer’s guarantee.
- The installation has to be registered. We register the finished roof with Restec as part of the job, and you keep the details with your house documents. If you ever come to sell, that is a useful thing to hand over.
- It covers the materials, not the workmanship. This is Restec’s guarantee on Restec’s products, not ours, and it is not insurance backed. The way it was fitted is covered separately by the full guarantee we give on every new project we take on.
Gallery
Work we have finished
Questions
Common questions
Yes. We are a Restec trained and approved installer, which means Restec has trained us on their systems and approved us to fit them. It also means we can register your installation with Restec so their 20 year materials guarantee applies to your roof. Not every roofer fitting fibreglass holds that approval, so it is worth asking before you accept a quote.
It is a 20 year guarantee on Restec’s materials, provided by Restec. It applies when the roof is fitted by an installer they have trained and approved, when the full Restec system is used with nothing substituted, and when the installation is registered with them. It is not our own guarantee. Our workmanship is covered separately by the full guarantee we give on every new project.
Flexitec overlays most existing surfaces, so it can go over a sound felt, asphalt, concrete or fibreglass roof without stripping it off. GRProof is the classic fibreglass system, laid on a new deck once the old covering has come away. Both are glass reinforced and both cure into one continuous sheet with no joints. The condition of your decking is what decides between them.
Often yes, if the felt is dry, well fixed and sitting on sound timber, and if the roof still drains properly. Flexitec is made for exactly that situation. If the deck feels soft underfoot, if there is a dip holding water, or if the felt is blistered and lifting, an overlay only buys time. We check the deck before quoting, because that is the part that gives you the answer.
A single garage roof is usually two to three days, and a larger extension roof longer, depending on how much decking has to come off. Fibreglass needs dry weather and a reasonable temperature to cure, so we work around the forecast. We will not start a roof we cannot get watertight in the same visit, and we will say so if the dates need to move.
Yes, with care, and it can be built specifically to be walked on. Where a flat roof is used as a balcony or a walkway we finish it with a non-slip topcoat and pay extra attention to the upstands and the threshold detail. On an ordinary garage or extension roof, occasional access to clear leaves or adjust an aerial is not a problem.
Very little. There are no joints or laps to reseal, so there is nothing to patch up year to year. What it does need is clear outlets and guttering, moss brushed off rather than left to sit, and a quick look after a bad storm. Nothing heavy should be dragged across the topcoat, including ladders and aerial bases.
Our other roofing services
For a Restec fibreglass flat roof in Surrey, Middlesex or London, call Grant on 01932 690 995 or email grant@gbroofingservices.co.uk. The estimate is free, the advice is honest, and you will be told plainly which system your roof actually needs.