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Testimonial from Charles Dunn re Sutton Place

27^th January 2020

We have three apartment blocks on the seafront at Bexhill totalling 54 flats which is self managed by our residents company SPRC Ltd.

Historically the buildings have suffered from water ingress emanating from the flat roofs causing water damage to individual apartments and communal areas. For nearly forty years several management committees have tried various waterproofing remedies to stop the water ingress but to no avail.

The current management committee decided the only way to solve the water ingress once and for all was to undertake a flat to pitch conversion. After researching the market, it soon became clear that Dibsa Structures from Yorkshire were the market leader for the steel frames necessary to build the lightweight roof structure. When we met the managing director Andy Foulkes we were left in no doubt that we were in safe hands, his knowledge of these types of structures was impressive, his honest straight talking approach filled us with the confidence we needed to proceed.

Our roofing engineer recommended Metrotile as our roofing tile of choice, Dibsa and Metrotile have proved to be the ideal combination. The workforce from Dibsa structures who built and tiled our roofs were exemplary, they were led by their own project manager who was highly experienced, his team were hard working, conscientious, polite and helpful.

Although this was a fairly large project lasting six months, for most of the time our residents were unaware of the work going on around them.

If you want roofs that look great and are free of water ingress then a flat to pitch conversion is the way forward. I have not the slightest hesitation in recommending Dibsa Structures, they produced a great product at a competitive price, and our buildings have been transformed thanks to their skill and expertise.

Charles Dunn

Services Manager

SPRC Ltd.

Bexhill on Sea – Flat to Pitch

27^th January 2020

Dibsa were approached by Mr Charles Dunn from the Sutton Place Residents Committee to look at the possibility of a Flat to Pitch Roof Conversion on 3 blocks of apartments on the south coast. The request had been made primarily due to the current condition of the existing flat roofs. It was quite clear that these roofs had long since passed their expected lifespan and were no longer performing as they should. Even if these roofs were performing as intended, the level of performance achieved would not be satisfactory with regulations today.

Following our successful tender submission work commenced in earnest during June 2019 headed up by our experienced Contracts Manager Richard Jenkins whose attention to detail is second to none and whose commitment to the job from start to finish has been commendable.  Installing our lightweight steel structure on the existing flat roofs and securing at intervals specified by our Structural Engineer and following his pull out requirement work progressed at a good pace.

The roof covering selected by the client was a Metrotile Roman Brindle tile which has resulted in a clean, fresh look to the flats. The concept is deceptively simple – pressed roof tiles from a highly durable, modern material (in this case, the highest quality steel), galvanise with an aluminium, magnesium and zinc (ZAM) compound and cover with a stone-chip coating. The result is a roof tile that, to this day, exceeds the expectations of a traditional modern roof tile by a significant margin.

The small but tight team of 4 worked through the heat of the summer with reflective lightweight steel and the problems that can create, offset by the lovely long days and idyllic sea view, through to the cold, high winds and heavy rain which lashed the place during the short dark days of winter – the sea view offering very little comfort on these dreary days.

The residents, of which many are elderly, were lovely, interested and positive about the work and many took the time to get to know Richard and his team, looking after them on hot sunny days with drinks and treats.

As the team are currently clearing site on the job they have lived and breathed for the last 6-7 months, they can look at their work and should be very proud of what they have achieved; clearly visible for all to see, residents and the community are delighted with the results.