Perkins Engines Plant Roof Refurbishment

The challenge

The Perkins Engines plant in Peterborough needed a large 3,000 m² roof area refurbished, but the real challenge was the detailing. Around 2,000 m² of it sat beneath plant, pipework and machinery, with very little clearance to work in. In places the team had to use mechanics’ trolleys to slide underneath the plant and apply the system by hand, which made this some of the most demanding detail work there is.

Our solution

We used a Centaur polyurethane liquid system, which suited the job perfectly. Applied wet, it cures into a seamless, fully bonded membrane that moulds around the most awkward shapes, so it could be worked into every tight detail beneath the plant where a sheet membrane simply could not go. The larger open areas were coated to the same specification, tying the whole roof into one continuous, watertight skin.

Scope of work

• 3,000 m² roof area refurbished at a working engine plant
• Around 2,000 m² of detailing beneath plant, pipework and machinery
• Centaur polyurethane liquid system, applied by hand in the tightest areas
• Open areas coated to the same specification, forming one continuous membrane

Why this system

Liquid systems come into their own where a roof is crowded with obstructions. Instead of cutting and welding sheets around every pipe, support and plant leg, a polyurethane liquid is applied wet and cures into one seamless membrane bonded to the surface beneath. That is what made it possible to waterproof the areas under the plant, where there was no room to handle a sheet membrane. Coating the open areas to the same specification meant there was no junction between two different systems, so the whole roof became one continuous skin.

The outcome

A fully watertight 3,000 m² roof across a working industrial plant, with even the most inaccessible areas beneath the machinery sealed properly rather than patched. A genuinely difficult job delivered to a high standard.