Preventing and repairing damage to industrial hall roofs

The older the roof of an industrial hall is or the longer it has not been repaired, the more urgent roof renovation becomes. In some cases, it is even required by law to retrofit certain systems – such as smoke and heat exhaust systems. If you fail to do so, you will face considerable hassle and penalties, especially if your employees are harmed or the insurance company does not pay as a result of a fire. Therefore, find out exactly which specifications apply to your type and size of industrial hall.  
 
Thermal insulation and energy efficiency also play an essential role in roof renovation. A lot of heat can escape through an unrenovated or inadequately insulated roof, or heat can enter in summer or cold in winter. This drives up the costs for heating and air conditioning. It gets even worse if the roof has leaks. Then rain or snow can penetrate the industrial hall. This often results in raw materials becoming unusable or installations being damaged. The larger the leak, the more restrictions there are to worry about. This can go so far as to endanger the existence of the company and the jobs in the industrial hall. Considering these points, the cost of a roof renovation always pays off – be it through ongoing cost savings, increased energy efficiency or greater building safety. In addition, you can also increase the performance of your employees through better working conditions after a renovation – a little more daylight or better ventilation and aeration.

Different building regulations apply to the roof renovation of an industrial hall than to the roof renovation on residential buildings. Optics usually play only a subordinate role in industry, whereas they are really at the heart of residential buildings. First and foremost, functionality and economic efficiency are important in the industrial sector. The special requirements of the production process must always be taken into account when making decisions: What climate must prevail in the hall? What safety requirements does the fire protection concept stipulate? How do light and air situations support the work processes in the hall?  

Next to the walls, the flat roof is the largest surface in an industrial hall. For this reason, perfect insulation is also very important. In addition, the large surface area of the roof makes it possible and sensible to install skylights, such as continuous rooflights. In order to provide the industrial hall with sufficient light even in the evening hours, additional artificial light can be installed here. In terms of economic efficiency, it is important to create the right balance between daylight and artificial light so that a pleasant and motivating lighting atmosphere prevails in the hall at all times of the day and night. As a manufacturer of skylights, LAMILUX can precisely calculate the incidence and diffusion of light in your industrial hall on the brightest summer day but also on the dullest winter day. In this way, the lighting requirements in the individual parts of the hall can be optimised and ongoing costs for artificial lighting can be spared. In addition, natural light reproduces a colour spectrum that cannot be achieved by artificial light. People who work with a lot of daylight are therefore more motivated, more productive and feel better than in an environment with predominantly artificial light. This is usually clearly noticeable in the work results – both quantitatively and qualitatively.  
 
Last but not least, a renovated roof contributes significantly to hygiene in the hall and to the protection of machinery and equipment. A flat roof equipped with modern skylights allows the industrial hall to be ventilated and aerated in a more energy-efficient manner.  

These are all factors that speak in favour of renovating the roof of your industrial hall as early as possible. Once major damage has occurred, it is often unavoidable to completely remove the old roof and build a new one. Minor damage can usually be repaired quickly and inexpensively by a professional, the appropriate renovation specialist of the trade.

Skylights such as rooflight domes, continuous rooflights and smoke and heat exhaust ventilation systems can be found on most roofs of industrial halls – you should also and especially take these elements into account when renovating your roof. For this purpose, LAMILUX has created its own renovation checklists for your maintenance department or the roofing contractor. In addition, the manufacturer of skylights can also send its own experts to your roof to assess the situation. This also includes recording all the details and checking the functional and energy requirements. The end result is a renovation proposal for you that takes into account all the conditions in your industrial hall as well as all legal requirements. Sometimes it is sufficient to replace the old glazing. In other cases, new skylights are placed on the existing upstand by means of a renovation adapter or even installed from scratch in order to comply with all legal requirements and to extract the full range of functions. LAMILUX will also advise you fully on this. Evidence of the energy qualities of the skylights as well as the exact implementation planning are fixed components of the offer. The renovation experts you commission, such as roofers or architects, can even digitally plan the LAMILUX skylights and integrate them in BIM planning software.