Be Modern, Jarrow
Full strip-and-replace of a rotten 1,850 m² factory roof at Be Modern's Jarrow site. Live production beneath, new metal deck, 150 mm PIR thermal upgrade and Renolit PVC — finished without stopping the factory.
- Client
- Specialist sub-contractor to a major UK roofing firm (end client: Be Modern Group)
- Location
- Jarrow, Tyne & Wear
- System
- Renolit PVC (Mechanically Fixed)
- Area
- 1,850 m²
The Challenge
Be Modern’s Jarrow factory makes fireplaces and surrounds — a working production facility that couldn’t stop while we worked. The existing roof was at end of life: old felt and cork board, failed skylights, mould and moisture across the surface, and once we started stripping, we found holes through the decking itself in multiple areas.
Add Tyne & Wear winter weather to the mix and the brief became: keep a leaking, half-stripped factory dry while you replace it — in the run-up to Christmas.
Our Solution
Sky Guard was brought in as the specialist single-ply sub-contractor to a major UK roofing firm. We took the roof off in phased bays so production beneath could continue, and rebuilt the entire build-up:
1. Full strip-out of the existing felt and cork board.
2. Removal of all failed legacy skylights.
3. New metal deck installed across the building — including areas where the original deck was rotten through.
4. Vapour control layer applied across the full deck.
5. 150 mm PIR insulation board — a major thermal upgrade on the old build-up.
6. Renolit PVC single ply membrane, mechanically fixed across the 1,850 m².
7. New Weatherfast perimeter gutter system to handle drainage properly.
Phased work, temporary weather protection between bays, daily coordination with Be Modern operations — 3 months on site, October to December 2022.
The Outcome
Finished on programme. Zero production stoppage at the factory throughout the install — everything inside the building kept running. The thermal upgrade from cork board to 150 mm PIR delivered an immediate, noticeable reduction in heating demand through the first winter post-install.
Be Modern were pleased enough with the work that another four jobs have come through off the back of it — the strongest possible reference a commercial client can give. The roof is also one of the projects you see on our homepage hero, because the finish quality is what single ply done properly looks like.
Be Modern Group is a household name in UK fireplaces and surrounds — and their Jarrow factory in Tyne & Wear is where most of the product gets made. The roof above all that manufacturing was at end of life: rotten felt, failed skylights, cork board insulation that hadn’t worked for years.
The job took 3 months. Live factory beneath, Tyne & Wear winter overhead, surprise rot in the deck once we got under the felt. The kind of project that goes wrong if the roofing contractor isn’t methodical about phasing and weather management.
It went well enough that Be Modern have come back to us four more times since. That’s the only reference that really matters.
The job, in photos
Spec, scope & references
- Main factory roof — 1,850 m² with new daylight skylights
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Gradel Quadrangles, New College Oxford
A 2,400 m² curved timber roof at New College Oxford. 16,000 individually surveyed plates. Every one welded by hand. The most ambitious single ply detail Sky Guard has ever delivered.
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