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Single ply roofing advanced

We have doubled the grant rates for short course tiers 1 – 3. To address rising costs, you can now receive higher rates on course achievements from 1st April 2023

Grant Tier

Achievement date before 1 April 2023

Achievement date on or after 1 April 2023

Grant Tier 1

Grant Tier 1 Refresher

£30

£15

£60

£30

Grant Tier 2

Grant Tier 2 Refresher

£70

£35

£140

£70

Grant Tier 3

Grant Tier 3 Refresher

£120

£60

£240

£120

Overview

The purpose of this standard is to provide the candidate with advanced knowledge and skills in single ply roofing.

Duration

3 days of 6 learning hours

Purpose/scope

The purpose of this standard is to provide the delegate with advanced knowledge and skills in single ply roofing:

Scope:

  • types of roof
  • ancillary components
  • roof falls and drainage
  • substrates
  • vapour control layers (VCL)
  • insulation
  • waterproofing membranes
  • resistance to loads and foot traffic
  • resistance to external fire
  • attachment methods
  • jointing techniques
  • tools and equipment
  • maintenance and refurbishment
  • main legislation, codes of practice, standards, and guidance

Occupational relevance

Training delivered against this standard would be relevant to the following occupational group(s):

  • operative and craft
  • supervision

Delegates pre-requisites

A basic knowledge of single ply roofing terminology and techniques would be beneficial prior to undertaking this standard. Completing the Single Ply roofing Introduction would also be beneficial.

Instruction/supervision

As a minimum, course trainers must be able to demonstrate that, in relation to this standard, they have:

  • an award in education and training (or equivalent, as per requirements for approved training organisations)
  • successfully completed training to this standard
  • at least 2 years relevant industrial experience
  • a verifiable CV

Delivery

Delivery may be in an on or off the job environment.

All materials and equipment must be of a suitable quality and quantity for delegates to achieve learning outcomes and must comply with relevant legislation.

The class size and delegate/trainer ratio must allow training to be delivered in a safe manner and enable delegates to achieve the learning outcomes.

The following delivery methods may be used in the delivery of this standard:

  • classroom

This standard is considered to contain 51% or more theoretical learning.

This standard is considered to be set at an advanced level.

Assessment

Methods of assessment considered appropriate for training delivered against this standard are:

For the successful completion of training, delegates must complete an end of course practical assessment or knowledge test that measures all learning outcomes and has a pass or fail criteria.

Where this training is assessed using multiple-choice questions, a minimum of 10 questions must be asked and delegates are required to achieve an overall pass mark of at least 80%.

Quality assurance

Assured

Quality assurance against this standard will require initial approval of the training organisation and their content mapped to the standard.

CITB will also conduct an approval intervention, either desk-based or centre visit, to ensure the training organisation can meet the requirements of the training standard.

Approved training organisations (ATOs) will be required to present information on records of training and assessment upon request to CITB for desk-based analysis. They will also be visited annually by the CITB quality assurance team.

Renewal

There are no mandatory renewal or recommended refresher requirements for this standard.

Classification

Lifetime

(Please note standards using this classification will only be grant aided once per delegate)

Approval date

January 2022

Review cycle

On request or 3 years from approval date.

Learning outcomes to be refreshed

Learning outcomes

The delegate will be able to:

Additional guidance to support learning outcome

 

Describe the types of roof including:

  • cold deck roof, warm deck roof, inverted warm deck roof, and green (garden) roof

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe the ancillary components including:

  • walkway finishes, membrane coated metal profiles, detailing, roof protection

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe roof falls and drainage including:

  • ponding, climate (rain/ice/snow/wind), layouts (gutter, inwards, outwards), crickets (valley, skirtings, outlets), rainfall intensity (design rate, catchment calculations, discharge calculations)

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe substrates including:

  • types (metal, concrete, wood), preparation, and installation methods (new and existing roofs)

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe vapour control layers (VCL) including:

  • types (loose laid, torch-on, self-adhesive), functions, control of condensation, and installation methods

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe insulation including:

  • types (thermal, acoustic, fibrous, cellular), properties, substrate, drainage, crickets, and installation methods

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe waterproofing membranes including:

  • types (thermoplastic, elastomeric, thermoplastic/elastomeric), properties, suitability, manufacturing processes, fixing methods (mechanical, adhered, loose laid, ballasted), and installation methods

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe resistance to loads and foot traffic including:

  • extent, frequency, types (people, vehicles, static, dynamic), damage (abrasion, indentation, movement) and resistance measures (extra layers, walkway tiles, raised walkways

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe resistance to external fire including:

  • building regulations, penetration, and spread (external, internal, beneath, within)

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe attachment methods including:

  • fasteners, adhesive bonding, ballast, suitability, combined methods, substrates, regular/special membranes, and stress plates

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe jointing techniques (pre/seam/tee/lap/spot/butt) using automatic and hand equipment including:

  • hot air welding, adhesives & tapes, and solvent welding

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe tools and equipment including:

  • mechanical fixing/equipment, welding, solvent welding, adhered membranes, sundries, and electrical (generators, transformers, extensions)

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe maintenance and refurbishment including:

  • programme, budget, roof inspection, proactive, reactive, building, manual, warranties & guarantees, safe access, internal/external inspection reports, integrity testing (flood, earth leakage LV & HV, vacuum testing), and moisture detection (infra-red, capacitance, and hydrogen ion)

Photos/illustrations/videos

Sample displays of roofing materials and equipment

Actual tools and equipment

Photos/illustrations/videos

Manufacturer’s operating & maintenance manuals

Manufacturer’s brochures

Catalogues

Good and bad practice

Describe and know where to find the main legislation, codes of practice, standards, and guidance

Sample documents/extracts (print/PDF/web)

Additional information about this standard

Single Ply Roofing Association (SPRA)

SPRA sets the design standards for single ply roofing in the UK. You can view the following free guides on the SPRA website.

  • Design guide for single ply roofing
  • Acoustic control
  • Adhesives
  • Falls and drainage for single ply roofs (S10-10)
  • Guarantees – Guidance for clients and designers (S4-17)
  • Homeowners guide 2017 (S12-17)
  • Membrane product substitution checklist (S3-17)
  • Non-destructive testing of single ply membrane roofing coverings (S8-17)
  • Protection of single ply membrane roofs-guidance and checklist (SDG13-17)
  • Recycling scoping study (2017)
  • Safety – Design considerations for reduced risk (S5-17)
  • Sealants in single ply roofing (S7-17)
  • Ten reasons to specify SPRA contractor (S2-17)
  • Welding guidance (S14-18)
  • Wind load design requirements for single ply roofing (S11b-17)
  • Wind loading – single ply roofing guide and checklist (S11a-16)

SPRA also publishes ‘Component quality schemes’ for materials and equipment. These take existing standards (BS and BS-EN) and apply specific levels of performance required in single ply applications:

  • Expanded polystyrene insulation boards for inverted roofs (CQS2B-17)
  • Expanded polystyrene insulation boards for roofing (CQS2A-17)
  • Extruded polystyrene insulation boards for roofing (CQS3-17)
  • Factory-manufactured single ply membrane gutters (CQS8-17)
  • Fall protection anchor devices (CQS9-17)
  • Mechanical fasteners for attachment of insulation and membranes (CQS5-17)
  • Rock mineral wool insulation boards for roofing (CQS4-17)
  • Roof access hatches (CQS7-17)
  • Rooflights (CQS6-17)
  • SPRA-IMA quality standards (CQS1-17)
  • Vacuum insulated roof panels (VIPS) for roofing applications (CQS10-17)

British Flat Roofing Council

  • Flat roofing: Design and good practice 1993

Training at height

  • BS 8454:2006 Code of practice for delivery of training & education for work at height and rescue

Work at Height Safety Association

  • View WAHSA technical guidance notes. These are a free resource, provided and maintained by WAHSA and its member companies for reference. They assist specifiers, managers, and end users of fall protection equipment. 

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Working at height guides

British-European standards

You can view British and European standards on the BSI website

Note: Currently there are no British standards that cover polymeric single ply waterproofing membranes.

  • BS 476-3: 2004. Fire tests on building materials and structures. Classification and test methods for roofs
  • BS-EN 1991-1-2 6399: Part 2:1997 Code of practice for wind loads
  • BS-EN 1991-1-4: 2005 + A1:2010 Eurocode 1. Actions on structures. General actions. Wind actions
  • BS 4841-4: 2006. Rigid polyurethane (PUR) and polyisocyanurate (PIR) products for building end-use applications. Specification for laminated insulation boards (roofboards) with auto-adhesively or separately bonded facings for use as roofboard thermal insulation under non-bituminous single-ply roofing membranes
  • BS 6399-2:1997. BS6399-2: 1997 Loading for buildings. Part 2: Code of practice for wind loads
  • BS 6229: 2003 Code of practice for flat roofs with continuously supported coverings
  • BS 8217: 2005 Reinforced membranes for roofing - Code of practice
  • BS 8437: 2005 Code of practice for select/use/maintain personal protection systems and equipment
  • BS 8454: 2006 Code of practice for delivery of training & education for work at height and rescue
  • BS-EN 12056-3: 2001 Part 3 Gravity drainage systems in buildings. Roof drainage, layout & calcs
  • BS-EN 13956: 2003 Flexible (plastic and rubber) sheets for roof waterproofing. Definitions/characteristics
  • HB 10139:1997. Wind loading ready reckoner for BS 6399: Part 2: 1997
  • DD CEN / TS 1187: 2012 Test methods for external fire exposure to roofs

Legislation

See relevant legislation

  • The Work at Height Regulations (WHR) 2005
  • Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
  • The Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004
  • Building and Buildings, England and Wales: The Building Regulations 2010
  • Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002
  • Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

Related standards

  • Preparation of roof decking for existing roof
  • Building regulations and standards
  • Application details of single ply roofing
  • Types of roof systems
  • Thermal insulation for single ply roofing
  • Tools and equipment used with single ply roofing
  • Testing and repair
  • Single ply roofing introduction
  • Waterproofing membranes
  • Design principles of single ply roofing
  • Methods of attachment
  • Waterproof membrane roofing systems installation