What are the changes to roof fixing requirements in UK and Ireland?

In recent years there have been changes to the British and Irish standards regarding the fixing of Rooftiles, and our Technical by Quinn team receive a number of queries about these standards. Ollie Fay, our resident Rooftiles technical expert explains the requirements in our latest Your Questions Answered video.

Roof Fixing Standards

The British standard is BS 5534:2014 and the Irish standard is SR 82:2017. These standards are set out as an industry guidance for roof fixing. In the standards you have the fixing method, which covers the nails and clips required for fixing the tiles. Requirements for batten sizes has also changed in recent revisions of the national standards. The standards also cover requirements for mortars and underlays.

Revisions to Roof Fixing Standards

The recent changes to the requirements set out in the British and Irish standards are due to the increase in the frequency of extreme weather conditions and to bring us up in line with European standards.

The changes include:

• A revision of maps showing wind zones and wind driven rain
• Fixing requirements have been increased due to the extreme weather conditions
• Batten size requirements have also changed

New Roof Fixing Requirements

Let’s look in more detail at the new requirements regarding the mechanical fixings.
The perimeter tile is the tile along the eaves, the verge and the ridge line. In the UK the perimeter tile requires 2 fixings, so that’s normally two nails or a clip and a nail. In Ireland the perimeter tile requires one fixing, so either a nail or a clip. Other proprietary systems such as dry verge systems may be included as a fixing in certain situations.

Depending on other factors such as the size of the building and degree of exposure, other rows and courses of tiles adjacent to the perimeter tiles will likely require more onerous fixing requirements compared to that in the remaining area known as the general roof area.

For the general roof area these requirements can vary depending on site location. If the site is in a very exposed area the requirements can increase, so one fixing may become two fixings, and where every second row requires fixed in a standard location, this may be every tile in a severely exposed location.

Roof Fixing Schedule

One of the technical services provided by the Technical by Quinn team is the preparation of a fixing schedule to meet the requirements of the British and Irish standards. To prepare this schedule, the following information is required:

• Drawings, which must include:
  • Plans: including floor plans, the section and the elevation showing all dimensions
  • Site Plan: showing if dwelling is detached, semi-detached or terraced
  • Site Location: to show the location and the exposure of the site
• Tile Type must be submitted as this will determine the required nail length
  • Western Tile: This is a thicker tile which requires a longer nail (50mm x 3.35mm)
  • Rathmore Tile: this is a thinner tile which requires a 40mm x 3.35mm nail
  • Locherne Tile: This is our profile tile and requires a longer nail of 70mm x 3.35mm
  • Devenish Tile: This is similar to the Rathmore Tile in size and also requires a 40mm x 3.35mm nail

To have a fixing spec prepared, or for any other technical queries, please contact our Technical by Quinn team.

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  Ollie Fay

  Jason Martin is the Specification and Product Development Manager at Mannok. Much of his daily focus is on...

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