November 2018

Contractor’s Q’s
THE MOST FRUSTRATING THING?
“TWO WORDS – LATE PAYMENT”
Like many in the roofing industry, Peter Mably’s path into roofing wasn’t planned – but after a chance
meeting at a local rugby club more than 30 years ago that saw him then “moving slabs and sand” on
site, Peter has forged an long and successful career and progressed to Director of Owlsworth Roofing.
We hear Peter’s views including his thoughts on late payment, partnering with the right person in business,
dealing with difficult customers and using any means necessary to get to projects!
10
questions for Peter Mably
“Persistent wet
weather hampered our
progress – at one stage
the only way we could
reach site was by
rowing boat, but we
battled on”
TC: What was your path into roofing and
to your current position?
PM: Having been born and raised in what was
then the quiet little village of Rock in Cornwall,
the construction industry was not even on the
radar of the school careers officer, so my route
into construction was much more by chance than
design. Having paid too much attention to beer
and rugby during my first year at Coventry
Polytechnic in the very late ‘70s, I wasn’t invited
back for a second year so the prospect of finding
a job came as a bit of a shock.
I made my way to Bracknell in Berkshire and the
home of a girlfriend I had met in Cornwall. This
time rugby came to my rescue and a builder
playing at Bracknell Rugby Club offered me a
labouring job on a building site.
The project was the refurbishment of the P&O
building in the City of London which had just been
bought by The Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS).
My job was to move the slabs and sand from the
old asphalt roof to allow a new Sarnafil
membrane (which would go on to become Sika
Sarnafil) to be installed over the existing asphalt
substrate – and I would then install new slabs
and cobbles over the Sarnafil. The Union Bank of
Switzerland saw the Swiss manufactured Sarnafil
system as the ideal product to keep those newfangled
computers warm and dry, and I remember
thinking that there might just be a future in it.
Within a year I was installing Sarnafil for the
Reading-based single ply roofing company where
I was to spend the next 25 years working my way
around various departments including single ply,
felt and hot melt and into the boardroom. As the
credit crunch hit the construction industry in
2008 however, I was made redundant and left
with a big decision to make. Should I trust my
instincts and set up my own roofing company or
should I find another established roofing company
to work for. I’m pleased to say that, with a large
chunk of assistance from my current business
partner, we set up Owlsworth Roofing Ltd and are
about to celebrate our 10th Anniversary.
TC: If you had one piece of advice about
starting a roofing business, what would it
be?
PM: My best advice would be to go into business
with a good finance man as your partner. I have
been able to concentrate on developing the
roofing side of Owlsworth Roofing in the
knowledge that the finance side is in safe hands.
Unless you are fortunate enough to ‘inherit’ a
roofing business it is unlikely that you will have
the right mix of roofing knowledge and financial
experience. When it comes to money, construction
is a cut throat business and you need to build up
some financial security, understand the risks and
know how to work around them.
TC: Tell us about a current project you’re
working on…
PM: Owlsworth Roofing is currently working for
Peter Mably is a Director at Owlsworth Roofing.
ISG on the £40 million refurbishment of the
University of Reading Library. The library roof is
entirely flat with approximately 3,000m² over 12
different roof areas and a combination of strip
and recover, fully adhered overlay, mechanically
fastened overlay and new build – all covered in
Sika Sarnafil membrane and all less than three
miles from our offices in Caversham. One of the
greatest challenges on projects of this kind,
where all the flat areas on the building are
covered in Sarnafil, is trying to persuade the
cladders, scaffolders and M&E contractors to
carry out their works and store their materials
with due care and attention. We started on site in
May 2017 and expect to be finished early in 2019
TC: You must have worked on some
difficult projects over the years. Does one
in particular stand out?
PM: Owlsworth Roofing has carried out a number
of roof refurbishment projects at the Atomic
Weapons Establishment facilities (AWE) in
Aldermaston and Burghfield. Some of the
42 TC NOVEMBER 2018