December 2022
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different membranes and application are secondto-none.<br />
We created our business with Sarnafil at<br />
its core because we had, and still have, total<br />
confidence in its quality. It looks fantastic once<br />
installed and our team prefers to fit it.<br />
Innovations with the technology are always<br />
welcomed – the self-adhered membrane springs<br />
to mind, it’s so quick and easy to install. More<br />
recently, Sarnafil AT is appealing to clients who<br />
are looking for a sustainable option.<br />
TC: Do you have any roofing projects that<br />
particularly stand out in your<br />
memory, or any funny stories<br />
about your job that you can<br />
share?<br />
RW: Lots! Over the years I’ve<br />
worked all over the UK and<br />
even in Portugal for a short<br />
time. When I first started roofing,<br />
I worked away for a few years,<br />
mainly in Wales, and we completed the<br />
SeaLife Centre contract in Fishguard over a very<br />
long winter period. I can still remember today seeing<br />
the ferry anchored out at sea in force seven gales<br />
while I was on the roof. The weather and rain were<br />
so brutal, I can remember sitting behind a large<br />
rooflight which was designed to look like a ship's<br />
funnel and was so cold I cried!<br />
Over the years I’ve been involved with many<br />
prestigious projects using Sarnafil, including The<br />
Millennium Dome, Commonwealth and Olympic<br />
Villages and Sports Centres, Formula One Teams,<br />
prestigious art galleries and National Trust<br />
properties. It’s amazing the places this job takes<br />
you.<br />
TC: What do you enjoy most about your<br />
role? What are you most proud of?<br />
RW: I enjoy meeting new people, designing<br />
buildings and employing many interesting people.<br />
I especially like walking into meetings and leaving<br />
knowing you have solved problems that others<br />
have been pondering over for many months. I’m<br />
very proud of the business that myself and Lisa<br />
have built with the help of my colleagues around<br />
us. Our business has grown massively over the<br />
Left and above: The Black Country Living Museum project – a Sarnafil project RLW Roofing completed<br />
earlier in the year.<br />
last 16 years and we have<br />
met some great people and<br />
made some amazing friends<br />
over the course of our time in<br />
business. It’s been a great<br />
journey.<br />
TC: What do you find most challenging?<br />
RW: Contracting and the construction industry in<br />
general is challenging, but on the whole<br />
rewarding. The industry has changed so much<br />
over the years but dealing with the various<br />
stakeholders can be very stressful. People can<br />
sometimes forget all the hard work you put in<br />
when something simply goes wrong or, for<br />
instance, that our materials are subject to<br />
unexpected price increases, which we have to<br />
deal with to negotiate a project. RLW takes on full<br />
building envelope, fabrication, and installation<br />
where we often take architects’ drawings,<br />
redesign them, fabricate the necessary products,<br />
powder coat, and fix it to a building along with the<br />
roofing system. This involves many hours prior to<br />
site transforming the architects’ design into a<br />
fully operational building and then taking<br />
responsibility for the product for the next 25<br />
years, in an ever-changing market.<br />
TC: How do you think the industry should<br />
tackle the skills shortage?<br />
RW: The construction industry makes it very<br />
difficult to bring in the younger generation to learn<br />
the skills required. For instance, if we were to<br />
take on a 16-year-old school leaver, we would<br />
need a mountain of risk assessments but they’d<br />
also need to have full supervision until the age of<br />
18, this includes escorting to the toilet! We need<br />
the resources to educate them and keep them<br />
safe, but they also need space to learn the job as<br />
is required. The other difficulty we encounter is a<br />
real lack of colleges and courses relating to our<br />
services, especially flat roofing. Manufacturers<br />
like Sika are doing a great job with their training<br />
programmes, but we need more of a national<br />
push. Accessible educational resources will help<br />
get the younger generation on-site and at work<br />
prior to the age of 18.<br />
TC: What advice would you give someone<br />
starting out?<br />
RW: Communication skills are essential. I<br />
strongly believe talking to people not only<br />
develops relationships but also helps resolve<br />
most issues, which are easier to discuss either<br />
face-to-face or over the phone. While writing to<br />
people has its place, in most instances it should<br />
not be the first option, especially as points of<br />
view can be lost in translation.<br />
Contact Sika<br />
www.sika.co.uk/roofing<br />
call 01707 394444<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2022</strong> TC 33
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