We coat commercial, industrial, and agricultural buildings across the south-west, from the M5 corridor down to Plymouth, and that includes managing asbestos roofs. Sometimes, the goal isn’t just extending a roof’s life; it’s getting a commercial unit ready to go back on the market, satisfy a dilapidations claim, or make a first impression that shortens void periods for landlords and agents. We understand that pressure, and our survey-led approach can help you make a smart investment in your property’s future, whether that’s a long-term fix or simply smartening up for viewings.
Devon buildings: understanding your legal duty for asbestos
Whoever controls maintenance of a non-domestic building in Devon carries a duty to manage asbestos under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012: identify the material, assess its condition, keep a written record and manage the risk. We can seal, record and monitor sound asbestos cement in place. Encapsulation is that decision, carried out properly, inside your management plan. This legal framework forms the bedrock of any decision we make about your roof.
Choosing between repair, encapsulation or removal for your roof
Encapsulation isn’t painting over a problem. We survey the roof sheet by sheet. Then we clean under controlled conditions, repair where fixings and rooflights have failed, and seal it all with a coating system made for asbestos cement. The cured surface binds the sheet, locks fibres in, restores water-shedding and adds years of service life. This usually costs a fraction of stripping, hazardous-waste disposal and full replacement, and we don’t need to empty the building. We’ll always present you with the most honest, cost-effective option for your specific building.
When we advise against asbestos roof encapsulation
There are roofs we will not coat. It’s better you hear that before a survey than after a failure. We won’t encapsulate where sheets are extensively cracked or holed, where the cement has gone soft and friable through decades of saturation, or where storm damage and structural movement have broken the roof’s integrity. And we only work with asbestos cement. Insulation board, lagging and sprayed coatings are licensable and must be removed by an HSE-licensed contractor. If removal is right for your building, we say so in writing, ensuring you have clear guidance for the next steps.
Asbestos cement sheets around Devon chalk and grow moss long before they fail. An encapsulating paint coat on surveyed sheets keeps the weather out and the fibres in.
Our survey process for buildings across Devon
We survey commercial, industrial, managed and agricultural buildings across the county, including Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay, Barnstaple and Newton Abbot. The route is the same wherever the building is:
- A condition survey of sheets, fixings, rooflights, gutters and structure
- A photographic record for your asbestos management plan
- A plain written recommendation: encapsulate, repair first, or refer for removal
- A specification and price only where coating is genuinely appropriate
- Work carried out under controlled, documented conditions
This process means you get a clear, unbiased assessment of your asbestos roof.
Where asbestos cement roofs are common in Devon
Devon spans naval industry, commerce and farming. Asbestos cement roofs sit across the Plymouth dockyard and industrial estates, the Exeter trade and distribution units, and the agricultural buildings that cover much of the county. From agricultural buildings exposed to coastal weather to industrial units near the A38, we see these roofs everywhere in Devon. Most were built for a thirty-year life and have long outrun it. That’s why so many are now porous, moss-covered and leaking at the fixings, even where the sheets themselves remain sound. We understand the specific challenges these environments present.
If a building in your portfolio dates from the 1960s to the 1980s and the roof has never been assessed, a free asbestos roof encapsulation survey answers the compliance question and the cost question together.
We encapsulate asbestos cement roofs on commercial, industrial and agricultural buildings across Devon. For the full survey-led service and how we assess each building, see our Asbestos Roof Encapsulation service, or request a free site survey.
Recently — June 2026
As always, where a coating is not the responsible answer we say so and point towards repair or replacement. The survey is what settles it honestly.
Summer is the steadiest season for exterior coating: longer dry spells mean preparation, application and curing can be programmed with fewer weather delays.
