The old covering is partly stripped. A penetration is still open. Rain is approaching and the access route is getting wet. Your roofer wet weather plan must tell the supervisor when to stop, what can still be secured safely and when everyone must withdraw.
Make the decision while safe options remain. Stopping production and fitting temporary protection are separate calls.
Build the roofer wet weather plan before mobilisation
Write the plan for the roof and work stage in front of you. A repair with no exposed deck needs different controls from a re-roof with stripped sections, unfinished abutments and materials stored above ground.
Attach the plan to the accepted quotation and work order. Name the supervisor, crew, customer contact and emergency contact. Record the communication method, withdrawal route and place where the crew will assemble.
Use the work order template for crew, scope and site records to keep these details against the job rather than in a separate notebook.
Break the accepted scope into exposed stages
Split the roofing work into stages before the crew mobilises. Mark the point at which each stage exposes the deck, underlay, valley, ridge, penetration, wall junction or room below.
For each stage, write down:
- the roof section being opened
- the covering or component being removed
- the protection needed before the next stage
- where covers, fixings and water-control materials will be stored
- how the crew can reach them
- which route the crew will use to withdraw
- what must remain visible for inspection
Do not strip an area because that is how much the crew normally opens. Match the exposed area to the work stage, access, protection available and conditions on that roof.
Set the maximum opening from the job conditions
Ask one blunt question before each section is opened: can the crew protect this section and leave safely if conditions change now?
Reduce the planned opening when the withdrawal route is long, protection is difficult to reach or drainage around the section is poor. Hold the opening altogether when the planned method no longer fits the observed conditions or product instructions.
A temporary cover is not a promise that the building will remain watertight. It is a short-term control for an opening that workers can still reach safely.
Put protection where it can be reached
Place covers, restraints, fixings and water-control materials before stripping begins. Do not bury them behind pallets or leave them in the van when the crew may need them on the roof.
Keep the withdrawal route clear of packaging, loose fasteners, removed covering, cables and waste. The route must still work after production stops.
Give a competent person authority to stop and restart
Appoint a competent person to apply the roofer wet weather plan on site. Fit that appointment to the project’s duty-holder arrangements and give the person authority to delay mobilisation, stop production, direct the shutdown and approve the restart.
The appointed person needs to understand the roof, planned sequence, access, temporary protection and withdrawal route. A name on the work order is not enough if that person cannot assess the work.
Every worker can stop and withdraw from immediate danger. Nobody waits for the customer, office or appointed person before leaving an unsafe position.
Separate review, shutdown and withdrawal triggers
Use three levels of decision:
- Review: conditions or forecast information have changed, so the supervisor checks the work stage again.
- Controlled shutdown: production stops, but designated workers may secure reachable openings while the route out remains safe.
- Immediate withdrawal: the condition creates immediate danger, so the crew leaves without attempting more protection work.
Do not use one invented weather limit for every roof. Write observable triggers for the job. These might include surfaces losing grip, materials beginning to move, visibility falling, drainage backing up, access shifting or the withdrawal route becoming unsafe.
Check product instructions, equipment instructions, the job risk assessment and the method statement before setting the triggers. Update the risk assessment and method statement when the opening sequence, access or temporary protection changes.
For workplace safety questions in Great Britain, use the roofing and work-at-height guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (opens in a new tab). For a job in Northern Ireland, check the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (opens in a new tab).
Run the roofer weather checklist before opening the roof
The forecast tells you what information was available. The site inspection tells you what the supervisor saw. Keep both records.
A forecast that looks workable does not prove that the roof surface, access equipment or ground conditions are safe. Inspect the actual job before stripping or opening a penetration.
Record the forecast and planned work window
Write down the forecast source, location reviewed, issue time, time checked and planned work window. Record the next review and the name of the person who made the mobilisation decision.
If the decision changes, add a new entry. Do not overwrite the earlier one. The sequence matters when you later explain why the crew started, stopped or held the work.
Inspect the roof, access and area below
Walk the available inspection route. Check the roof surface, edges, access equipment, ground, drainage paths and the rooms or work areas below the planned opening.
Identify the last practical stopping point before the building becomes exposed. Check where sheets, rolls, tools, packaging and removed material will sit. Loose material beside an open section becomes a shutdown problem.
The old covering may already be partly stripped while an unfinished penetration remains open. If the route to that section is becoming wet, the supervisor must decide whether protection work is still safe. The fact that the opening can be covered does not mean the crew can reach it safely.
Read instructions before exposing the substrate
Check the instructions for the covering, membrane, adhesive, fixing system and any other product being installed. Record the required substrate condition, storage method, attachment method and exposure limits stated by the manufacturer.
Read the instructions for access equipment, tools, temporary covers and restraints. Change the work stage or hold the work when the planned method falls outside those instructions.
Confirm communication and withdrawal
Tell the crew who gives the stop instruction and how it will be communicated. Check that the signal can be heard or seen across the work area.
Walk the withdrawal route. Confirm the assembly point and shelter. Clear anything that could slow the crew once surfaces become wet or materials begin to move.
Run the roofing site shutdown in a fixed order
When a controlled-shutdown trigger is reached, stop the roofing task first. Do not remove one more section or fit the fifth piece because it looks quick.
If immediate danger exists, skip the protection and material-control steps. Withdraw by the planned route and call for help if needed.
Stop production and account for the crew
Stop stripping, cutting, fastening and installing. Count everyone on the roof, on access equipment and in the area below.
Withdraw anybody who is not needed for the planned shutdown. Keep people away from areas below loose material, open sections or visible water entry.
The supervisor then names the workers who may secure reachable items. Do not let the whole crew improvise around one opening.
Decide what remains safely reachable
Recheck footing, visibility, access and the route out. Look at the exposed section from the position the workers will actually use.
If the access route is deteriorating, withdraw. Do not send somebody across an unsafe surface because the cover is close or because rain has already reached the opening.
Protect openings without blocking drainage
Fit protection only where designated workers can reach and leave safely. Use the attachment method selected for the job.
Keep outlets, gutters and planned water paths clear. A poorly placed cover can collect water or direct it towards another opening. Watch where the water will go, not just what the cover sits over.
If a cover begins moving while loose sheets, tools or packaging remain near the exposed section, reassess immediately. Do not chase material beyond the controlled work area.
Restrain reachable material and withdraw
Restrain or remove material, tools, fixings, packaging and waste that remain safely reachable. Leave anything outside that area.
Once the planned shutdown work is complete, withdraw the designated workers. Count the crew again at the assembly point. Record any opening, cover, tool or material left exposed or unsecured.
Inspect accessible internal areas from a safe position. Move occupants and workers away from visible water entry. Deal with affected electrical equipment through the job’s safety process before anybody uses it.
Keep roof weather delay records that explain the decision
A note saying “rain delay” tells you almost nothing. Good roof weather delay records show what information was available, what the supervisor observed, what stopped and what remained unfinished.
Record facts rather than guesses. Write “water visible below the unfinished rear abutment”. Do not write that concealed damage exists before the area has been inspected.
Keep the forecast separate from site observations
Keep the forecast as the information available when the decision was made. Keep the site observation as the condition the supervisor actually saw.
Label photographs by roof section, direction, time and condition. Start with a wide view that identifies the location, then photograph the condition itself.
Use a copy-ready weather event record
ROOF WEATHER EVENT RECORD Job and address: [job number and site address] Accepted quotation: [document number] Work order: [document number] Supervisor and decision authority: [name] Crew on site: [names or count] FORECAST RECORD Source and location reviewed: [details] Issue time and time checked: [details] Information reviewed: [forecast or warning details] Planned work window: [start and finish] Next review: [time or trigger] SITE OBSERVATION Observation time: [time] Roof and access condition: [facts] Work stage: [stage] Exposed sections: [locations] Drainage condition: [facts] Condition below the work: [facts] Decision and trigger: [review, shutdown or withdrawal] SHUTDOWN Initial headcount: [names or count] Designated workers: [names] Protection completed: [location and method] Material or tools restrained: [details] Items left exposed: [details] Final headcount and location: [details] Photographs: [file names and descriptions] CUSTOMER UPDATE Message sent to: [name] Time and method: [details] Facts reported: [details] Next update: [time or trigger] RESTART Inspection time: [time] Access and equipment: [condition] Protection and exposed work: [condition] Substrate and materials: [condition] Internal inspection: [condition] Remaining sequence: [revised stages] Restart approved by: [name and time] Added scope requiring a variation: [details or none]
Cost delay work and added scope separately
Record ordinary production labour separately from shutdown work, temporary protection, inspection and remobilisation. Separate materials installed under the accepted scope from materials used for temporary protection or approved added work.
For each extra task, record the actual labour cost, materials used, plant cost and subcontractor cost. Add those costs together, then apply the business’s established markup to work that can be quoted as added scope. Do not apply an invented rate on site.
Keep the cost of the delay separate from chargeable added scope. A cost entry tells you what the event cost the business; it does not prove that the customer agreed to pay it. Use the job costing guide to compare actual costs with the accepted scope and protect job profitability.
Keep the UK site diary, customer update and variation separate
The site diary records what happened. The customer update explains the current position. A variation changes the accepted work, price or other agreed terms. One document cannot quietly do all three jobs.
Tell the customer which section was open, what protection was completed and when the next review will happen. Do not promise a restart date until the access, roof, substrate and stored materials have been inspected.
If a new storm-damage call comes in while your crew is dealing with an active job, handle it as a separate enquiry. Use the storm-damage enquiry checks for roofers before committing a crew or inspection slot.
Do not treat a delay note as approval
A weather event record does not automatically extend the programme, change the price or approve added work. Read the accepted quotation and contract before deciding what the delay means commercially.
The house example is electrical, but the document boundary is the same. At 14 Oak Street, Quote Q-1847 was 1,105. Extra cable and chasing were approved on site as a 160 variation, taking Invoice INV-1847 to 1,265. These are sample currency units, not roofing rates. The site record captured the condition; the variation approved the added work.
Describe any extra inspection, removal, replacement or remobilisation work that sits outside the accepted scope. State the labour, materials, plant, exclusions and price. Get approval before doing it. The guide to writing a clear quotation gives you the fields needed for that document.
If the work raises a building regulations approval question in England or Wales, check the route with building control (opens in a new tab). For a job in Scotland, check the question with building standards (opens in a new tab). For a job in Northern Ireland, check the Northern Ireland building regulations guidance (opens in a new tab).
Inspect the roof before approving the restart
Rain stopping is not restart approval. Inspect the access, temporary protection, exposed work, substrate, stored materials and area below first.
The customer may want the crew back on the roof immediately. Hold the restart until the supervisor has recorded what is safe, what needs correction and what remains outside the accepted scope.
Check access and protection first
Inspect the ground, access equipment, roof route and edge controls before walking towards the exposed section. Check that temporary protection and restraints have not shifted, loosened or collected water.
Do not remove a cover until the crew can control the opening and complete the next planned stage. Keep the water path clear while protection is lifted or adjusted.
Check the substrate, materials and rooms below
Inspect the deck, underlay, battens, insulation and other exposed components included in the job. Follow product instructions when deciding whether materials can be used after exposure.
Check stored coverings, fixings, membranes, adhesives and packaging. Record damaged or questionable material rather than mixing it back into general stock.
Inspect accessible areas below for signs of water entry. Photograph and record what is visible. Do not state that concealed areas are dry when they have not been opened or tested.
Rewrite the remaining sequence
Update the roofer wet weather plan before reopening the roof. Reduce the next opening where the shutdown exposed a weakness in access, protection placement or drainage control.
Record who approved the restart and when. Brief the crew on the revised sequence, new review time and any area that remains closed.
Enter extra labour, materials and plant against the correct cost bucket. If the inspection finds added work, write a variation and get approval before completing it.