Gaco Asbestos Roof Waterproofing in County Tyrone — Encapsulation Without Removal

County Tyrone is Northern Ireland’s largest county, stretching from the Sperrin Mountains — whose highest peak, Sawel, stands at 678 m — to the farmland and towns around Dungannon, Cookstown and Omagh. Dungannon is a real industrial centre. Dunbia, founded there in 1976 as Dungannon Meats and now part of Dawn Meats, has its headquarters in the town, and Powerscreen, maker of mobile crushing, screening and conveying equipment for quarrying and recycling, has its global headquarters on the Coalisland Road. Farm sheds, agri-food premises and engineering works can all still include older corrugated asbestos cement roofs.

There is no published long-term rainfall average for a Tyrone station in our verified sources, so this page doesn’t give a figure. Anyone farming on the slopes of the Sperrins knows the weather well enough; the more useful question is the state of the roof. Weathered sheets lose their smooth finish, turn dark with moss and lichen, and start cracking around fixings. Water then gets into sheds holding livestock, feed or machinery, and corrodes whatever sits below. Upland farms on the Sperrins face more exposure than sheds in the lowland valleys, so ridge and verge sheets there may show the worst wear.

Gaco U91 and U92 urethane coatings are used to encapsulate asbestos cement roofs. Once the roof is prepared, the coating locks in the weathered surface and forms a continuous waterproof layer across sheets, laps and fixings. The approved installer surveys the roof, identifies broken sheets for replacement and plans cleaning so the cement isn’t abraded. The programme is set by dry-weather windows and surface conditions under Gaco’s guidance. Duratite supplies the coating system and routes Tyrone enquiries to an approved installer. Meat-processing and food premises have strict hygiene rules, so the installer agrees how the space below will be protected during preparation and coating.

In Northern Ireland the Control of Asbestos Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 apply, enforced by HSENI, which requires a licence for licensable asbestos work. Fragile-roof safety matters just as much on farm and factory sheds. Building control in Tyrone is split between three councils: Mid Ulster District Council for east Tyrone, including Dungannon and Cookstown; Fermanagh and Omagh District Council for the west; and Derry City & Strabane District Council around Strabane. Where energy upgrades form part of a roof project, the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 apply. Keep the survey and a record of the work with your asbestos management plan.