Gaco Asbestos Roof Waterproofing in Lisburn — Encapsulation Without Removal

Lisburn stands on the River Lagan south-west of Belfast and had 51,447 residents in Census 2021. It is the main settlement of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, an area of 149,100 people, or 7.8% of Northern Ireland’s population, which grew by 10.6% between 2011 and 2021, the largest proportional increase of any council area. The city’s rural edge runs out to villages such as Moira, Hillsborough and Culcavy, Maghaberry, Glenavy and Dromara.

Farming is still well established beyond the built-up area. DAERA’s June 2025 census counted 881 farms in the council area over 36,118 hectares, of which 28,855 hectares were grass. Those holdings kept 68,171 cattle, 15,799 of them dairy cows, and 35,672 sheep. The buildings that serve them, from parlours and cattle houses to feed and machinery stores, vary in age, and where the older ones have asbestos cement roofs the sheets are now well into their working life.

Growth brings its own considerations. In a council area that has grown faster than any other in Northern Ireland, some farm buildings may now have new neighbours, and roof work that involves no stripping and no skips of old sheets is easier to carry out quietly. The approved installer surveys the sheets, replaces any that are broken, cleans off growth with a method that does not abrade the cement, and seals the surface with Gaco urethane coatings. Where a building has changed use, perhaps from a farm store to a workshop, the survey also checks what now happens underneath and how that space is protected during the work.

Rain at the Met Office’s Hillsborough station averaged about 917 mm a year over 1991 to 2020, on around 157 wet days. That is enough to keep old sheets damp for long spells, which is how moss, lichen and surface erosion take hold. It also shapes the programme, since coating goes on only when the roof is dry and conditions sit within Gaco’s limits, so the installer has preparation ready for dry windows. The fragile sheets are never walked on; crawling boards, staging and edge protection are used throughout.

Asbestos work in Lisburn is governed by the Control of Asbestos Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 and enforced by HSENI, with a risk assessment and plan of work prepared first. Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council is the building control contact where new insulation brings the job within the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 and Technical Booklet F2. Duratite supplies the coatings and introduces an approved installer covering the Lagan valley, and the island-of-Ireland reference is asbestos cement roof encapsulation at SAICA Warrenpoint, Co. Down.