Farm building and barn roof sheets

Farm buildings in the valleys around Stroud carry a mix of coverings: corrugated fibre cement, box profile steel, older corrugated iron, and sometimes slate, tile or stone on traditional barns. The first job is to know which you have, because the covering decides the safety rules, the removal method and the replacement.

Fibre cement sheets of older buildings can contain asbestos. We do not assume either way. If there is doubt, a sample is tested before work begins, and the roof is treated as asbestos cement until the result says otherwise. MyBuilder's 2026 asbestos removal guide has a basic survey starting around £50 and a fuller one at £200 to £245.

Steel sheets are a different problem. They corrode at cut edges, laps and fixings, and our guide to metal roof sheets for commercial units covers the product choices that also apply on a farm.

The HSE lists asbestos cement roof sheeting among the non-licensed jobs, so long as the sheets are handled with care and taken off without being broken up. Weathered sheets count too, provided they are not otherwise badly damaged.

The position shifts if the sheets have been badly damaged or broken, by fire or flood for instance, or if taking them off would smash them and throw up dust and debris, as happens when a roof is simply dropped. The HSE calls that notifiable non-licensed work. The employer has to notify before starting, with no minimum notice period and only the online form accepted, and must arrange health checks for the workers and keep records of the work for later reference.

In practice we plan removal so that each sheet is lifted whole, wrapped and carted off as waste, and we tell you early if the state of the roof is likely to make the job notifiable. For more on the options, see our answer on asbestos cement roofs on commercial units.

Old fibre cement sheets, weathered rooflights and corroded steel can all give way without warning. Falls through roofs are a known hazard on farms, so access is priced as its own item rather than tucked into the labour. Anyone going up needs edge protection, crawling boards or a platform, and nets below where the structure allows it. Rooflights are the highest risk because they can be hidden by moss, dirt or paint.

That is why the job often needs scaffold or a mobile elevated work platform, and why we survey from the ground first before deciding how to reach the ridge. Our answer on what to do when a commercial roof leaks describes the first steps on a leaking building, and the guide to fragile roofs and safe access goes deeper on methods.

Do not send a family member or a farmhand onto an old sheet roof to look for a leak. Photograph the underside from inside the building instead, and look for daylight, rust streaks and wet bedding.

For a working farm building the options usually come down to a few.

• Profiled steel sheets. Light, quick to fix, available in coated finishes, and suited to open-fronted sheds and stores.
• Insulated or lined sheets. A sheet with a liner or insulation helps where condensation drips onto stock or feed.
• Fibre cement alternatives. Non-asbestos sheets that look similar but have different fixing and weight properties.
• Traditional coverings. On a stone barn, like for like means stone, slate or tile, kept to the building's character.

Whatever the choice, the frame has to carry the load. A heavier covering needs a check, because the Planning Portal says a covering at least 15% heavier than the existing roof needs Building Regulations approval, and Approved Document A makes a similar point about a significant change in loading. Ask the sheet supplier for weights before you commit, and be particularly careful if a stone or tile covering is going onto an old timber frame. A change of use, such as converting a barn to a dwelling, brings much more, and that is a job for the planning team first.

A farm roof job depends on more than the roof. Livestock may need moving, feed and machinery stored below may need covering, and access for lorries and a hoist across yards and tracks affects the time. All of that is recorded on the survey day and carried into the written quote, together with the route lorries and a hoist can take across the yard.

The quote covers access, strip, removal and disposal of old sheets, new purlins or rails if needed, new sheets, flashings, rooflights, gutters and clearing the site. What a farm building costs turns on its span, height, sheet type and access, so the price is set on survey. Rooflight and solar plans can also change the specification, so tell us if you are thinking about solar panels on the roof, since fixings and loading checks are easier to build in than to retrofit.

Pictures of the outside of the roof and of the shed interior, with rough dimensions, are the best way to start. Mention how old the sheets are, how many rooflights there are and what is stored beneath. Once surveyed, the roof gets a written quote, and finished work comes with our 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing. Our other commercial work is covered under commercial roofing in Stroud.