Below is a list of FAQs along with helpful videos and guides to answer any product related questions or installation advice that you may require. Can’t find what you are looking for? Complete the form at the bottom of the page and our Technical Support Team will be in touch.
Any sections that are not hard should be covered over immediately with a Visqueen sheet. Tarpaulins or other types of plastic sheeting should not be used as they will become bonded to the roof.
The roof will leak! This has occurred because either insufficient resin has been applied and / or not enough consolidation has occurred. If the laminate is still wet, apply more resin. If the area is tacky or has cured, the solution is to sand the affected area with 40 grit sandpaper, wipe with acetone and apply more resin (with hardener) and matting to the area following the laminating instructions above. Always ensure sufficient resin is added to the laminate. Too much is always better than too little.
Is the roof definitely leaking? If topcoat has been applied too thickly, when the roof expands and contracts, the topcoat can crack, but it should only be an aesthetic issue. The thick topcoat should be sanded, wiped with acetone and the topcoat
reapplied thinly.
Most likely moisture has contaminated the laminate before it has completely cured. These areas must be completely dry before repairing. These areas should be sanded, wiped with acetone and another laminate of resin and matting should be applied over the affected area. If the topcoat has become discoloured, once hard, sand it down, wipe with acetone, and reapply the topcoat (with hardener!). If fibre pattern is very pronounced the laminate is white because of a lack of resin, when the area is completely dry apply another laminate over the area with a generous amount of resin (with hardener added).
Has sufficient hardener been added? It may not have been mixed in sufficiently. More time may be required if the temperature is below 10oC and there is no possibility of rain. Tackiness might be a symptom of moisture contamination. In cold winter temperatures consider using the Cure It Extra Cold range. Always take care not to add too much hardener. In very hot temperatures the topcoat may remain tacky after the roof
has cured.
Call the Cure It technical team on 03301 222666 or email: technical@cureit.com
No, you must install Cure It, RoofCell or any of our GRP systems in dry weather. Always check the weather forecast is set to be dry before laying the roof. The Cure It system must not be laid onto damp OSB3 boards or during wet weather conditions, and RoofCell should not be directly laid onto an existing wet roof. Always keep a visqueen sheet at hand in case of rain.
The time taken for resin or topcoat to go hard is controlled by the amount of hardener used and temperature. In fair to warm temperatures, use summer hardener. Always use a minimum of 1 % hardener. Mix smaller batches to reduce the chance of wastage. Extra slow hardener is available for very hot temperatures. Keep the materials out of the sun where possible on hot days. Hot resin / topcoat will cure faster.
In cold temperatures, use winter hardener. The Cure It system can easily be laid down to 5oC. Between 5-10oC the sealed containers of resin and topcoat should be kept indoors the night before and kept warm until use. Do not exceed 4 % winter hardener. Never use a blowtorch or naked flame to warm the materials. Avoid laying materials late in the day as they may not harden before the temperature drops. Ensure the roof is completely dry of any dew, frost or moisture that may have formed overnight. The Cure It Extra Cold range of resin and topcoat is designed to be used between 0-10OC.
Cure It Roofing Resin (Extra Cold)When adding hardener to resin and topcoat the material will generate heat when it cures. This effect is exaggerated if there is any significant amount left in the mixing bucket. Resin or topcoat curing in bulk may heat up in excess of 150oC. Always ensure that any curing material is well away from flammable or combustible materials. The material may also appear to smoke when curing in bulk, but will not self-combust. The heat can be suppressed with cold water, but this should not be necessary if it is left in a safe place. The material will reach peak temperature within about 5 minutes of gelling and the heat will start to dissipate thereafter.
Store all liquid materials in a cool, dry, ventilated place. Goggles and non-absorbent gloves should be worn when handling these materials. See the guidance throughout the guide on which protective equipment should be used at which stage. Keep lids on acetone and hardener containers until they are needed and immediately replace the lids after use. Store acetone and hardener well away from each other. NEVER MIX THESE PRODUCTS TOGETHER or use in any way not specified in this guide. Do not smoke! All liquid Cure It materials are flammable and should be kept away from sources of ignition. Keep eye wash on site when using these materials. Read the Cure It material safety datasheets before using.
DATASHEETS & SPECIFICATIONSOnce your new OSB3 boards have been fitted, mix a small batch of resin with hardener (0.5kg/m2) and apply a thin coat to your boards. Then cover it with polyethylene plastic sheeting (Visqueen). Once cured, if it doesn’t start to rain you can laminate straight away as you would normally. Once the rain stops, remove the protection, sand the area with 40 grit sandpaper, wipe down with Acetone and then start to laminate.
No, it isn’t advised to lay Cure It onto plywood for a number of reasons. They are often coated with a waxy finish which doesn’t allow our resin to bond to it, causing the laminate to delaminate from the actual plywood. As plywood is made up of layers upon layers of thin sheets of wood, when the system cures and shrinks it can cause the plywood to separate and delaminate from itself. It can also contain moisture which can lead to it delaminating.
For the roof to be covered by the 20 Year Guarantee you would need to overboard the plywood by using OSB3 boards. Making sure that your fixings penetrate the joists a minimum of 40mm.
We would recommend referring to either the architect or building for their desired airflow rates if there is any doubt of sufficient ventilation. But, ventilation can be achieved by used ventilated soffit board on each side of a free-standing roof, at both ends of the joists. If there is a brick wall at one or both ends of the joists, a Fascia Vent can be used. Alternatively: OSB3 boards can be gapped further away from the wall. Additionally, traditional lead may need to be used to dress onto the wall. The other, unattractive option would be to fit PVC mushroom vents across the roof.
To bond to smooth surfaces such as plastic and lead, you must use trim adhesive. You can’t bond to plastic using resin alone. For a soil pipe for example, cut a length of bandage the circumference of the pipe plus 30mm, apply full beads of trim adhesive the full length of the bandage along the top, middle and bottom. Then wrap it around the pipe, squeezing it tight, ensuring you have a good bond. Smooth out any lumps that you may have. Once bonded, you can then apply resin and CSM on top.
The minimum pitch for a Cure It roof is 1:80, but we do recommend 1:40 to provide adequate drainage. This reduces the possibilities of having standing water behind the ‘A’ trim/Fascia trim.
Yes, Cure It Topcoat is available in over 100 different colours from the BS4800 and RAL Classic Colour range. When ordering your materials from your stockist, tell them the BS or RAL number that you require. You will then receive a neutral topcoat and a separate pigment. Pour all of the pigment into the topcoat and give it a thorough stir, making sure all of the pigment is mixed in. For darker colours allow for a minimum of 10% of pigment, so for 10kg topcoat you need 1kg of pigment. For lighter colours allow for 20% of pigment, so for 10kg topcoat you need 2kg of pigment. DON’T FORGET TO ADD HARDENER TO YOUR TOPCOAT WHEN READY TO USE! TOPCOAT STILL REQUIRES HARDENER.
Cure It Pre-Mix TopcoatsYou only need to allow for expansion joints when your roof is over 12m linear or 100m2. Even then, depending on the shape of the roof you may not require one. Watch our video guide on how to create expansion joints using the E280 trim.
E280 Raised Ridge RollNo, the surface can be modified to your requirements. By using slate granules, you can achieve a non-slip finish (Coated Aggregate Finish) or a mineral effect finish (Exposed Aggregate) if you want it to look like a felt roof. Watch our videos on how to achieve different finishes for your roof.
Cure It Slate GranulesYou will need to scrape all of the topcoat off the roof, sand the whole roof with 40 grit sandpaper and wipe down with acetone, then topcoat again (Remembering to add hardener!)
This can be down to a number of factors, too much hardener has been added, unsuitable hardener may have been used (e.g. winter hardener used in summer), weather may be too hot for summer hardener. If you’re working in direct sunlight, use less hardener. If the deck temperature is very hot, Extra Slow Hardener should be used. Reduce the size of the batches mixed. The higher the volume mixed, the quicker it cures.
Cure It HardenerPossible causes for this could be down a number of reasons: These being: The roof being over 100m² and an expansion joint has not been incorporated into the roof or it has been incorrectly installed, structural movement or too much hardener has been mixed into the resin.
To repair this, all you need to do is:
Grind down and cut out any affected, sand the area, wipe with acetone and then laminate over the crack with 2 layers of 450g/m² CSM and topcoat. It may be necessary to cut out a section of OSB3 and laminate and incorporate an expansion joint at 100m² intervals together with an E280 Raised Ridge Roll trim. Always check the board fixings; these may need to be re-fixed if they have been pulled away from the joists. Ensuring that they are fixed down at 200mm centres with 40mm penetration into your joists.
This is caused by poor adhesion of the laminate to the boards and is more likely to happen on plywood rather than OSB3. It could also be a possible indication of water contamination.
The laminate can be completely removed and then reapplied after drying the boards and priming with Cure It Concrete Primer (To ensure no further delamination occurs). Fixings can be used to secure the loose laminate. Fixings are then bandaged over, using the resin mixed with hardener, then once cured topcoated also mixed with hardener
This can occur for a couple of reasons: A lack of resin when laminating or improper consolidation with the paddle roller. If these are noticed before or after topcoating, sand the affected area down with 40 grit sandpaper, wipe down with acetone and then apply another coat of resin, mixed with hardener (At a rate of 0.25kg/m²) once cured, you can then re-topcoat.
To reduce the fibre pattern which is visible on your detail work, when laminating your joints and corners apply the 150mm Finishing Tissue over the bandage, working it in with your brush or soft roller. This will then give you a high quality smooth finish and eliminates the fibre look. If you want to eliminate the fibre look on the main body of the roof, before topcoating but after you have sanded the area and wiped with acetone, apply another coat of resin. This infills between the fibres to give you a much smoother finish.
Check the fixings. Make sure the correct fixings have been used, that they penetrate the joist by a minimum of 40mm and are fixed at 200mm centres across the board.
We recommend before using our preformed corners, that you sand them first using 40 grit sandpaper, wipe down with acetone and then laminate. Should delamination occur, you have to cut out the affected area of CSM, give the area a sand with 40 grit sandpaper ensuring that you go beyond this area by at least 50mm, wipe down with acetone and laminate/topcoat as you would normally.
C1 Universal External CornerNo, the roof will not leak if you experience standing water behind your trims. This issue can arise due to a couple of reasons, the roof has been installed with an inadequate fall or the deck has not been rebated where A-trims have been attached creating a lip which holds water back. Standing water won’t have any effect on the GRP; it will contain it and eventually evaporate. To reduce the amount of pooling behind the ‘A’ trim/Fascia trim, plane the edge of the decking board by 2mm before the battens are attached, this will allow the trim to sit flush with the rest of the roof.
No, the roof won’t leak. The topcoat is a decorative coating and the laminate is your key waterproof layer. If you have had to leave it for a number of days for example, make sure the roof is dry, give the whole area thorough sand with 40 grit sandpaper, wipe it down with acetone and then apply topcoat mixed with hardener. Ideally, you do need to topcoat the roof as soon as possible after laminating. Until the roof is topcoated, it isn’t covered by the guarantee or fire certification. If the roof has been left un-topcoated for a prolonged period of time, you should apply a thin coat of resin before applying your topcoat. Dry your roof if there is any moisture on the surface, give the whole area a light sand and wipe down with acetone. Apply a thin coat of resin (With hardener). Once the resin has cured, you can then apply your topcoat (With hardener).
Once our resins have cured, they are inert and odourless. If there is a smell once the resins have cured then there may be some uncured resin/topcoat somewhere, maybe in a cavity if a parapet wall has been built or above your ceiling if resin has dripped between your boards. Once the resin has been located, it will need removing or hardener adding to make it cure.
No, it isn’t harmful. During the curing process of the resin, the solvent within the polyester resin (Styrene monomer) solvent will be evolved from the laminate. There is an occupational legal limit to the amount of styrene that an individual can be exposed to. This limit is an average of 100 parts per million (ppm) over an eight hour period. It is important to note that you will never come anywhere close to half of this legal limit while laminating a flat roof and that any styrene evolved will be diluted as soon as it leaves the surface of the laminate. It is important to note that it will not present side effects in any individuals exposed to the odour at the expected levels present when installing a Cure It roof. Installations in contained environments indoors may require ventilation.
It is also worth notifying customers of the harmless odour before installing a Cure It roof. In the event of a complaint about the odour, you can be provided with Safety Data Sheets which explicitly state the TLV (Threshold Limit Value) and appropriate health and safety considerations. Any queries relating to this can be directed to the manufacturer.
This can take several years to appear and is caused by erosion of the topcoat and is more likely to occur with darker colours. It may be possible to clean the roof, sand with 40 grit sandpaper and wipe down with acetone; you can then re-topcoat the roof, but it is difficult to guarantee that no topcoat delamination will occur thereafter. The only way to guarantee the longevity of the colour is to re-skin the roof with another laminate and re-topcoat. This is also a method for refurbishing old, damaged or well-worn roofs that may have been subjected to heavy foot traffic.
This can be caused by moisture uptake in the boards, poor fixings allowing the boards to move and rise up off the joists or insufficient expansion gaps between the boards when 8’x4’ boards used. Sand the whole roof using 40 grit sandpaper so that you are able to see the fixings in the boards. Ensure you have the correct amount of fixings, if they’re not at 200mm centres you will need more fixings. If you use 8’x4’ boards, you must leave an expansion gap of between 2mm-5mm. The roof must be cleaned and all ridges ground down and wiped down with acetone. Then re-laminate the affected with resin mixed with hardener (1.5kg/m²) and 450gm CSM. In bad cases, it may be necessary to grind down the ridges and fix new boards over the existing roof and re-laminate, ensuring adequate provision for board expansion with expansion joints on larger roofs and ability to fix into joists by minimum 40mm.
No, the Cure It system is only guaranteed when installed on OSB3 boards.
Whilst the tools are wet, you can clean them using acetone. Once they have gone hard, you won’t be able to clean them. You may leave them soaking in the acetone if they are kept in an air tight container as the vapours are highly flammable and it will evaporate.
No, it can only be installed onto OSB3 or Concrete
Both the resin and topcoat have a 6 month shelf life. On the side of the cans, there is a sticker and on that sticker is a packing date. The shelf life starts from this date. Kept in the correct conditions, a dry garage for example, the shelf life should exceed this.
While the process for laying a Cure It roof is straightforward, there are a few rules of thumb that must be followed before installing. It is advisable to attend a training or demo day regularly held at stockists around the UK or at our dedicated training facilities in Wigan before attempting to install a Cure It roof.
Cure It GRP Roofing CourseNo, due to the product being ‘off the shelf’ we are unable to police the installation of Cure It, so we can’t guarantee that it has been fitted to the correct standards.
No, we are the manufacturers of Cure It. We don’t have installers.
Many glass fibre laminates made during the early days of GRP production in the 1940s are still in use today. Extensive testing has demonstrated the typical life expectancy of a GRP roof product to be well in excess of 50 years. Tests conducted to date have shown ‘no deterioration’ infrastructure or performance throughout the testing period. Additionally, because GRP products are used in extreme conditions such as underwater, when used in the manufacture of boats, a GRP product applied by a specialist company could be expected to last a lifetime.
GRP can be used for a number of applications including roofing, automotive, construction, marine and industrial, including, boats, car bodies, HGV roofs, and shells, pipes, hygienic linings, tanks, building products, ponds, pools, architectural features, green roofs, flat roofs (commercial and domestic), vertical cladding, walkways, bay windows, wind turbine blades, plus a number of other specialist areas.
Cure It has a number of benefits compared to traditional roofing products, especially for flat roofing. There are a number of health & safety benefits from installing a Cure It roofing system. Cure It is cold laid it and does not require any form of heat treatment, helping to protect installers and the general public. Also, they are not subject to the same prohibitive insurance premiums levied at installers using hot-works. Unlike traditional flat roofing systems, Cure It flat roofs are extremely durable and completely waterproof, plus they can be finished in a wide range of colours and include options such as nonslip finishes. The entire area on a Cure It roof is encapsulated into one single continuous GRP membrane and there are no seams joints or welds. Completely UV resistant. Highly adaptable, allowing conversion of the roof area to include features such as balconies or walkways within the roof area. Special features such as roof lights can also be included within a GRP roofing system. Cure It can also be used instead of pitched roofs or to make special features.
The major benefit of Cure It comes from the fact that a high-quality GRP roofing system, when installed correctly should remain leak-free for life.
Yes. It is fire retardant to BS476-3:2004, EXT.F.AB as standard. EXT.F.AA can also be achieved when granulated slate is used to create an exposed aggregate finish.
GRP systems are ideally suited to adverse weather conditions and temperature extremes. As GRP is used to make boats and pond liners, it performs well when exposed to cold climates or heavy rain. GRP systems are capable of delivering maximum protection in excess of 50 years. Whilst GRP may not be suitable for applications above 100°C it will perform well within normal temperature extremes are found within global environmental conditions. GRP can withstand dilute acid conditions; it is unsuitable for prolonged immersion in alkaline solutions. A GRP roof is also fully bonded to the surface of the decking boards so it is very resistant to wind uplift.
Cure It stockists can be found nationwide. Use our find a stockist search to find your local branch.
Where to buyAn average domestic garage roof of around 20m² can be removed, re-decked, laminated and topcoated within a day by an experienced team of two people.
Depending on the ambient temperature, a Cure It roof should be cured to the touch within an hour. The warmer it is, the quicker it cures and the cooler it is, the slower it cures. Take these factors into account when adding your hardener.
Resin & Topcoat in its liquid form is hazardous waste so you need to dispose of in accordance with the European Directives on waste and hazardous waste. Do not flush into surface water or sanitary sewer system. Empty containers should be taken to an approved waste handling site for recycling or disposal. Do not dispose of resin/topcoat in its liquid form. If you have resin left over that you don’t want to keep just add some hardener and let it cure before disposing. If you need to dispose of any hardener, reverse the above process and add resin/topcoat and let it cure before disposing.
To clean up any spillages of resin or topcoat, you must scrape up as much of the liquids as soon as possible, cover the area completely with sawdust/sand to absorb the remaining liquid and then wipe it down with acetone. Unfortunately, the resin and topcoat do stain so you do need to take precautions when using Cure It. Leave the lids on the cans until you’re ready to use them. Protect the area on the ground around where you are working. This protects the area from any overspray that you may produce whilst paddle rolling
Always have decorators’ wipes to hand just in case you get any resin on UPVC and paintwork. DO NOT USE ACETONE! Carry out all mixing of materials on the floor, or cover the area of deck that you intend to mix on. This prevents any uncured resins dripping through any gaps in the boards that you may have.
Our FAQs section will have many of the answers to your technical questions and installation queries.
If you require further support please complete the form below and a member of our Technical Support Team will be in touch.
