Uncertainty in fibreglass roofing material supplies expected

Since the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic prices in the GRP roofing sector in the UK have continued to rise due to supply chain demands and inflation.

Steve Bowen, managing director at Strandek Flat Roofing reports that resins, timber and other fiberglassing materials have increased in price, but materials costs remain a smaller fraction of the overall cost of a fibreglass roof, prices for new roofs have remained generally consistent.

“The Built GRP fibreglass roofing system we use on many of our projects has only marginally increased in value. For the most part, we’ve absorbed the price increases but we have seen larger increases in timber costs. That timber prices have started to come down as of August 2021. Whether that continues remains to be seen – there is major supply chain disruption

According to Paul Chapman at Resin library, a polyester resin supplier, “we’ve seen a price hike of nearly 40% per kilo for glass fibre matting along with other items. The lockdowns and pandemic, in general, have had a major effect.”

“Feedback from manufacturers tell us they are hoping that we should see some stability by 2022 but unfortunately the recent price hikes mean that the end-user is having to reduce margins to win contracts which is not good for particularly smaller businesses who are trying to remain viable.”