On the 21st February 2024, Sussex Asphalte held its first demonstration day with the aim of enlightening Heritage Trust clients about the benefits of Mastic Asphalt. Over the past 75 years of continuous trading, we have built a solid foundation of clients, both residential and commercial. However, we believe that the Heritage industry and its clients can play a major role in securing the future of Mastic Asphalt installation. A “hands-on” demonstration was seen as an effective way to grow knowledge and understanding of the oldest waterproofing product known to man.
Our resident asphalt experts, Matt and Julian Coulter – who have both been in the business for over 40 years – highlighted how installing Mastic Asphalt can improve both the lifespan and running costs of a building, all under the watchful eye of Mastic Asphalt Director, Malcolm Grinstead. Our longest-serving operative, Bob Kew, carried out demonstrations showing potential scenarios where only Mastic Asphalt is the option for installation. One of our current Mastic Asphalt apprentices, Callum, assisted with these demonstrations.
Our Director, Jay Hollands, presented some slides of recent and past completed projects. These were supported by actual real-life running costs and other valuable information, aiming to inform our guests that, whilst Mastic Asphalt is not used nearly as much as it has been in the past, it can and will still play a prominent role in the future of waterproofing products.
“This asphalt roof has been down for over 60 years; it must need replacing” was a comment heard several times. However, the proof lies in this statement: which other waterproofing product can remain in situ for this amount of time and potentially provide building owners with peace of mind that their roof is in good condition? None.
Following some refreshments, we provided our guests with the opportunity and safety equipment to test their skills against the professionals (and one another) in installing Mastic Asphalt. Most of our guests said they hadn’t been given this kind of opportunity before and soon realised that installing Mastic Asphalt is an art, requiring years of training to complete certain details to the standard expected by us, the Mastic Asphalt Council, and suppliers providing guarantees on various projects.
While other waterproofing products have come and gone over time, Mastic Asphalt remains a major player in the roofing industry. All of our guests appreciated this and were surprised by the flexibility of the product and the scenarios in which it can be used.
The day concluded with the exchange of many contacts and details, and the discussion of many projects where Asphalt has the opportunity to now be applied.
Due to the resounding success of the day, we will look at holding another demonstration day towards the end of the year.
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