Gutter clearance and solar panel cleaning at a defence logistics hub

The job

The hub’s large metal-profile roofs had built up years of silt, moss, plant growth and salt grime in the box and valley gutters. Water was ponding, with a real risk of it getting into the buildings over high-value stock and equipment.

The rooftop solar array had its own problem: a film of coastal salt, diesel exhaust and bird fouling was cutting its output. The facilities team needed both sorted without getting in the way of the site’s round-the-clock security, loading bays or perimeter controls.

The challenge

• An active defence supply perimeter: personnel vetting, site security clearance, tool and equipment inventories, and close coordination with the site security officers.
• A busy HGV yard with tight turning space and loading docks that had to stay open, so boom lifts and cranes on the ground weren’t workable.
• Large roofs across several bays with fragile GRP rooflights and unprotected edges.
• Solar glass that is easily damaged: abrasive brushes, harsh detergents or hard tap water can strip the anti-reflective coating or crack the panels.

What we did

Gutters

• Rigged temporary running lines and rope restraint from the roof steelwork, with no drilling and nothing fixed into the structure, to keep the team back from every edge and rooflight.
• Cleared hundreds of metres of boundary and valley gutters of compacted silt, moss and vegetation.
• Lowered all bagged waste on controlled hauling lines, so nothing fell into the loading docks or secure lanes.
• Flushed and flow-tested every rainwater outlet and downpipe before the storm season.

Solar panels

• Washed the array with pure water from mobile reverse-osmosis and deionisation units, so it dries without mineral spotting.
• Used carbon-fibre water-fed poles with soft bristles to lift the salt, exhaust film and fouling without scratching the panel coating.

Condition report

• Photographed and inspected the roof sheet laps, fixings, gutter joints and solar mountings.
• Reported early wear to the facilities team, so repairs could be planned and budgeted before they became urgent.

See our industrial rope access and glazing, façade and solar panel cleaning services.

The result

• Everything was done from the roof, so every freight bay, security lane and logistics operation stayed open throughout.
• The gutters and outlets run clear again, taking away the overflow risk over the stock and equipment inside.
• The solar array is back to clean glass, restoring its output.
• Zero incidents, with method statements and LOLER equipment records handed over and the site’s security procedures followed throughout.