The Leaze, Soteria Roofing Specialists

As part of the total renovation of the main house, the entire existing pitched roof was removed. Soteria Roofing Specialists was responsible for everything from the wall plate upwards, installing new timbers, supporting steelwork and roof covering to create a mansard-type arrangement providing room in the roof accommodation.

Soteria Roofing Specialists put forward Proctor Air® as an alternative to the pitched roof underlay originally specified by the project architects.

“We know Proctor Air works, we like working with it. And merchants like a product they don’t get moaned at about! It’s about using the best quality products, and Proctor Air fits the bill.” — Ricky Shellard – Director, Soteria Roofing Specialists

Third-party assessment and certification is seen as a vital step in the life of a construction product. The most common form of third-party certification is a BBA certificate, issued by the British Board of Agrément, which provides independent verification that a product is fit for purpose in its intended application.

The assessment process can, however, be time consuming. A product therefore might be on the market and undergoing certification, but not have a final certificate available.
When that is the case, how do you satisfy yourself that a product is okay to use?

This was the situation that Ricky Shellard, Director of Soteria Roofing Specialists, faced when Proctor Air was first available in the marketplace. Having become disillusioned with the quality of the underlay he was using at the time, he wanted a new product and contacted Proctor Group as soon as he heard about Proctor Air. He then encouraged his local supplier to get some stock of it.

Ricky’s first step was to compare the product data sheets of the two membranes. “On paper, I could see that Proctor Air was at least no worse than what I was already using,” he explained. “Proctor Group told me they were going through assessment with Proctor Air, and I couldn’t see a reason why it wouldn’t get a BBA certificate.”

Proctor Air’s BBA certificate was duly published in May 2024.

Of course, even when component products of a roof build-up have a BBA certificate, that doesn’t diminish the need for, or the value of, the kind of research and product comparison that Ricky put in to understanding how Proctor Air performs.

“Other contractors don’t research the materials they use, so they get failures,” said Ricky. Referring to that fact that there is no formal qualification needed to call yourself a roofing contractor, he added: “When we set up the business, we didn’t want to be a flash in the pan. Any material we use has to match the quality of the service we’re offering. We don’t want people coming back to us in ten years with problems – we want to stand by our guarantees.”

Another step that Ricky takes on projects is to involve Building Control if there isn’t already a live application. He did that when first choosing to use Proctor Air, and they supported the decision, with the proviso that they would need to see a BBA certificate once issued.

Third-party certification of test data and fitness for purpose is good for desk research and reassuring Building Control Bodies. But how a product performs on paper and what it is like to use in reality can be two different things.

There is no substitute for the experience of installing a roof underlay to understand what it is like to work with. “Our immediate reaction on trialling Proctor Air was, ‘this is good.’ For example, it doesn’t rip under your feet,” said Ricky.

Proctor Air is an APLR membrane – it is both air permeable and has a low resistance to the passage of moisture vapour. These qualities combine to reduce condensation risk in roofs and provide a more consistent flow of air than standard roof vent products.

Other qualities of the membrane make a significant difference to installers working with it on site. For example, backing up the experiences of Soteria Roofing Specialists’s team,
Proctor Air achieves an excellent Mullen burst strength result, which is an assessment of the fabric’s strength. This helps it to resist normal roof installation loads.

In addition, assessing the slip resistance of Proctor Air shows it has a high coefficient of friction, which increases safety during the installation of the covering as part of normal safe working practices.

Fast forward to July 2025, and Soteria Roofing Specialists began work on the roof reconstruction at The Leaze. While another underlay membrane had been specified by the architect, Ricky wasted no time in putting forward Proctor Air for use on the project. He could do so knowing that stock was readily available in the local area.

“When we started using Proctor Air regularly, I recommended it to the local branch of our supplier, and now all their branches carry it in stock,” said Ricky. “We know Proctor Air works, we like working with it. And merchants like a product they don’t get moaned at about!”

“We spend time looking into the materials we use because we don’t want them failing on us. It’s about using the best quality products – so Proctor Air fits the bill.”

Find out more: https://proctorgroup.com/products/proctor-air