Delivering exceptional services for coming up on half a century, O’Brien Roofing & Cladding Ltd. is firmly established as one of Dublin’s premier roofing contractors. Building Ireland interrupted managing director Sammy O’Brien’s busy schedule to get an update on this industry-leading fourth-generation family business.
Synonymous with professional, value-added domestic and commercial roofing services, O’Brien Roofing & Cladding Ltd. has a proven track record as Dublin’s leading roofing contractor, combining the best materials with meticulous workmanship to deliver unbeatable installation and repair services.
An archetypal family business with a keen emphasis on providing that all-important personal touch, O’Brien Roofing & Cladding’s experienced, skilled, motivated and friendly team features some of Dublin’s best roofers who excel in providing a comprehensive range of roofing services, including flat or pitched roof systems, covering everything from new installations to refurbishments, upgrades, replacements or emergency repairs (ranging from one broken tile to major insurance work).
No job is considered too large or too small and all manner of flat roof repairs can be undertaken, including specialist repairs to chimney flashings. O’Brien Roofing use Paralon Roofing products for high quality waterproofing. A professional service is invariably provided to exact client specifications / needs and O’Brien Roofing & Cladding pride themselves on building and maintaining lasting relationships, with a fast and efficient call-out service offered across the capital and sometimes further afield.
Boasting a wealth of experience of all aspects of roofing, from flat rooves and green rooves to felt flat roofing membranes, green rooves, traditional slated roofing, tiles and liquid waterproofing to lead, copper and zinc work, hands-on MD Sammy O’Brien knows roofing inside-out, having worked in this specialist sector of construction all his working life. He took over the running of the family business from his father, John Joe, in 1994 and stands over the high quality of workmanship consistently delivered by O’Brien Roofing & Cladding on every project.
Indeed, the quality of O’Brien Roofing’s work speaks for itself. They have completed countless major projects down through the decades, including for example the delivery of a stunning new scheme of apartments at Clancy Quay, on the site of the old barracks, for Glenbeigh Construction, where striking Blue Bangor natural slates were professionally fitted.
Sammy points out that large projects of this calibre would not be possible without the input of the excellent team around him: “We have a brilliant team of 15 lads, the majority of whom have worked together for 20+ years,” he reveals. “There’s a real family ethos in the business and most of them are brothers or nephews, friends or family of friends. It’s a close-knit, experienced team and we all work together extremely well.
“As we speak, we have a fresh wave of new young lads coming on board as apprentices, so hopefully they will progress and that will be the next generation taken care of.”
Benefiting from a large volume of repeat business from a who’s who of main contractors, builders, developers and property owners as well as a steady flow of new work through word of mouth and positive referrals, O’Brien Roofing & Cladding are in big demand right now and were active on a series of prestigious commercial projects at the time of writing.
Sammy and his trusty team are also currently refurbishing a roof for Facebook as well as carrying out a reroofing job at Weston Airport between Lucan and Celbridge.
They are also engaged on a number of slating jobs throughout the capital, including a superb Blue Bangor roof for Ireland’s leading fruit producers, Keeling’s, in Swords.
Over the past five decades, O’Brien Roofing & Cladding has earned an unrivalled reputation for installing, maintaining and repairing effective, efficient and lasting roofing systems on all types of residential and commercial buildings for both the private and public sector, including houses, apartment blocks, hotels, retail outlets, schools, government buildings, etc.
Communication, relationships and teamwork on site are vital, as Sammy reveals: “When you go on site, you are part of a team and everybody has to play ball if everything is going to go smoothly and safely. Once you are on site, meeting your targets is vital, so you have to get on good terms with the foremen.”
While much of construction was shut down a couple of times over the at two years due to the public health restrictions enforced as a consequence of the pandemic, O’Brien Roofing remained largely unaffected. “We were fortunate in that we were able to continue working right through Covid as roofing was deemed essential,” Sammy confirms. “We were going non-stop on emergency works.”
Family is extremely important to Sammy and to O’Brien Roofing & Cladding. To this end, when the time is right, the Dublin-based roofing contractor will pass the family business into the safe hands of the third and fourth generations:
“My son Daniel is a huge part of the business now. He has come up through the ranks here and has been with us for 19 years. Daniel is at the stage now where he already takes a leading role in running the business and he project-manages most of the jobs.
“Going forward, with young lads on board, the future of the business is in good hands,” the MD concludes. “Daniel will continue to take a bigger role and I can envisage him being the third generation to run the business. Beyond that, Daniel’s son Jamie was in with us during the summertime and has taken a keen interest, too. So there you have the fourth generation involved and it’s great to see … from my father John Joe through to Daniel and Jamie you can see the past, present and future of O’Brien Roofing.”
O’Brien Roofing & Cladding Ltd.
Unit 64,
Western Parkway Business Park,
Ballymount,
Dublin 12.
Tel: 01 4199606
Mobile: 086 2547571
Email: [email protected]
Web: obrienroofing.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, June 2022, Vol 8 No 6
