If you are planning a new roof on your home in Elmswell, understanding what the job actually involves from the first visit to the final clean-up helps you ask the right questions and know whether the work is being done properly.
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Before any price is agreed or any work is planned, a roofer should look at the roof properly. That means getting up there, not just looking from the ground. A visual check from the pavement tells you very little about the condition of the felt underneath, the state of the timbers or what is happening at the ridge and hips.
During a survey, the things to assess are: the condition of each slope of the roof covering, the state of the ridge and hip pointing or mechanically fixed caps, the flashings at any chimney, dormer or abutment, the condition of the visible timbers in the loft, and the guttering and fascias. Any of these can affect the scope and cost of the work.
You should receive a written price after the survey, broken down clearly enough that you can see what you are paying for. If you are getting multiple quotes, compare them like for like: check that each one specifies the same materials and covers the same scope of work, including what happens if rotten timbers are found once the old covering is stripped off.
A new roof cannot be done safely from a ladder alone. Scaffolding is required for any full re-roof, and for most substantial flat roof replacements. The scaffolding should provide a safe working platform around the affected elevations and a safe means of getting materials up and waste down.
Before stripping starts, the area below the roof should be protected. Skips or bulk bags are positioned for the waste material - old tiles, broken slates, redundant timber and felt all need to go somewhere. Good preparation at this stage saves time and prevents damage to gardens, paths and driveways.
If you have solar panels fitted to the roof, these need to come off before the covering is stripped. That is usually arranged separately with a solar installer and should be factored into the project timeline. The same applies to any satellite dish or aerial mounted on or near the roof.
Stripping is where the condition of the existing roof becomes clear. Old tiles or slates are removed and either set aside for reuse if they are in good condition, or loaded into the skip. The old felt underlay is stripped back to the timber battens.
The battens themselves are then assessed. Battens are the horizontal timbers that the tiles or slates hook onto. Old battens may be undersized by modern standards, split, or soft from years of moisture. Replacing them is standard practice on a full re-roof.
Once the battens and old felt are off, the rafters and any other structural timbers are inspected. This is the stage where rot or insect damage becomes visible. Any affected timber needs to be cut out and replaced before the new covering goes on. A good roofer will show you what they have found and explain what needs doing before they proceed. If rotten timber is discovered after stripping, the original quote should set out clearly how additional timber work will be priced.
The first layer to go back on is the underlay. On any pitched roof today, this should be a breathable membrane rather than the old bitumen felt. Breathable underlays allow moisture vapour from the property to pass outward through the roof structure without letting liquid water in. This matters for the long-term health of the timbers and insulation in the roof space.
The underlay is laid from the eaves upward, each row overlapping the one below by the specified amount. It is dressed into the gutters at the eaves so that any water that gets past the tiles runs into the gutter rather than down the fascia board.
New tanalised timber battens are then fixed through the underlay into the rafters. The batten gauge - the spacing between battens - is determined by the tile or slate being used. Getting this right is important: if the gauge is out, the tiles will not cover each other correctly and the roof will be vulnerable to wind-driven rain getting underneath.
Tiles or slates are laid from the eaves upward, working across each course before moving to the next. At the verges (the edges of the roof at the gable ends) and the eaves, special trim or starter tiles are used to close off the gaps that would otherwise be open to birds, bats and wind.
On a hipped roof or one with valleys, the cutting and fitting at these junctions requires care. Valleys can be lined with lead or with a purpose-made valley trough - both are acceptable but lead is the more traditional and longer-lasting finish.
Ridge tiles are fitted along the top of the roof. These can be bedded in mortar, which is the traditional method, or mechanically fixed with purpose-made clips and dry ridge components. Dry ridge systems are increasingly common because they do not rely on mortar joints that eventually crack and allow water in. Mortar-bedded ridges need to be checked and re-pointed periodically over the life of the roof.
Hip tiles, where they exist, are treated similarly and also benefit from mechanical fixing where possible.
Flashings seal the joints between the roof covering and any vertical surface it meets: chimneys, parapet walls, dormer cheeks and the walls of neighbouring properties on terraced houses. Lead is the standard material for flashings in the UK. It is cut and dressed to shape on site, then tucked into a mortar joint in the brickwork and fixed with lead wedges.
Poorly fitted or deteriorating flashings are one of the most common causes of water ingress on an otherwise sound roof. On a new roof, all flashings should be replaced as a matter of course. If a roofer proposes to reuse old flashings on a re-roof, ask why, particularly if the lead is more than 20 to 25 years old.
A full re-roof is the logical time to look at the gutters, fascias and soffits. Fascia boards are the vertical boards at the eaves that the guttering fixes to. Soffits close off the underside of the eaves. Both are commonly made from uPVC on modern properties, but older homes may still have timber ones that have softened.
If the fascias are soft or damaged, replacing them while the scaffolding is already up costs significantly less than returning to do the work separately later. New uPVC fascias and soffits, fitted with vented soffit panels, also provide the roof ventilation that breathable underlays work best with.
Gutters should be checked for level, for leaking joints, and for any sections that have sagged. A new roof directs water into the guttering just as the old one did, so a gutter that is already struggling will only get worse.
When the covering, ridge, flashings and gutters are complete, a final check should be made from both outside and inside the loft. From outside, look along each slope for any lifted or misaligned tiles. Check that the ridge line is straight. Look at the flashings to confirm they are dressed correctly into the brickwork. From inside the loft, check for any daylight or obvious gaps, and look at the underlay at the eaves where it is dressed into the gutters.
All waste from the job - broken tiles, old felt, packaging, spent lead - should be removed from the site. The scaffold can come down once you are satisfied the work is complete and any snagging has been dealt with.
We carry out new roof installations for homeowners in Elmswell and the surrounding area, working from our base in Diss. If you are ready to get the process started, call us to arrange a roof survey. We will walk you through what we find, explain what the job involves for your specific property and give you a clear written price before any work is agreed.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
