If your Dereham roof has reached the stage where repairs are no longer keeping up, a full replacement gives you a sound structure and a known cost for the years ahead.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
A roof that has been patched repeatedly over many years reaches a point where each repair fixes one problem only for another to appear six months later. When the number of failing tiles, the condition of the underfelt or the state of the timbers beneath reaches that point, a full replacement is the more honest and cost-effective answer. It removes the uncertainty of what the next repair bill will be and replaces it with a roof built to current standards.
Full replacements cover everything: stripping the old covering back to the rafters, dealing with any rot or structural damage found, and re-roofing with new underlay, new battens and new tiles or slate. The result is a roof where every component is known to be in good order.
Roof replacement costs vary considerably depending on the size of the roof, the material chosen, the condition of the structure beneath, and a number of other factors covered below. As a rough guide for typical domestic properties in this part of Norfolk, a full re-roof on an average semi-detached house - including strip-out, scaffold, new underlay, battens and concrete tiles - is likely to fall somewhere in the region of £5,500 to £9,000. Detached properties with more complex roof shapes or larger footprints will be higher, often £9,000 to £15,000 or more. Natural slate adds to the materials cost and therefore to the overall price.
These figures reflect the current cost of labour and materials in the region. Any quote significantly below this range should prompt questions about what has been left out.
Understanding what drives a higher quote helps you evaluate the figures you receive and plan your budget more accurately.
The most straightforward factor is simple area. A larger roof costs more to re-cover because there are more tiles to strip, more battens to fix and more underlay to lay. But shape matters as much as size. A plain gabled roof with two slopes is the quickest and most straightforward to work on. A hip-ended roof adds complexity at the corners. Dormers, valleys where two roof slopes meet, and chimney stacks all add time and material cost, particularly for the lead flashing work they require.
A roof with multiple valleys and several penetrations can cost significantly more per square metre than a simple two-slope gable, even if the overall area is similar.
The three main materials for pitched roofs are concrete tiles, clay tiles and natural slate. The price difference between them is significant:
The labour cost of fixing slate is also higher than tiles because each slate must be individually nailed. Budget for both higher materials and higher labour if slate is the chosen material.
Until the old covering comes off, the true state of the timbers is not fully known. A loft inspection beforehand gives a good indication, but rafter ends, wall plates and ridge timbers can be compromised from the outside without showing signs from inside. If rot or structural movement is found at strip-out, timber repairs are added to the job.
Rafter end replacement, new wall plates or partial ridge repairs are not unusual on older properties. On a roof that has been leaking for some time, the extent of timber damage can be significant. It is worth asking any contractor how they would handle and price unexpected structural work before you agree to proceed. A clear day-rate or schedule of rates for timber repairs avoids disagreements if problems are found.
Every chimney stack on the roof requires lead flashings where it meets the tiles - step flashings up the sides, a back gutter behind and a cover flashing at the front. This is skilled, time-consuming work. A property with two or three chimney stacks will cost noticeably more than one with none. If the stacks themselves need repointing or the flaunching (the mortar cap at the top) needs replacing, that is an additional cost on top of the flashing work.
Some householders opt to have unused chimney stacks taken down to just below roof level and capped off as part of a re-roof. This eliminates the flashing requirement and reduces the risk of future chimney-related leaks. It is worth considering if the chimney serves no working fireplace.
Scaffold is a non-negotiable part of any properly conducted roof replacement. The cost varies depending on the height of the property, the number of elevations that need to be accessed and how long the scaffold needs to stay in place. On a straightforward semi-detached property, scaffold typically adds £800 to £1,500 to the overall cost. On a larger detached house or a property where access is more complex, it can be considerably more.
Any quote that appears to omit scaffold should be queried directly. Working without proper scaffold on a pitched roof is a serious safety matter and may also affect the quality of the work.
With the scaffold already in position, many householders take the opportunity to replace ageing gutters, fascias and soffits at the same time as the roof. The additional cost of doing this work while the scaffold is up is almost always less than erecting scaffold separately for the purpose. If the fascias are original timber and more than 20 or 30 years old, they are likely to need attention within a few years regardless.
UPVC and aluminium fascia systems are the standard replacement materials. They do not rot, do not require painting and hold gutters securely without the movement that can cause old timber fascias to pull away from the wall.
A simpler roof shape, a smaller footprint, concrete tiles in place of slate, and timbers that are found to be in good condition all keep costs towards the lower end of the range. A straightforward bungalow with a plain gabled roof and no chimney, re-tiled in concrete, is among the least expensive jobs of this type.
Timing can also make a difference. Roofers are busiest in late summer and autumn as householders prepare before winter. Spring and early summer can offer better availability, and some contractors may be more flexible on price during quieter periods, though we would never suggest compromising on the quality of the work to save money.
The only way to get a meaningful price for a roof replacement is for a roofer to inspect the roof properly - from the roof itself, not just from the ground or a ladder. A quote based on a drive-by look or a description over the phone is not a price for your job; it is a guess. A genuine survey will identify the materials currently in use, the condition of the structure and any complicating factors before any figures are committed to.
When comparing quotes, make sure each one includes the same scope. Ask specifically whether scaffold, skip hire, all materials and the disposal of old tiles are included. A lower headline figure that excludes these items is not a lower price for the same work.
We carry out full pitched roof replacements using clay tiles, concrete tiles and natural slate. The right material depends on the property, the planning context and the budget. For properties in or near conservation areas, or where the original roof was a specific material, matching like for like is often the sensible and sometimes required approach.
We also carry out re-roofing on new-build properties and complete replacement of flat roofs using felt and EPDM rubber membrane systems where needed.
We work across Dereham and the surrounding area, including Norwich and neighbouring towns. If your roof is showing signs of widespread failure, or you have had repeated repairs that have not resolved the problem, call us to arrange a proper inspection and a clear, itemised quote for the work involved.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
