General Advice

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Roof maintenance is vital. It is best to undertake this work during the warmer, drier months, before the Autumn storms set in.

Leaks are often first detected at Christmas-time when the decorations come down from the attic; check your roof for leaks on a more regular basis, especially after heavy rain.

Ensure that your tiles haven’t slipped or cracked. Look at your roof as far as you are able. If you see any loose cement or tiles, get it attended to as the longer the problem is left, the greater it will become.

The wind can cause tiles to rock on a roof. A hairline fracture can soon become a crack and you then have a broken tile which will let in water.

No two sides of a roof will wear at the same rate. One side will always have a sunnier or windier aspect and, therefore, will suffer more damage over time.

Lead-work around chimney stacks is often a problem; the cement goes, then the lead falls out. The wind does the rest, allowing the rain to come in. In hot, dry spells moss and other debris can become baked in the gutters. When heavy rain follows, overflowing gutters are often a severe problem.

Gutters should be cleared annually; this is best done before a dry spell.

Insurance companies these days are less likely to pay out on a roofing claim. They tend to resort to the argument that, as the roof hasn’t been maintained or the work has been undertaken by a bad tradesman, your policy no longer covers you for the damage or leaks.

Once you are no longer covered by your insurance policy, you are at the mercy of all the unscrupulous roofers, the like of which you can see on Rogue Traders. They’re all out there.

Rogue trader ‘insurance approved’ roofers

There are even ‘insurance approved’ roofers who are still rogue traders. Somehow they have got through the system and are working ‘legitimately’ for insurance companies but also ripping people off when they undertake private roofing repairs. They use mastic when they shouldn’t. Their workmanship is sub-standard. They work on the premise that the repair will last long enough for the payment to clear into their bank account and then they’re off.

Leaking new roofs & sub-standard materials

Even new roofs of about two or three years old can leak. This is usually due to sub-standard materials used in the original construction, such as man-made slates which are far inferior to mined slates. Years ago if you had a valley put on to your roof, this would be constructed with lead or aluminium or some other comparable metal … now fibreglass is being used.

Standard call-out charges

Most roofers will charge £100 plus VAT just for being called out; they also want payment before they step onto the roof.

Roofer / Customer Relationship

The roofer and the customer usually regard their encounter as a one-off experience. This, inevitably, results in difficulties that can so easily include overcharging and dissatisfaction on many levels.

Health & Safety

Most minor repairs can be undertaken from a ladder; however, due to Health & Safety and other legislation, major repair work will probably entail the use of scaffolding.

Licences are required when scaffolding is erected on public footways; this is often a significant part of the overall cost of roofing.

Waste Disposal

Any work undertaken which results in materials requiring to be removed from the site can often involve the use of a skip or a fee for disposal of the waste through local authority facilities.