Newmarket Roofers installs, repairs, and replaces flat roofs on extensions, garages, and outbuildings for homeowners in Clare and the surrounding villages.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
Flat roofs are fitted to extensions, garage roofs, outbuilding roofs, and bay window tops. The materials used matter enormously: traditional mineral felt has a working life of around ten to fifteen years before it begins to crack and blister, while modern EPDM rubber membranes typically last well over twenty years when installed correctly. We work with both felt and EPDM systems, and we advise on which suits each situation before any work begins.
Homeowners in Clare, and those in nearby towns such as Haverhill, regularly contact us when an older felt roof starts letting water in. A leaking flat roof is not always obvious inside the house straight away. Water can track along joists or pooling in the decking for weeks before a stain appears on a ceiling, by which point the timber underneath has already been damaged.
Choosing the wrong contractor for a flat roof costs more in the long run than paying a fair price for a proper job first time. The flat roofing market has a higher-than-average proportion of poor-quality work, partly because the results are not visible from the ground and partly because failure can take a year or two to become apparent. Asking the right questions before you agree to anything protects you.
A good contractor will name the system they intend to install - for example, a torch-on felt system, a self-adhesive felt system, or an EPDM rubber membrane - and explain why that system suits your particular roof. If someone quotes for "felt" without specifying the grade or the number of layers, ask them to be more precise. Single-layer low-grade felt is significantly cheaper and significantly shorter-lived than a properly installed two-layer torch-on system or a rubber membrane.
Ask whether the existing decking will be inspected and whether any rotten or soft boards will be replaced before the new membrane goes down. Laying new felt or rubber over damaged decking is one of the most common causes of premature failure. The membrane follows the contours of whatever is beneath it, and soft spots compress over time and create stress points that crack.
A flat roof is never truly flat. It must have a minimum fall of 1:80 - roughly 12 mm of drop per metre of run - to shed rainwater to the outlet or gutters. If a contractor proposes to lay the new membrane directly onto the existing deck without checking or correcting the falls, ask why. Ponding water is the single biggest cause of flat roof deterioration; even a modern rubber membrane will degrade faster if water sits on it for days after rain.
Ask where the water will drain to and whether the existing gutters or outlets are adequate. A new flat roof on a large extension may shed water faster than an old gutter can carry it.
Where a flat roof meets a wall - a parapet, a house wall, or a dormer - the membrane must be turned up the vertical surface and fixed securely. This upstand should be at least 150 mm high. The junction is also typically protected by lead or aluminium flashing set into the mortar. Failures at abutments and edges account for a large proportion of flat roof leaks. Ask the contractor how they handle these junctions, and ask to see examples of their finished edge details.
Before you agree to anything, get a written quote that sets out:
Any contractor unwilling to write this down is one to avoid. A flat roof on a typical single-storey extension of around 15-20 square metres typically costs between £1,500 and £3,500 depending on the system chosen and the condition of the existing deck. A garage roof of similar size falls in a similar range. EPDM rubber installs at the higher end of that range but generally outlasts felt by a significant margin.
A contractor who asks for a large cash deposit before work begins, who cannot or will not provide a written quote, or who pressures you to decide on the day is worth being cautious about. Established flat roofing work does not rely on pressure sales.
Similarly, be wary of very low prices. The materials alone for a quality EPDM system on a standard garage roof cost several hundred pounds. A quote that seems implausibly cheap usually means corners are being cut on materials, decking inspection, or edge detailing - the areas least visible once the job is done.
Most single-storey flat roofs can be reached safely from a ladder or low-level access platform. For larger or higher roofs, proper scaffolding is the right approach. Ask your contractor whether they will organise scaffold and whether that cost is included in the quote. Omitting scaffold to reduce the headline price is a false economy and a safety risk.
Flat roof replacements are a good moment to check connected elements. Fascias and soffits around garage roofs are often in poor condition by the time the roof needs attention. Guttering brackets can corrode or pull away from ageing fascias. Lead flashings at abutments may need raking out and re-pointing. Including these items in the same visit avoids a second call-out charge later.
If you have a flat roof in Clare that is leaking, blistering, or simply ageing, call us to arrange a roof survey. We will inspect the deck, the membrane, the drainage, and the edge details, and give you a written assessment of what needs doing and why - before you commit to anything.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
