If your Bury St Edmunds home needs a complete re-roof or a new roof on a self-build or extension, Newmarket Roofers covers the full job from strip-off to ridge.
A new roof is more than replacing the visible tiles. The old covering is stripped off, the timber deck is inspected for rot or damage, the sarking felt underlay is renewed, and new battens are fixed before tiling begins. Skipping any of those stages is how roofs fail prematurely, regardless of how good the new tiles are.
We work with natural slate, concrete tiles and clay tiles across Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Ely, Haverhill and the surrounding villages. The right material depends on the property type, the pitch of the roof, the planning position and the budget.
Natural slate is long-lasting and suits period properties well. A correctly fixed Welsh or Spanish slate roof can serve a house for 80 to 100 years. It is also the most expensive option, typically in the range of £70 to £110 per square metre installed.
Concrete tiles are the standard choice for most post-war properties and represent the most affordable route, usually £40 to £65 per square metre installed. They are heavier than slate, so the roof structure should be assessed before re-roofing an older property with them.
Clay plain tiles suit older properties where a natural weathering finish matters. They require more careful fixing and close batten spacing but are very durable when laid correctly.
Stripping back to the timber is where a re-roof differs from a patch repair. Battens that have softened with trapped moisture, felt that has become brittle, and rafters carrying woodworm or localised rot are things that only become visible at this stage. A roofer should document what they find and explain any additional work before it is carried out.
Lead flashings around chimneys, dormers and party walls are often in poor condition by the time a full re-roof is needed. Re-roofing is the right point to replace mortar-pointed flashings with properly dressed lead. Trying to make old flashings last another twenty years is false economy.
An extension roof connects directly to the main house, so the junction between old and new is critical. A correctly formed lead soaker or stepped flashing at this junction keeps the connection watertight. A mortar fillet alone is not adequate and will crack within a few years as the buildings move independently.
Self-build projects need the roof weathertight before internal work can begin. Agreeing the specification and checking material lead times early avoids programme delays. Get the roof into the build schedule as early as you can rather than treating it as a finishing trade.
New roof costs vary with size, pitch, access and the extent of timber repairs found once the old covering is off. For a typical three-bedroom semi-detached property, a concrete tile re-roof runs from around £5,500 to £9,000, a clay tile re-roof from around £7,000 to £12,000, and a natural slate re-roof from around £9,000 to £16,000. Larger or more complex roofs will cost more.
Any quote you receive should separate materials, labour and waste disposal so you can compare it properly against others. A quote that bundles everything into a single figure and omits timber repairs or ridge work is not covering the same scope as one that includes them.
Roofing work cannot always start the day you call. During busy periods, or when a large job has to be planned and scaffolded, there will be time between your call and work starting on site. What you do during that gap can make a meaningful difference to the damage a failing roof causes.
A leak rarely comes through the ceiling directly below the entry point. Water tracks along rafters, battens and felt before finding a way through, so the wet patch on your ceiling may be a metre or more away from where the tile or flashing has failed. Do not assume the entry point is directly above the stain.
Place containers to catch drips and protect anything underneath that could be damaged by prolonged wetting. If water is pooling on a flat section of ceiling, it is worth making a small deliberate hole at the lowest point to let it drain in a controlled way rather than letting the weight of water spread across the plasterboard. A bucket underneath catches it cleanly. This sounds counterintuitive but it prevents a wider ceiling failure.
Move anything valuable out from underneath. Furniture, stored items and electrics are the main risk in a loft or top-floor room with a leak above.
In the loft, lay polythene sheeting or old towels over stored items and over loft insulation where water is dripping. Wet mineral wool or loose-fill insulation loses most of its thermal value and can take a very long time to dry out, especially in a roof space with limited ventilation. If the insulation gets saturated, it may need replacing as part of the roofing job.
If daylight is visible through the roof covering at any point, note exactly where and describe or photograph it when you call the roofer. That helps with diagnosis and speeds up the assessment when they arrive.
Some roofers will offer to put a tarpaulin over a vulnerable area while you wait for the main job to start. A properly weighted and tied tarp over a section of missing tiles is a reasonable temporary measure and can prevent weeks of water ingress. Ask about this specifically when you call, particularly if the wait is more than a few days and the forecast is wet.
What a tarp cannot do is fix a failed flashing or cover a large unsupported area of roof safely. It is a short-term weather break, not a repair.
This section matters just as much as the advice above. Several DIY attempts at roof repairs cause more damage than the original problem, and some create safety risks that professional roofers then have to work around.
Do not get onto the roof yourself. Domestic roofs are not designed to be walked on without the right equipment, and the tile surface is often slippery even in dry weather. Every year, homeowners are seriously injured attempting inspections or repairs on their own roof. If you need eyes on the problem, binoculars from the ground or an upstairs window will show you what you need to know without the risk.
Do not apply expanding foam, silicone sealant or mastic to the outside of the roof. These products seem like a quick fix for a crack or a gap, but they are not UV-stable and will fail within months. More importantly, they can trap moisture behind them rather than letting it drain, which accelerates timber decay and makes the subsequent repair more complex and costly. Professional roofers often spend time removing botched sealant applications before they can carry out a proper repair.
Do not attempt to re-bed or re-point ridge tiles yourself. Ridge mortar is a specialist material applied to specific tolerances. DIY ridge work using ordinary sand and cement often fails quickly, can dislodge adjacent tiles, and if the ridge tiles are not properly secured before the mortar goes on, the tiles can shift. A loose ridge tile is a serious hazard to anyone below.
Do not remove or lift tiles to investigate a leak. Lifting a tile without the correct fixing tools risks cracking it, breaking the nibs that hold it on the batten, or dislodging the tiles around it. What starts as an attempt to look at the problem can create a second entry point for water directly alongside the first.
A useful set of notes saves time during the site visit and means the roofer can give you a more accurate picture. Try to record:
That information, combined with the roofer's own inspection, gives a much better basis for a diagnosis than a wet patch on its own.
When you call a roofer, the conversation itself tells you a good deal. A roofer who asks about the property, the existing covering, and what you have already noticed is approaching the job properly. One who quotes a price over the phone without asking anything about the roof should prompt caution.
Questions worth asking directly:
You are not being awkward by asking these. They are standard questions that distinguish a roofer who plans the job properly from one who is cutting corners.
We are based in Newmarket and cover Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area, including Cambridge, Ely and Haverhill. If your roof needs a full assessment before you decide whether to repair or replace, call us to arrange a roof survey and we will give you a straight answer about what is needed and why.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
