When your roof reaches the end of its life, or you're building from scratch, Newmarket Roofers handles everything from the first strip to the final ridge tile for homeowners in Linton and the surrounding villages.
A new roof is not simply laying fresh tiles. Before a single slate goes on, the existing structure needs a thorough assessment. Battens rot, rafters develop splits, and felt membranes that were adequate thirty years ago no longer meet current standards. A proper re-roof strips everything back to the bare timbers so nothing is hidden under the new covering.
We work with slate, concrete tiles and clay tiles. Each material behaves differently in service, carries a different weight, and suits different roof pitches. The right choice depends on your roof's angle, the existing structure's load capacity, and what looks correct on your property. We'll talk through the options before work starts so you're not left guessing.
For self-builds and extensions in Linton, the process is the same from the structural side: battens, felt or breathable membrane, then the chosen tile or slate bedded and fixed to current standards. Ridge tiles and hip tiles are mechanically fixed rather than just bedded in mortar, which is now the expected practice on new installations.
A full re-roof for an average semi-detached house typically costs between £5,000 and £10,000 depending on size, pitch, material choice and the condition of the timber beneath. Detached properties with a more complex roof shape - hips, valleys, multiple pitches - sit at the higher end or beyond. Slate costs more per square metre than concrete tile, but lasts longer in service.
Scaffolding is not optional and is included in any honest quote. A roof cannot be worked safely without a proper scaffold, and any roofer who offers to work off a ladder alone on a full re-roof is not working to a safe standard. Ask for scaffolding to be itemised in the quote so you understand what you're paying for.
If the timbers below are badly degraded, there will be additional cost. A roofer who quotes for materials and labour alone, without having seen the timbers, is giving you a best-case price that may change on the day. The best quotes are based on a proper inspection first.
Natural slate is the longest-lasting option and suits a wide range of property types. Spanish and Welsh slates are the two most common sources; Welsh slate is the premium choice and is increasingly hard to source but carries an exceptional lifespan. Spanish slate is a practical alternative that performs well when fixed correctly.
Concrete tiles are the workhorses of the UK roof market. They're heavier than slate, which means the structure needs to be able to carry them, but they're consistent in size, straightforward to lay, and widely available. Most standard pitched roofs are well suited to concrete tiles.
Clay tiles give a warmer, more traditional look. Plain clay tiles are common on older properties across the East of England and can be sourced to match existing rooflines where a partial re-roof is being done. Like concrete, they're heavy, but they age well and hold their colour better than concrete over time.
Not every quote is comparable. Before you accept any price, check these points:
A roofer who is reluctant to answer any of these plainly before work starts is one to be cautious about.
A new roof is a significant spend. The practical reality is that what happens in the years after installation has a direct bearing on how long it performs well. Most roofs do not fail because the materials gave out prematurely - they fail because small problems that were easy to fix were left until they became serious.
The single most useful thing you can do is keep gutters clear. When gutters block and overflow, water backs up behind the fascia and works into the soffit and the top course of tiles. Over time this causes rot in the fascia board, damp in the top of the wall, and eventually lifting of the first row of tiles. A blocked gutter is a cheap fix; the rot it causes is not.
Flat-to-pitched junctions - where a flat roof on a bay or extension meets the main slope - are the most common point of early failure on any roof. The lead flashing at this junction needs to be checked periodically. If it has lifted, cracked or lost its lap into the brickwork, water will be tracking behind it before you see any staining inside. Catching this early, while it's a flashing repair, prevents it becoming a full replacement job on the flat section below.
You do not need to get on the roof to do a basic check. A pair of binoculars and ten minutes once or twice a year will tell you a great deal. Look for:
If you spot any of these, call for an inspection. None of them will fix themselves, and all of them will worsen through winter.
A thin scatter of moss on an older roof is not automatically an emergency. Once moss thickens into a matted layer, it holds moisture against the tile surface and accelerates deterioration. On a newly installed roof, moss growth can be reduced by fitting a copper or zinc strip at the ridge - rainwater washing over the strip carries trace elements down the slope that inhibit moss and algae.
Do not pressure-wash a tiled roof. A pressure washer forces water under the tiles, saturates the felt or membrane below, and can crack older tiles. If moss needs to be cleared, it should be done by hand or with a soft brush, and the roof should be inspected at the same time for any tiles that the process has disturbed.
After significant wind or a hail event, check the roof from the ground before going inside the loft. If you can see slipped or missing tiles, place a bucket in the loft as a precaution and call for an inspection. Do not attempt to get on the roof yourself - wet tiles are extremely slippery and a domestic roof is not a safe working surface without the right equipment.
If water is actively coming through the ceiling, the area below will need to be cleared of anything that can be damaged. Temporarily covering furniture with plastic sheeting and moving valuables is sensible. Place bowls or buckets strategically and call for an emergency inspection. Resist the urge to poke at the ceiling to let water out - this can bring down a large section of wet plaster at once.
Valleys - the internal angles where two roof slopes meet - carry the highest volume of water on any roof. Lead valleys are the most reliable when properly installed, with adequate laps and dressed correctly against the tiles on both sides. A valley that was laid without sufficient overlap, or where the lead has corroded through, will let water in long before any tile on the main slope gives trouble.
Chimney stacks are the other high-risk area. The step flashings up each side of a chimney and the back gutter behind it need to be correctly lapped and wedged into the mortar joints. Old lead that has crept down over decades needs to be re-dressed or replaced before it causes a leak. If your property has a chimney you no longer use, having it inspected when the roof is new is the right time to decide whether to cap it properly.
We work across Linton and take on jobs throughout the surrounding villages and towns, including Newmarket, Haverhill and the wider south Cambridgeshire area. If you're not certain whether we cover your location, call us and we'll confirm straightaway.
If you want a roof survey before committing to a full re-roof, or if you've spotted something that needs attention, call Newmarket Roofers and we'll arrange to come out and take a proper look.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
