Newmarket Roofers installs new roofs for homeowners in Isleham and the surrounding villages, handling everything from the first inspection through to the final clean-up.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
A new roof is one of the most significant pieces of work a home can undergo. Whether you are replacing a structure that has failed beyond repair, roofing a new extension, or dealing with a roof that has been patched so many times it no longer functions properly, the process follows a clear sequence of steps. Understanding that sequence helps you ask the right questions and know whether the roofer in front of you is doing the job properly.
Below we walk through that process from start to finish, so you know exactly what to expect when we carry out a new roof installation in Isleham or nearby.
Before any materials are ordered or scaffolding goes up, a thorough inspection of the existing roof is needed. This means getting eyes on the structure itself, not just the tiles visible from the ground. We look at the rafters, the ridge board, the wall plates, the fascias and soffits, and any existing insulation. At this stage we are checking whether the structure is sound enough to re-roof, or whether timber work is needed first.
Common problems found at this stage include rafter ends that have rotted where they meet the wall plate, ridge boards that have dropped due to long-term moisture ingress, and felt that has deteriorated so badly it has been letting water reach the timbers for years. None of this is visible from the street. A proper inspection from inside the loft, and ideally from the roof itself, is the only way to price the job accurately and avoid surprises halfway through.
If you are in Isleham and asking a roofer for a quote without them wanting to inspect the loft space, that is worth questioning. A quote given from the pavement alone is rarely accurate.
Safe access is not optional. A new roof requires scaffolding to be erected around the property before any stripping begins. The scaffold needs to be sufficient to protect both the workers and the building below from falling materials.
Before stripping starts, skips or waste bags are positioned, and any features directly below the roof line, such as conservatory roofs, bay windows or satellite dishes, are protected or temporarily moved. A good roofer takes time at this stage to protect the surrounding garden and hard landscaping, because old roof tiles are heavy and they break things when they fall.
Stripping involves removing tiles or slates, the old roofing felt (or no felt at all on older properties), and in some cases the battens. The speed of this stage can vary considerably. A straightforward concrete tile roof on a semi-detached house strips faster than a clay plain tile roof on an older property where tiles were bedded in mortar and have to be lifted individually.
As the roof is stripped, the structure is exposed. This is the point where any damage identified during the inspection can be confirmed and addressed. Additional rot, unexpected structural movement, or missing noggings that should have been there all become visible. Any timber repairs should be completed before a single new batten goes down.
Waste is removed from the scaffold and loaded into skips progressively throughout stripping, not left piled up on the scaffold boards for days.
Once the old covering is off, any rafter repairs, ridge board replacements or wall plate treatment takes place. In properties where the loft has never been insulated, this is also the point at which insulation can be fitted between and over the rafters before the new deck or felt goes on.
On older homes, the existing roof timbers were often built to dimensions that would not meet current standards for span and loading. This does not always mean they need replacing, but it does mean the situation needs assessing rather than assuming the old structure is fine simply because it has stood for decades.
Modern roofing underlay is a breathable membrane, not the old black bitumen felt. Breathable underlay allows moisture vapour from the loft space to escape without trapping condensation against the timbers. It is laid horizontally from eaves to ridge, with each course overlapping the one below, and fixed with battens.
The underlay is the secondary line of defence. If a tile cracks or lifts in a storm, the underlay is what stops water reaching the timbers immediately. Getting it laid correctly, with proper laps and no punctures around fixings, matters considerably.
Battens are fixed horizontally across the rafters at a gauge that matches the chosen tile or slate. The gauge is calculated from the tile manufacturer's specification and is not a number to be guessed. If the batten gauge is wrong, the tiles either have too much or too little lap, which affects both water tightness and the appearance of the finished roof.
Treated timber battens are standard. Untreated battens will eventually rot in the moisture-laden environment beneath tiles, so it is worth checking that treated timber is being used if you are comparing quotes.
Tiles are fixed from eaves to ridge. Most interlocking concrete tiles and many clay tiles are clipped or nailed at a frequency specified by the manufacturer based on the pitch of the roof and its exposure to wind. In more exposed locations, full nailing is required rather than nailing only the perimeter courses.
Verge details, valley construction and hip and ridge finishing all require attention and skill. Dry-fix systems are now standard for ridges and hips on new roofs, replacing the mortar bedding that was common for decades. Dry-fix systems do not crack or shrink like mortar, which was a common cause of water ingress on older roofs.
Common tile choices for new roofs include concrete interlocking tiles, clay plain tiles, and natural slate. Each has different aesthetic results, different weights (which affects whether the structure needs uprating), and different costs.
Wherever the roof meets a wall, chimney, skylight or dormer, a flashing seals the junction. Lead is the most durable material for flashings and is the right choice for a new roof. Code 4 lead is standard for most flashings; Code 5 is used for larger abutments and back gutters.
Valleys, where two roof slopes meet, can be formed in lead, pre-formed valley troughs, or cut tile valleys. Each approach has its place depending on the roof pitch and tile type. A cut tile valley looks the tidiest but requires more precision to get right.
A new roof is the right time to replace fascia boards, soffits and guttering if they are in poor condition. The fascia is what the gutter clips to, and if it is rotten, the new gutter will not sit level or hold properly. UPVC fascia and soffit is the most common replacement material and requires very little maintenance once fitted.
New guttering should be fitted with a slight fall towards the downpipe to stop water pooling. The fall is small but it makes a real difference to how well the system drains in heavy rain.
Once the tiling is complete, the roof should be checked systematically: ridge alignment, valley drainage lines, flashing laps, verge overhang, and the line of every course from eaves to ridge. Any tile that is not bedding flat or sitting at the correct angle should be refixed at this stage, not left.
Scaffold is struck only when the roof is confirmed watertight. The site is swept and cleared, skips collected, and any protective sheeting removed from the garden and landscaping. The job is not finished until the property is left as it was found, minus the old roof.
Homes in this area tend to have pitched roofs on standard timber cut-roof structures. Concrete interlocking tiles are the most practical choice for a straightforward re-roof in terms of cost and long-term performance. Natural slate suits older or more traditionally styled properties and adds kerb appeal, but costs more in both materials and fitting time. Clay plain tiles are a traditional choice that weathers well, but the weight loading needs to be checked against the existing structure.
For flat roofs on extensions or outbuildings, EPDM rubber membrane has largely replaced traditional felt as the preferred single-ply system. It is more durable, more resistant to cracking in cold weather, and better at handling the standing water that flat roofs inevitably see in a wet winter.
These are not trick questions. Any experienced roofer will answer them without hesitation, and the answers tell you a great deal about how the job will be done.
Newmarket Roofers carries out new roof installations in Isleham and the surrounding villages, as well as further afield towards Newmarket, Ely and Bury St Edmunds. If you need a new roof assessed and quoted, call us to arrange a roof survey so we can give you an accurate price based on what the structure actually needs, not a number picked from the pavement.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
