Newmarket Roofers carries out all types of roof repairs for Cambridge homeowners, from slipped tiles and failed flashings to flat roof replacements on extensions and bay windows.
We handle the full range of pitched and flat roof repairs: individual or multiple slipped, cracked or broken tiles; loose ridge and hip sections; flashings around chimneys, dormers and parapet walls that have failed or pulled clear of the masonry; split or blistered flat roof coverings; and leaking valley gutters. For active leaks, it is important to get a roofer out promptly - ideally within a day or two, and as soon as possible when water is actively coming in.
We also work in nearby towns and villages including Newmarket, Fordham, Burwell, Moulton, Kentford, Exning and Cheveley, so if you have a property in the wider area we can help there too.
A small tile repair - re-fixing or replacing two or three slipped tiles - typically costs £150 to £350 depending on tile type and access. Ridge and hip re-bedding or dry-fixing runs from around £300 for a short section. Replacing lead flashing around a chimney generally costs £400 to £900. Flat roof repair costs vary widely: a felt patch on a small area may be £200 to £400, while a full EPDM rubber replacement on a single-storey extension typically runs from £800 to £1,800. All figures depend on the size, condition and accessibility of the specific roof.
Good roof repair work starts with tracing the true source of the problem, not just the visible symptom. Water entering at one point can travel several metres along battens or rafters before dripping onto a ceiling, so the wet patch inside the house is often a poor guide to where the entry point is. A thorough inspection of the whole roof - including ridges, hips, valleys, all flashings, and any flat sections - is the first step.
Where tiles are lifted during a repair, the felt beneath should be checked for tears, split laps or any sign of previous water tracking. Ridge and hip tiles are best dry-fixed using proprietary clips rather than re-pointed in mortar, which can crack out in frost within a few seasons. Flashings should be cut, dressed and pointed into the masonry, not filled with mastic. Flat roof repairs use purpose-made systems - patches bonded to existing felt where the covering is otherwise sound, or a full EPDM rubber replacement where it has reached the end of its life.
Cambridge has listed buildings and conservation areas where planning rules apply. Like-for-like repairs generally do not require planning consent, but any change to the roofing material, tile profile or colour may require approval, particularly on a listed building. It is worth checking with the local planning authority before materials are ordered. We source reclaimed or closely matched tiles wherever possible to avoid a patched finish on a visible slope.
This section is the one that saves homeowners money. Roofs rarely fail without warning, but the signs are easy to miss or misread. Knowing what to look for, and understanding what is causing it, means you can act before a small problem becomes a structural one.
A brown or yellowish stain on a ceiling near the eaves, a chimney breast or around a skylight is the most common sign of a roof leak. The stain shows where water has collected and dried, often repeatedly over months or years. By the time you see it, water has usually been entering the roof for some time.
The cause is almost always one of three things: a cracked or slipped tile that has exposed the felt beneath; a flashing that has failed or pulled away from the masonry; or a flat roof section that has developed a split or open lap. Each needs a different repair, which is why identifying the entry point matters before any work starts.
Loft condensation and roof ingress look similar from below but have different causes. Condensation forms on cold surfaces, usually the underside of the roof felt or the rafters, and tends to be spread fairly evenly across the roof space. It is worse in winter and after wet washing has been dried indoors. Roof ingress, by contrast, is localised - water tracking down a specific rafter from a specific entry point, often visible as a dark run mark on the timber.
If you see a concentrated wet patch on the felt or timber in one area, rather than general dampness across the whole loft, the cause is almost certainly a breach in the roof covering rather than condensation. Act on it promptly: wet timber rots, and rot in rafters or roof timbers is a far more expensive repair than the tile or flashing that caused it.
Ridge tiles sit at the apex of the roof and are pointed into place with mortar - or, on newer or recently repaired roofs, fixed with a dry-fix clip system. Mortar-pointed ridges are vulnerable to frost: water gets into small cracks, freezes, expands, and forces the mortar apart. Over time, individual ridge tiles can rock, crack or fall completely.
A loose ridge tile is a hazard as well as a source of leaks. Even before one falls, gaps in the mortar allow wind-driven rain to get in behind the tile and down into the roof structure. If you can see daylight or gaps along the ridgeline from the ground, or if ridge tiles are visibly sitting at an angle, this is a repair that should not wait.
Not all roof failures are visible from the ground. Concrete interlocking tiles from the 1970s and 1980s can reach a point where their surface has become porous. They still look intact, but in heavy rain they absorb water and pass it through to the felt underneath. The felt then becomes the only barrier, and once the felt splits - which happens faster when it is regularly wetted - water gets into the roof structure.
Clay plain tiles can develop hairline cracks that are nearly invisible but let water in under pressure. Both problems tend to show up as widespread low-level damp across a loft rather than a single tracking run, and both point to a roof that is approaching the end of its serviceable life rather than one that needs a patch repair.
Lead flashings are designed to bridge the joint between the roof covering and any vertical masonry surface - a chimney, a parapet wall, a dormer cheek. They expand and contract with temperature, and over decades this repeated movement causes the lead to crack at stress points or to pull out of the mortar joint that holds it to the masonry. When that happens, the joint opens and water runs straight down behind the flashing and into the wall or ceiling below.
The visible sign is usually damp on the ceiling directly beside or below a chimney breast, or at the junction between a dormer and the main roof slope. A flashing failure is often misdiagnosed as a chimney pot or stack problem when the masonry itself is sound. Checking the lead before assuming the chimney needs repointing or rebuilding can save a significant amount of money.
Flat roofs on extensions and bay windows are a common feature of domestic properties. A well-installed flat roof has a slight fall built in to drain water to one edge or outlet. When the covering degrades, blisters, splits or develops open laps at the edges or around outlets, rainwater gets beneath the membrane. You may notice a ceiling in the room below becoming damp after rain, or in severe cases a visible bulge holding water.
Ponding - standing water that takes more than 48 hours to drain after rain - shortens the life of any flat roof covering. It is usually a sign that the falls have settled unevenly or that the drainage outlet is blocked. Clearing the outlet and maintaining the correct fall when a flat roof is next replaced will extend its life significantly.
A thin layer of moss is cosmetic. Thick moss growth is a structural concern. Moss holds moisture against the tile surface, which accelerates freeze-thaw damage in cold weather and can physically lift tiles at the edges where the growth is heaviest. In valleys, moss blocks the flow of rainwater and causes it to back up under the tiles on either side.
Heavy moss should be treated with a biocide and then brushed off once dead - not pressure-washed, because the force can crack older tiles and drive water under the roof. If left unchecked, moss-related tile damage can turn a simple cleaning job into a partial or full tile replacement.
If you have spotted any of the warning signs above, or simply want a check before the autumn and winter weather arrives, call us to arrange a roof inspection. We will tell you what we find, what it means for your roof, and what the repair will involve. No obligation, no jargon.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
