If your roof in Fulbourn is past the point where repairs make financial sense, a full replacement gives you reliable, long-term protection and a known cost rather than an ongoing drain on your budget.
A full re-roof means stripping everything off down to the bare rafters or deck, dealing with any timber damage underneath, and rebuilding the roof from scratch with new underlay, new battens, new tiles or slates, and new flashings. It is a substantial piece of work, but it is also the point at which you know exactly what condition your roof structure is in and what you are getting going forward.
The process covers pitched roofs on houses of all sizes, and includes all the associated work: ridge and hip details, lead flashing around chimney stacks and abutment walls, fascias and soffits at the eaves, and guttering. A replacement done properly deals with all of these in a single visit while the scaffold is up.
The decision between a repair and a full replacement comes down to three things: the age of the roof, the state of the underlay, and how widespread the tile or slate failures are. A roof where only two or three tiles have slipped after a windy spell does not need replacing. A roof where the felt underlay has perished, the battens are rotten in multiple areas, and tiles are failing across several sections probably does.
The test most roofers use is roughly this: if the cost of repairs in the next two to three years would approach or exceed the cost of a replacement, the replacement is better value. You also get a weather-tight roof in one go rather than living with intermittent leaks between repair visits.
On older properties, a full survey from inside the loft as well as from ridge level is the only reliable way to make the call. Rotten sarking boards or severely degraded underlay are not visible from the outside, and they affect the answer significantly.
Roof replacement costs in this part of Cambridgeshire typically fall in the range of £5,000 to £15,000 for a standard detached or semi-detached house, though smaller terraced properties can come in below that and larger or more complex roofs can exceed it. The range is wide because the final figure depends on a number of specific factors, each of which can move the price considerably.
A straightforward replacement on a simple pitched roof with no chimneys, no valleys, and sound timber throughout will sit toward the lower end. Add a chimney stack, a valley gutter, a flat section, or significant rafter repairs, and the price rises accordingly. Below is an honest breakdown of what pushes the cost up or down.
Tile and slate type is one of the biggest variables. Natural Welsh slate costs significantly more per square metre than concrete interlocking tiles, reflecting both the material cost and the time involved in fixing it correctly. Spanish slate sits between the two. Plain clay tiles are mid-range. The right choice depends on the property, the existing roof structure, and your budget, and any roofer should be able to talk you through the options clearly.
Concrete interlocking tiles are the most economical option for a straightforward replacement and are widely used on post-war houses across Cambridgeshire. Natural slate suits older properties and is worth the extra cost where the visual result matters or where planning requirements apply.
The larger the roof, the more materials and labour are needed. That much is obvious. Less obvious is the effect of roof shape. A simple gable-to-gable pitched roof is the cheapest to strip and re-tile. A hipped roof adds hip rafter details and hip tiles at every corner. A roof with dormers, valleys, or a rear lean-to section adds complexity at every junction, and those junctions take time to get right with lead flashing and tile cutting.
Steeper pitches also add cost because they slow down the work and require additional fixing per tile. A roof pitched above about 45 degrees takes noticeably longer to tile than one at 30 degrees, even if the surface area is the same.
This is the one cost that is genuinely difficult to predict at quotation stage. Once the tiles are off and the underlay is stripped back, the condition of the sarking boards, fascias, and sometimes the rafters themselves becomes clear. Rotten or damaged boards need replacing before anything else goes on top, and there is no safe alternative to doing it properly.
A common problem on properties from the 1940s to 1960s is sarking boards that have absorbed decades of condensation because the original felt underlay had no breathability. They can look structurally sound from below but crumble when probed. On a large roof, replacing a significant area of boarding adds both material and labour costs.
Any honest roofer will tell you at survey stage that timber repairs are a possible additional cost and give you a provisional figure for different scenarios. If a quote makes no mention of this risk at all, ask about it specifically before you sign anything.
A chimney stack that needs repointing, a new lead back gutter, and fresh stepped flashings adds several hundred pounds to a roof replacement in materials and time alone. A tall or wide chimney stack adds more. If the stack is disused and in poor condition, removal is worth considering: it eliminates an ongoing maintenance cost and a common source of leaks, and it is most economical to do when the scaffold is already up for the main roof job.
Lead flashings at all abutments, party walls, and roof windows also need replacing on a full re-roof. Lead is still the correct material for this purpose in the UK because of its durability and its ability to conform to irregular masonry surfaces. Do not accept a quote that proposes to reuse old flashing: old lead that has already cracked or lifted will do the same again within a few years.
Some houses have a flat or low-pitch section over a rear extension or bay window. These are separate to the main pitched roof and are typically re-done in felt or EPDM rubber membrane on a re-roof job. EPDM is a single-ply rubber sheet that bonds to the deck, handles standing water well, and has a long service life when correctly installed. Felt systems using multiple bonded layers are also reliable and lower in upfront cost. Either way, a flat section adds to the overall price and should be quoted separately so you can see what each part of the job costs.
Scaffolding is not optional on a roof replacement. It is required for safe working and for protecting your property from falling debris during the strip-off. The cost is usually included within the overall roof replacement quote, but it is worth confirming this when you receive prices. On a terraced property where the scaffold needs to bridge a pavement or shared access, there may be additional cost for licensing the footpath.
If you have other work that needs doing at height, such as guttering replacement, fascia painting, or chimney repointing, do it while the scaffold is up. Adding these items to the main contract costs far less than erecting scaffold separately afterwards.
Sound timber is the biggest money-saver. A roof where the rafters, sarking boards, and fascias are in good condition needs less preparatory work and the re-roof can proceed more quickly. If you have had the loft insulated and the boards are dry and rot-free, that is a genuine saving.
Choosing concrete interlocking tiles over natural slate reduces both materials cost and fixing time. On a straightforward gable-ended roof with no chimney and no valleys, a like-for-like tile replacement is the most economical option available.
Combining work also keeps costs down. Having the guttering replaced, the fascias done, and any chimney pointing addressed at the same time as the main re-roof means you pay for scaffolding once rather than multiple times.
A trustworthy roof replacement quote will itemise the main elements: strip-off and disposal, underlay and battens, tiles or slates and their specification, ridge and hip system, lead flashings, fascias and guttering if included, and scaffolding. A single-line figure with no breakdown makes it impossible to compare quotes or understand what you are actually getting.
Get at least two quotes and make sure they specify the same materials and the same scope of work. A quote that is significantly cheaper than others should prompt you to ask exactly what has been left out, not to assume it is a better deal.
Ask each roofer what happens if they find rotten timber once the roof is stripped. A professional will give you a clear answer: either a provisional allowance built into the quote, or a defined day rate for additional timber work with an agreement to contact you before proceeding if the extent is significant.
A full re-roof is the right moment to consider whether you want like-for-like or an upgrade. Switching from old concrete tiles to natural slate, for example, improves the appearance and often the long-term durability, at a higher upfront cost. If the existing tiles are a plain concrete type that is no longer in production, finding matching replacements for a repair would have been difficult anyway, making replacement the more practical answer.
For flat sections, EPDM rubber membrane has become the preferred choice over traditional mineral felt for most roofers because it can be installed as a single piece with no laps or joints across the main field, which reduces the number of potential failure points. Felt systems are still widely used and entirely reliable when properly installed in layers, but on larger flat areas EPDM tends to give a cleaner result.
Alongside full replacements we handle roof repairs, lead flashing work, chimney repointing and rebuilding, fascia, soffit and guttering installation, and flat roof work. We cover Fulbourn and the wider area including Shelford, Cambridge, Six Mile Bottom, Newmarket, Soham, and neighbouring villages. If you are in any doubt about whether we reach you, call and ask.
The only way to get an accurate cost for your specific roof is to have someone up there looking at it. Call Newmarket Roofers to arrange a survey and we will give you a clear, itemised quote that explains what the work involves and why, with no pressure to commit on the day.
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Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
