When your roof in Clare has reached the point where repairs are no longer enough, a full replacement gives you a sound, weatherproof structure that will serve your home for decades.
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A roof replacement is a significant investment, so it helps to understand what the job actually involves before you commit to anything. A full re-roof means stripping the existing covering down to the bare timber structure, inspecting and repairing the deck and rafters where needed, and then laying a completely new covering with fresh felt underlay, battens, tiles or slate, and all the associated leadwork and flashings.
Replacement becomes the right call when a roof has widespread problems rather than isolated faults. Common signs include multiple areas of slipped or broken tiles, perished felt that is causing damp to reach the timbers, sagging sections, or a covering that is simply at the end of its expected life. A patchwork of repairs can become expensive quickly, and at some point the total cost of ongoing fixes overtakes the cost of starting fresh.
The material choice shapes both the look of your home and the long-term performance of the roof. The main options for pitched roofs are concrete interlocking tiles, natural slate, and fibre-cement slate. Each behaves differently and suits different situations.
Before agreeing to any material, ask the roofer to explain why they are recommending it for your specific roof and property type. A good roofer will factor in the pitch of your roof, the condition of the existing timbers, the surrounding properties, and your budget.
Scaffolding goes up first. A complete re-roof cannot be done safely from ladders alone, so a scaffold that provides a working platform around the whole roof is standard practice. The scaffold should be erected by people who know what they are doing and should remain in place until the job is finished and the site is safe.
Once the scaffold is up, the old covering is stripped off. This is the messiest part of the job. Skips or bags are used to remove the debris, and your property and garden should be protected during the strip-off. Any damaged rafters, purlins or roof boarding are dealt with at this stage, before the new covering goes on.
New breathable felt underlay is laid from the bottom of the roof upwards, each course overlapping the one below. Treated timber battens are fixed over the felt, and then the tiles or slates are fixed to the battens. Ridge tiles are bedded or mechanically fixed at the top, and all hips and valleys are finished properly.
Flashings around chimneys, soil pipes, dormer cheeks and roof abutments are cut and dressed in lead. This is skilled work, and it matters. Poorly dressed lead is one of the most common sources of roof leaks, particularly around chimney stacks.
This is the section that can save you a great deal of money and stress. Roof replacement is not a regulated trade in the way that gas or electrical work is, which means anyone can legally offer the service regardless of skill or experience. The burden of checking falls on you as the homeowner.
Obtain at least two or three written quotations for the same scope of work. Prices for a full re-roof on a standard semi-detached home in this part of Suffolk typically fall somewhere between £5,000 and £12,000 depending on size, pitch, material choice and the condition of the underlying timbers. A quote that is dramatically lower than the others is worth questioning in detail before you accept it.
A written quotation should specify the material to be used, the brand or type of tile or slate, what happens to any rotten timber found during the strip-off, whether the scaffold is included or quoted separately, and how debris removal is handled. If any of those things are absent from the written quote, ask for them to be added before you sign anything.
Some contractors subcontract scaffolding to a separate firm. Ask who erects it, how long it will be in place, and what happens if the job overruns. A scaffold left standing longer than planned can become a nuisance and occasionally a security concern.
A contractor who has been working in Clare and the surrounding villages should be able to point to roofs they have completed in the area. Being able to see finished work, or speak to a previous customer, tells you more than any website or brochure.
When a roof is stripped, the timbers underneath sometimes reveal problems that were not visible from outside. Ask the contractor what their process is when this happens. Do they stop and show you before carrying out additional work? Do they charge a day rate for timber repairs or include an allowance in the original price? This conversation, before the job starts, prevents arguments mid-way through.
Avoid contractors who ask for a large deposit upfront before any work has started. A reasonable deposit to cover materials can be justified, but paying more than 25-30% before work begins is a risk. Stage payments tied to progress - materials delivered, scaffold up, strip complete, new covering on - are a sensible arrangement for a job of this size.
Ask the contractor for a trading name, a registered address, and ideally a landline number. A business with a physical address in the area and a verifiable trading history is a more reliable choice than one operating solely from a mobile number and a generic email address.
A re-roof is a practical time to address the fascias, soffits and guttering. The scaffold is already up, which makes access straightforward. Old timber fascias can rot from behind over many years without it being obvious from ground level. uPVC replacements are low-maintenance and widely used. If the existing guttering is cast iron or old plastic and is sagging or cracked, replacing it at the same time as the roof is more cost-effective than returning to it later.
A chimney stack that is no longer in use can still cause problems if it is not properly maintained or capped. During a re-roof, the flashing around the base of the chimney is replaced as standard. If the stack itself is in poor condition - spalling brickwork, crumbling pointing or a loose chimney pot - this is the time to address it, while the scaffold provides safe access. Capping an unused flue with a ventilated cover prevents moisture from tracking down inside the stack.
Extensions, porches and garages with flat or low-pitch roofs are typically covered in mineral felt or EPDM rubber membrane. Felt flat roofs have a finite lifespan, often 10-15 years for standard felt, before blistering, cracking or pooling water become problems. EPDM rubber is a longer-lasting alternative that is now widely used and performs well in cold and wet conditions.
Newmarket Roofers carry out roof replacements across Clare and the surrounding area, including the villages and towns nearby. We cover both pitched and flat roofs, handle all associated leadwork and chimney work, and manage scaffolding as part of the job. If your roof has reached the stage where repair is no longer giving you value, call us to arrange a roof survey and we will tell you honestly what we see.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
