When your roof in Fordham has reached the end of its life, a full replacement by Newmarket Roofers gives you a sound, properly built roof that should need nothing but routine care for many years.
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Most roofs do not fail overnight. Slates crack and slip gradually, tile bedding mortar crumbles over a decade, and flashings work loose after years of freeze-thaw cycling. The question every homeowner eventually faces is whether to keep repairing or replace the whole roof in one go.
A repair makes sense when damage is confined to a small area and the surrounding roof is structurally sound with many years left in the materials. Replacement becomes the better value when the repair cost is approaching a significant fraction of a full re-roof, when the felt underlay beneath the tiles has broken down and lets water through even when the surface looks intact, or when the battens are rotten and would need replacing anyway once the tiles come off.
A straight answer: if a roof needs repeated patching every one or two years, the money spent on those visits is better put toward a complete replacement. Ask any roofer quoting for repair work to give you an honest assessment of how many years the rest of the roof has left.
A re-roof is not simply laying new tiles over old ones. The work starts with a full strip-off: all existing tiles or slates, the battens beneath them and the old felt underlay are removed and taken away. That exposes the rafters, which are inspected for rot, damage or deflection before anything new goes on.
Once the structural timbers are confirmed sound (and repaired where necessary), new breathable membrane is fixed across the rafters. Modern breathable underlays allow water vapour from the house to escape without letting rain in, which reduces the risk of condensation building up in the roof space. New treated battens are then fixed over the membrane, and tiling or slating begins from the eaves up.
Ridges, hips and valleys are re-bedded or re-pointed with fresh mortar, or fitted with mechanically fixed dry-ridge and dry-hip systems that do not rely on mortar at all. Lead flashings around chimney stacks, skylights and abutments are replaced or re-dressed at the same time. Fascias, soffits and guttering are checked and replaced if they are rotten or broken.
On a typical semi-detached house the work takes three to five days once scaffolding is in place. A larger detached property may take a week or more. The scaffold goes up first and comes down only when the job is signed off.
The right choice depends on the existing roof profile, the pitch angle, the planning situation if you are in a conservation area, and your budget. A good roofer will walk you through the options rather than defaulting to whatever is easiest to source.
Some houses have a flat or low-pitch section, often over a rear extension or a garage. Flat roofs have a shorter expected lifespan than pitched roofs and need replacing more often. The two most practical systems for domestic flat roofs are traditional torch-on felt (a multi-layer system bonded with heat) and EPDM rubber membrane.
EPDM is a single-ply synthetic rubber sheet that is bonded or mechanically fixed to the deck. It is flexible, handles temperature extremes well and, when correctly installed, can last 25 years or more. Torch-on felt systems installed in multiple layers are also durable and remain the standard on many properties. Both systems are a considerable step up from the old single-layer mineral felt that fails within a decade.
Flat roof replacement costs in this region typically run from £70 to £120 per square metre depending on the system chosen, the condition of the existing deck and access difficulty. Always get the deck inspected before a price is confirmed.
Prices vary with roof size, pitch, material choice and how much structural work is found once the old roof is stripped. As a broad guide, a full re-roof on a three-bedroom semi-detached house in this area currently costs in the range of £6,000 to £10,000, including scaffold. A larger four or five-bedroom detached home may run from £10,000 to £18,000 or more. These are indicative figures only; a proper price needs an in-person site visit.
Be cautious of any quote given over the phone or online without a roof inspection. The condition of the battens, the state of the rafters and the complexity of the ridgework all affect the final price, and none of that can be seen from the ground.
This is the section most homeowners skip, and it is the one that most often determines whether a new roof lasts its full expected life or starts causing trouble within five years. A replacement is a significant investment; a little routine attention keeps it sound.
Blocked gutters are responsible for a large proportion of avoidable roof and wall damage. When water overflows behind the fascia board, it soaks the rafter feet and the top of the wall. Over time, rafter feet rot and fascias fail, even on a recently replaced roof. Clear gutters in late autumn after the leaves have fallen and again in spring. If you have trees close to the house, check them more often.
While clearing gutters, look at the gutter joints and downpipe connections. A slow drip at a joint does not seem serious but will stain and eventually soften the fascia board beneath it. A tube of gutter sealant costs a few pounds and takes ten minutes to apply.
You do not need to get on the roof. From the ground, use binoculars or look at the ridge from an upstairs window at the end of the house. Ridge tiles bedded in mortar can work loose, particularly after a sharp frost or prolonged wind. A displaced ridge tile left over winter will let water in at exactly the point where two roof slopes meet, which is one of the worst places for a leak to develop.
Dry-ridge systems, which are mechanically fixed rather than bedded in mortar, do not carry this risk in the same way, but the plastic fittings should be checked occasionally for cracking or displacement.
A little moss on the north-facing slope of a roof is normal. Thick moss growth, especially in roof valleys, holds moisture against the tiles and can lift them slightly over time. Treatment with a biocide wash every few years and, where the growth is heavy, careful physical removal keeps the roof surface clean and the tiles properly seated.
Do not pressure-wash a tiled or slated roof. The force strips the surface coating from concrete tiles and can crack natural slate or break the nibs that hold the tile on the batten. Biocide spray-and-leave treatments are safer and effective.
A damp patch on a ceiling or a watermark on a loft rafter does not always mean a major problem, but it will become one if left. The point where water enters the roof covering is rarely directly above where it appears on the ceiling inside; water tracks along rafters and battens before it finds somewhere to drop. Report any internal signs of water ingress to a roofer promptly. On a recently replaced roof, early attention usually means a minor fix.
Adequate ventilation in the roof space is essential to prevent condensation forming on the underside of the sarking felt or membrane. Modern breathable membranes cope better than old black felt, but ventilation still matters. Check that loft insulation has not been pushed right to the eaves in a way that blocks the airflow from the soffit vents. A blocked eaves vent can cause as much condensation damage as a minor roof leak.
After any storm with winds strong enough to cause tree damage in the area, it is worth arranging a visual check of the roof from the ground, or asking a roofer to inspect it. Slipped tiles or displaced flashings found quickly cost far less to fix than the water damage that follows if they are left through a wet winter.
From Newmarket, we carry out roof replacements across Fordham and the surrounding villages, including Soham, Burwell, Reach and Dullingham. We also work further afield to Cambridge, Moulton and Six Mile Bottom. If you are unsure whether your address is within our area, call us and ask.
If your roof is showing signs of age or has been causing problems, the first step is an in-person inspection. Call Newmarket Roofers to arrange a roof survey in Fordham and get a clear, written assessment of what the roof needs and what your options are.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
