When your roof has reached the end of its life, Newmarket Roofers carries out complete roof replacements in Isleham and the surrounding villages, handling everything from the first inspection to the final clean-up.
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A roof that has been patched repeatedly, or one where the underlying structure has been compromised, will eventually cost more to keep repairing than it would to replace outright. The signs are not always dramatic. Persistent damp patches on ceilings, crumbling mortar on ridge tiles, slipped or missing slates appearing season after season, or felt that has become brittle and cracked beneath the tiles - any of these can point to a roof that has passed the end of its serviceable life.
The honest answer on whether to repair or replace depends on the age of the roof, the condition of the timbers underneath, and how widespread the deterioration is. If faults are isolated - a handful of slipped slates, one section of failed flashing - repair is almost always the sensible choice. But when a roof is over thirty years old, the battens are soft, and problems keep returning, a full replacement gives you a clean start rather than a cycle of patch jobs.
Every replacement job starts with a proper look at the roof. That means getting up on scaffolding or using a ladder to inspect the covering, the ridge, the hips, the valleys, and any chimney stacks or parapet walls. A walk around the property at ground level tells you part of the story - visible slippage, sagging sections, damaged flashing - but the detail only becomes clear up close.
During the survey we check the condition of the battens and the felt or membrane underneath the tiles. We look at the fascias and soffits, because a re-roof is the natural point to address those if they need attention. We assess the chimney stack and its flashing, and we check the condition of any lead work in valleys or around pipe penetrations. It is far better to know the full picture before pricing the job than to discover additional problems once the old covering is stripped.
We then put together a clear breakdown of the work needed. You should always ask a roofer to explain what they found during the survey and what it means for the scope of the job. Vague quotes that lump everything into a single figure make it hard to understand what you are actually paying for.
A full roof replacement cannot be done safely from ladders alone. Scaffolding goes up before any work starts on the roof itself. For a typical semi-detached or detached house, a standard scaffold gives safe working access around the perimeter and provides edge protection that stops materials and tools from falling.
The scaffold also protects the property below. Stripping a roof generates a large volume of old tiles, broken slate, nails, and debris. A properly boarded scaffold catches falling material rather than letting it damage gutters, windows, or plants below. Scaffold hire is part of the job cost and should be included in any quote for a full re-roof. Be cautious of any roofer who proposes to replace a roof without erecting proper scaffolding.
The design of the scaffold will be influenced by the roof pitch, any dormer windows, and access constraints around the plot.
Once the scaffold is in place, the existing covering comes off. Tiles or slates are lifted and lowered to the scaffold platform, then bagged or skipped. The old felt, if there is any, comes off with the battens. Everything is cleared systematically, section by section, until the bare rafters are exposed.
This is the point where the true condition of the roof structure becomes visible. Soft or broken rafters are common on older properties, particularly where a previous leak has been left untreated for some time. A rafter that has been damp for years may look sound but crumble when you press it. Any rotten or damaged timber needs to be replaced before the new covering goes on - there is no point in laying new materials over a weak structure.
The timbers are checked carefully and any repairs to the structure are carried out at this stage. You should expect this to be discussed with you before work begins on the timber, and the cost of structural repairs should be itemised separately in the quote so you are not faced with an unexplained addition to the bill at the end.
With the structure sound, new roofing felt or a breather membrane is fixed across the rafters. Modern breathable membranes allow moisture vapour from inside the house to escape, which reduces the risk of condensation building up in the roof space. The membrane is lapped correctly at each course to shed any water that finds its way under the tiles.
New treated timber battens are then nailed across the membrane, creating the fixing points for the tiles or slates. Batten size and spacing are determined by the tile manufacturer's specification for the pitch of the roof. Getting this right matters: battens fixed at the wrong gauge will alter the headlap of the tiles and can result in wind-driven rain penetrating the covering.
The new tiles or slates are fixed from the eaves upward. Every tile is nailed at the correct fixing points. Ridge tiles are bedded and pointed in mortar, or fitted with a dry-fix ridge system - dry-fix is increasingly common because mortar ridges can crack and lift as the roof moves with temperature changes, whereas dry-fix mechanically locks the ridge in place without relying on mortar joints.
Valleys are lined with lead or fitted with proprietary valley troughs, depending on the roof design. All lead work - valleys, soakers, step flashing around chimney stacks and abutment walls - is dressed carefully and fixed properly. Lead that is underweight or poorly dressed will fail early, so the specification matters.
The choice of covering affects both the cost and the look of the finished roof. The main options for a pitched roof are:
If you are replacing an existing roof, the safest approach is usually to match the original covering type unless there is a specific reason to change. Switching from one tile profile to another may require adjustments to the batten gauge and can affect ridge and hip details.
A full re-roof is a good time to check fascias, soffits, and guttering. The fascia board sits behind the gutter and supports the lowest course of tiles. Soffits close in the underside of the eaves. On many properties these are timber and will have deteriorated over the years - rot, flaking paint, or sections that have pulled away from the wall.
Replacing timber fascias and soffits with uPVC at the same time as the re-roof is straightforward because the scaffold is already up and the edge of the roof is accessible. It avoids a separate set-up cost later and means the gutters can be refixed to a sound board. New guttering can be fitted at the same stage if the existing run is cracked, leaking at joints, or badly out of level.
Chimney stacks are a common source of leaks on older roofs. The flashing - the lead or mortar that seals the junction between the stack and the roof covering - works loose over time, especially where mortar fillets have been used instead of properly dressed lead. On a re-roof, the chimney flashing is always renewed. The stack brickwork is checked and any loose or crumbling pointing is raked out and repointed.
If a chimney is no longer used and is not required for ventilation, it is sometimes worth considering whether to take it down to below roof level and slate or tile over the opening. This removes a potential future leak source and reduces maintenance. This is a decision the homeowner needs to make, but it is worth discussing at the survey stage.
When the new covering is complete, the scaffold is not struck until the site is clean and the finished roof has been walked and checked. All old tiles, packaging, off-cuts, and debris are removed from the scaffold platform and taken away. Gutters are cleared of any material that has found its way in during the strip. The property is left as it was found, minus the worn-out roof.
Before the scaffold comes down, the finished roof should be inspected - ridge tiles checked for level and pointing, every visible tile checked for correct seating, lead work pressed and dressed, and the felt/membrane laps checked at the verges and eaves. Any minor snags are sorted before the scaffold is struck, because going back up afterwards means additional cost and disruption.
Based in Newmarket, we carry out roof replacements throughout the surrounding area. Isleham is one of the villages we cover, along with nearby places including Soham, Reach, Wicken, Dullingham, Six Mile Bottom, Moulton, and further afield towards Haverhill, Clare, Wickhambrook, and Cambridge. If you are unsure whether we cover your location, call us and we will confirm.
If your roof is showing the signs described above, the first step is to get eyes on it properly. Call Newmarket Roofers to arrange a roof survey so we can give you an honest assessment of whether repair or replacement is the right route, and a detailed quote for the work involved.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
