Re‑roofs and new roofs
A full strip and re-tile, or a new roof from bare walls.
A full strip and re-tile, or a new roof framed from bare walls. The five stages below are our own jobs, photographed as they went.
A roof that is past repairing lets a little more in each winter. A photo of the whole roof from across the road shows its size and how it has worn.
- A free quote, with no obligation
- Fully insured
- Ring the number and you are talking to Cody, who runs the firm
- A team behind him: some jobs Cody does himself, some the team does
- Every photo on this site is one of our own jobs
What happens next
What a re-roof involves
A re-roof is the one roofing job where you find out what the last roofer did. The tiles come off, the battens come off, the old felt comes off, and what is left is the timber the whole thing has been sitting on for half a century or more. Most of the time it is sound. Sometimes a rafter end has gone soft where a gutter overflowed for a decade, or a purlin has sagged, or somebody has notched a joist to get a pipe through and never put the strength back. Nobody can know until it is bare, which is why the strip is the first stage on this page and not an afterthought. Once the timbers are checked and made good, the breathable membrane goes on, the battens are set out to the gauge the tile wants, and the tiles are laid in courses from the eaves up and checked as they go. The ridge is bedded, the verges are pointed, the site is left clean and the scaffold comes down. That is the whole job, and it is the same five stages whether it is a bungalow or a three-storey terrace.
The photographs on this page are those stages on our own jobs. They are not all the same roof, and they are not captioned as if they were.
New roofs and roof carpentry
New roofs start with the carpentry. The trusses and rafters are framed square from bare walls, and on the jobs photographed here they went up under a temporary scaffold roof, so the timber stayed dry while the frame was built. Once the frame is square the roof is covered the same way as a re-roof: membrane, battens, tiles, ridge.
The cost of a cheap re-roof
A re-roof done cheap is a re-roof done twice. Tiles laid over old battens, felt lapped the wrong way so water runs behind it, a ridge bedded on a mix that lets go in the first hard frost. None of it shows on the day the scaffold comes down. It shows two winters later as a stain on a bedroom ceiling. The photographs of the strip and the membrane stage are on this page so you can see what sits under a roof before the tiles cover it.
From first message to finished roof
The roof as it is
A photo of the whole roof from the ground shows its size, its tiles and how it has worn.
A straight answer first
Some roofs need a re-roof and some only need a repair. Cody tells you which, plainly.
The five stages
Strip, timbers, membrane and battens, tiling, finish: each one is photographed further down this page, on our own jobs.
The five stages
Strip back
The old tiles, battens and felt come off down to the rafters. Nothing underneath can be checked until it is bare, so this is where a re-roof either stays on course or finds its surprises.
New timbers
The timbers are checked end to end. Soft or split timber is cut out and replaced, and on a new roof the trusses are set out and braced square before anything covers them.
Membrane and battens
A breathable membrane goes on in lapped runs from the eaves up, so any water that gets past a tile runs down and out, never behind. The battens go over it at the gauge the tile needs.
Tiling
The tiles go on in courses from the eaves up, fixed as the tile asks, and checked as they go rather than all at once at the end when a mistake is buried under ten more courses.
Finished
The ridge and hips are bedded, the verges are pointed and the site is left clean before the scaffold comes down. From the ground it is just a new roof. The four photographs before this one are why it stays that way.
Re-roofs, photographed as they went
Roof stripped back to bare rafters New roof trusses fixed in place, seen from inside the frame Breathable membrane and new battens fixed across the roof Tiles being laid in courses up the roof Finished roof with new ridge line against a blue sky Membrane and battens fixed, seen from the ridge Tiles laid partway up a slope over new battens Interlocking tiles going on over new membrane and battens Tiles nearing the ridge, old tiles stacked on the scaffold Slates set out on new battens and membrane Roof trusses going up under a temporary scaffold roof Trusses and bracing under a temporary roof, looking up the slope New timber roof trusses erected under a temporary scaffold roof Plain tiles going on over new membrane Ridge and verge freshly bedded in mortar Finished tiled roof at dusk Finished tile roof against brick gable Gable brickwork made good Red plain tile roof with a roof window and a vent, fascia off at the eaves Scaffolded out and ready for the strip
Re-roof questions
Re-roof or repair?
A roof whose tiles flake, whose battens have rotted and whose felt has perished is a re-roof. A sound roof with one fault is a repair, and Cody will say which yours is.
Do you build new roofs too?
Yes. The carpentry comes first, trusses and rafters framed square, and the frame is then covered with membrane, battens and tiles.
What does a re-roof cost?
It depends on the size and shape of the roof, the tiles, and what the timbers turn out to be like once they are bare. A photo and the form above let Cody tell you where you stand.
The first phone call
Ring or send a photo
Ring Cody on the number at the top of the page. If he is up a ladder when you ring, send a WhatsApp with a photo of the problem instead.
A straight answer
You are told straight whether it is a job for us and where you stand. Photos of the problem help, and WhatsApp is the easy way to send them.
The work, then a tidy site
The roof is done the way the photographs on this site show it: timbers checked, finished tidy, ridge bedded, verges pointed and the site left clean.
A roof to look at
Ring Cody, or send photos of the problem on WhatsApp, and you will be told where you stand.
07925 796983If he is up a ladder when you ring, send a WhatsApp with a photo of the problem instead.