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How Long Does a Roof Last? Lifespans by Material
Rough figures for the UK: natural slate 80 to 100 years, clay tile 60 plus, concrete tile 40 to 60, EPDM or GRP flat roof 20 to 30, and old built up felt 10 to 20. In practice the covering rarely fails first. Battens, nails, mortar and flashings go long before the tiles do.
- Realistic lifespans by material
- The parts that fail before the tiles
- Five signs your roof is near the end
- Repair or reroof, how to judge
- Free roof inspection across Bucks
- 15+ years experience, fully insured
Lifespans you can plan around
These are working numbers from roofs we strip and re-lay, not brochure figures.
- ▸Natural slate: 80 to 100 years, and Welsh slate often longer
- ▸Clay plain tile or pantile: 60 years and up
- ▸Concrete interlocking tile: 40 to 60 years, colour dulls at 15 to 20
- ▸EPDM rubber or GRP fibreglass flat roof: 20 to 30 years
- ▸Built up felt flat roof: 10 to 20 years
- ▸Lead flashing in Code 4 or 5: 60 years plus if dressed and fixed correctly
What actually gives up first
Nail fatigue is the classic one: the slates are perfect but the nails holding them have rusted through, so they start sliding one by one. After that it is timber battens gone soft, sand and cement mortar cracking out of ridges and verges, and flashings that were skimped on. A roof can be re-laid using most of its original slate or tile if the material is sound, which is often cheaper than it sounds.
Five signs you are near the end
One or two of these means repair. Four or five together usually means the money is better spent on a reroof.
- ▸Tiles slipping in several different places each winter
- ▸Daylight visible through the underlay from inside the loft
- ▸Sagging between rafters or a dipped ridge line
- ▸Repeated leaks in different spots rather than one recurring point
- ▸Mortar crumbling out of ridge, hip and verge along the whole run
FAQs
Does moss shorten a roof's life?+
It does not eat the tile, but it holds water against it, blocks gutters and speeds up frost damage on porous concrete. Worth clearing, not worth panicking about.
Can you tell how much life is left?+
Yes, close enough to plan with. A free inspection tells you whether you are looking at a repair now, a reroof within five years, or nothing to worry about.
Is it worth reroofing before selling?+
Sometimes. A pre-sale roof report is often the better first step, so you know what a buyer's surveyor will see.
What guarantee comes with a new roof?+
Our reroofs carry a written workmanship guarantee alongside the manufacturer's material cover, and we are fully insured.
Related reading
Other pages homeowners usually look at alongside this one.
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