Service
Reroof or Repair? How to Decide Without Being Sold To
Plenty of roofs get replaced years too early, and plenty get patched years too late. There are four or five things we look at on the survey that reliably tell us which side of the line a roof sits.
- Nail fatigue is the key test on old roofs
- Battens and felt matter more than the tiles
- Localised damage rarely justifies a strip
- Repeated patching costs more than one reroof
- We quote both where it's genuinely a close call
- Written findings, not a verbal push
The signs that point to a full reroof
Widespread nail fatigue — where tiles or slates slip in ones and twos across the whole roof rather than in one area — means the fixings have reached the end of their life and every repair simply moves the next failure along. Sagging between rafters, felt that tears when touched, and battens that crumble are the other three. When we see two or more of those together, patching is money spent twice.
- ▸Slips appearing across multiple slopes
- ▸Torn or absent underfelt
- ▸Soft or woodworm-damaged battens
- ▸Visible dips in the roof line
When a repair is the right answer
Storm damage, a failed flashing, a split valley, a slipped ridge or a single area of impact damage are repairs — even on a roof that's 40 years old. If the fixings elsewhere are sound and the underfelt is intact, replacing the whole covering to fix one slope is waste. We will say so and quote the repair.
The honest middle ground
Sometimes the right answer is a slope at a time. Rear elevations weather harder than fronts, and doing the worst slope now with the rest in three or four years spreads the cost without wasting the work. Where that applies we set it out as a staged plan with indicative figures so you can budget.
FAQs
Will you tell me if I don't need a new roof?+
Yes. A lot of our reroof work comes from people we told to wait a year or two the first time we looked.
How long does a repair buy me?+
It depends what failed. A renewed flashing or re-bedded ridge is a 15–25 year fix. A patch on a roof with widespread nail fatigue may only buy a season.
Can you photograph what you find?+
We take photos on every survey and send them with the quote so you can see the evidence rather than take our word for it.
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