If your Taverham home needs a new roof and you are waiting for the work to start, knowing what you can safely do - and what you definitely should not attempt yourself - makes the wait less stressful.
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A complete re-roof means stripping everything back to the bare timber: tiles or slates, old battens and degraded underlay all come off. The timber structure underneath is then inspected for rot or damage before new breathable underlay, treated battens and fresh tiles or slates go on. Ridge and hip work, lead flashings and the guttering connection at the eaves are all renewed or checked as part of the job.
For pitched roofs in this part of Norfolk the three main material options are clay tiles, concrete interlocking tiles and natural slate. Clay tiles are the traditional choice and age well. Concrete tiles are practical and cost-effective on standard roof shapes. Natural slate - Welsh or Spanish grade - suits properties that already carry slate or where a thinner, more traditional profile is wanted. The choice of material affects batten spacing, weight loading on the structure and the visual result, so it is worth settling on the material before the contractor orders anything.
There is often a lead time between booking a roofer and work starting. During that period there are practical steps you can take to limit any damage and make the job go more smoothly once it begins.
If the roof is leaking before the replacement takes place, the loft is the first place water collects. Move anything stored there that could be damaged by moisture - boxes, furniture, electrical items - down to a dry room. Cover loft insulation with a polythene sheet if active drips are occurring, and put a container under any known drip point so you can monitor how much water is getting in and where.
If water has been getting into the loft for some time, it may already be working through to ceiling boards. A damp or discoloured patch on an upstairs ceiling is worth monitoring. If a ceiling is visibly sagging or bulging, it has taken on water weight, so keep everyone out of the room and do not poke, prod or pierce it - it can come down without warning.
Before scaffold goes up, move vehicles out of the driveway and garden furniture away from the building perimeter. Scaffold tubes and fittings go down on a hard or soft surface around the house, and tiles and old materials come off into a skip. The more clear the working area is, the faster the scaffold can go up and the less risk of damage to parked cars or garden items.
A re-roof is a noisy job, particularly on strip-out day. Letting neighbours know a few days ahead is a simple courtesy that prevents complaints and makes for a better working relationship. If your roof is close to a boundary and scaffold needs to be erected on a neighbour's side, that conversation needs to happen before the scaffold contractor arrives.
The roofer's surveyor and, during the job, the roofing team will need access to the loft at the start and during the work. Clear anything blocking the hatch from below and make sure there is a light or a torch available for the inspection.
When a roof is visibly failing and there is a wait before the work starts, the temptation to do something - anything - to stop a leak is understandable. Some attempts are harmless. Others create more problems than they solve.
Domestic roof tiles are not designed to carry a person's weight without proper crawling boards. Walking on tiles from above, without the right equipment, breaks tiles that are still intact and can cause a slip or fall. The access equipment that roofers use - scaffold, roof ladders and crawling boards - exists precisely because the roof surface itself is not a safe working platform without it.
Products sold as emergency roof sealant sprays or brush-applied waterproofers can cause problems when applied over tiles without professional knowledge of what is underneath. They can seal in moisture already trapped below, block drainage paths between tiles, and make the eventual re-roofing job harder by leaving a sticky or chemical residue on the tile surface and underlay. If you need an emergency repair before the main job starts, a roofer applying a targeted patch from scaffold is far preferable to a DIY sealant product.
Lifting or removing tiles to try to find where a leak originates is a natural instinct, but displaced tiles create new entry points for rain immediately. The track a leak takes from entry point to where you see it inside is often not a straight line - water follows the pitch of the underlay, the run of the rafters, and the lay of the insulation. Removing tiles rarely identifies the source accurately and always leaves the roof in worse condition than before.
Once work starts, expect noise and some vibration, particularly during strip-out. Move fragile items away from loft hatch areas and off shelves on upper floors. Fitted loft insulation is not usually disturbed during a re-roof, but tell the contractor if you have loose-fill insulation so they can take care not to displace it when working from inside for inspections.
Dust from the loft space can drift through if the hatch is not sealed during working hours. A draught excluder around the hatch frame or a temporary seal with tape and polythene is a practical measure for the duration of the job.
A new pitched roof on a typical semi-detached house in this part of Norfolk costs broadly in the range of £5,000 to £12,000, depending on size, material choice and the complexity of the roof shape. Properties with chimney stacks, dormer windows or valley gutters sit towards the higher end. Scaffold is a separate cost element, usually in the region of £800 to £1,500 for a standard house, and should be clearly set out in any quotation you receive.
In settled weather, strip-out and relaying on a standard house takes three to five working days. The first day is typically strip-out; subsequent days cover new underlay, battens and tiles; the final stage is ridge, hips, flashings and a full site clear. A contractor should be able to give you a rough programme before work starts so you know what to expect each day.
We install complete new roofing systems across Taverham and the surrounding area, including properties in the wider Norwich catchment and neighbouring villages. If your roof needs replacing and you want a straight conversation about what the job involves and what it will cost, call Poringland Roofers to arrange a proper survey.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
