Why an honest price needs a visit
A replacement pitched roof is priced from the roof itself, not from the number of bedrooms. Two semis that look identical from the pavement can have different pitches, different rear additions and very different timbers once the tiles are lifted. Anyone quoting a firm figure without seeing the roof is either guessing high to protect themselves or guessing low to win the job and adding to it later.
This guide walks through the things that genuinely move the price, so the written quote you get makes sense when it lands. If you want the step-by-step of how the work itself runs, see our page on new roofs and re-roofs.
Size, shape and pitch
Area is the starting point: more square metres means more battens, membrane, tiles and labour. Shape matters almost as much. A plain gable roof with two flat slopes is the quickest to strip and recover. Every hip, valley and dormer adds cutting, extra fixings and detailing, and each valley needs its own lining to carry water safely down.
Pitch affects both the work and the materials. Steep roofs take longer to work on safely, while shallow ones may rule out some tiles altogether because each product has a minimum pitch it is designed for.
Tiles, slate and reusing what is there
Concrete tiles, clay tiles and natural slate all behave differently. Slate is fixed individually and takes skilled time to lay. Clay often comes in smaller formats, so there are more pieces per square metre. Concrete interlocking tiles tend to go on fastest.
Sometimes good existing tiles or slates can be carefully stripped, stacked and relaid over new battens and membrane. That can save on materials and keeps the look of the house, but only if enough of them survive removal. Lee checks this on the visit and will tell you if it is realistic.
Scaffolding and access
Almost every re-roof needs full scaffold for safety, with edge protection and somewhere to load out old materials. A detached house with clear space around it is simple. A terrace with no side access, a conservatory in the way or a busy road at the front all make the scaffold more involved, and that shows up in the quote. So does the skip or waste removal for the old covering.
What turns up once the roof is stripped
Some things can only be judged once the old covering is off. Battens may be rotten, the old felt may have perished into dust, and occasionally a rafter or wall plate has suffered from a long-running leak. A good quote explains how anything like this will be handled before the job starts, so you are not faced with a surprise and a raised voice on the scaffold.
Lee will point out anything he can see from the loft beforehand, such as damp staining or sagging, so the likely extras are discussed upfront.
Jobs worth doing at the same time
Because the scaffold is already up, many people add work they would otherwise pay to access separately:
- Roof windows to bring light into a loft
- New uPVC fascias, soffits and guttering, covered on our guttering, fascias and soffits page
- Fresh lead flashing where the roof meets walls or a chimney
- Ridge and hip details finished to match the new covering
How the free visit and written quote work
Lee Draper runs Authentic Building & Roofing from Witham. When he comes out, he looks at the roof from the ground and, where possible, from the loft, then talks you through what he has found. You then get a written quote setting out the covering, the scaffold, waste removal and any extras you asked about, so you can compare it fairly against others.
Not sure a full re-roof is needed? Read how long a roof lasts or the guide to roof repair costs. When you are ready, book your visit or call 07947 758052, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.
Comparing quotes fairly
When several quotes arrive, resist the urge to look only at the bottom line. Check that each one is pricing the same roof: the same covering, a breathable membrane, new battens, the ridge and hips finished properly, and the scaffold included. A quote that looks low may simply have left out something another has included.
It is also worth asking how long each roofer expects the job to take and what happens if rain stops work for a day. A clear answer to those questions says a lot about how carefully the job has been thought through. Our guide on how to choose a roofer has a fuller checklist.