Roofing - victorian semi

[Caroline]

We are in the process (hopefully) of buying a large Victorian semi. The survey picked up on the usual suspects - roof, wall ties, damp, woodworm etc. We have been getting quotes for the repairs with a view to negotiating on price and are just waiting for the roofer's quote now. However in a brief conversation he had with me he did say that he would quote for repair and for stripping, but if it was his house, he would go for the stripping option. I presume this means taking it all off and putting it all back on again? This sounds v. expensive to me! This guy is a member of the national roofing federation and was actually recommended by their NW co-ordinator so I guess he is legit. I know ideally we should get more than one quote but others were quoting £125 + vat just to come and look and some just sounded well dodgy and best avoided! Is there anyone out with any experience we can draw on - particularly on the strip v repair option. Either way we will need scaffolding as it's over 3 floors. Deep joy!!

 

[Penners]

If a roofer wants to charge you to come and inspect with a view to quoting, I should avoid him.

Stripping, as you thought, means taking everything off the roof and starting again. This option usually becomes necessary if the battens (or worse still the rafters) have rotted to the point that they need replacement, or if most/all of the fixing nails (where used) have fatigued to the point of widespread failure. The cost will depend on how far the stripping has to go, from simply removing all the tiles/slates up the scale to a complete re-roofing including all rafters, battens, felt and tiles/slates.

What did your surveyor have to say about the roof? His/her view could be critical in your decision as to whether to have it stripped or just repaired. If his/her report was vague, give him/her a call and ask for more details, plus their view on the extent of the work needed. He/she might also be able to suggest a reliable roofer to give you another quote.

Whether or not your surveyor can help, you really should get another roofer to inspect and quote. Accepting the first and only quote is never a good idea, unless you're pretty clued up on what needs doing and how much it should cost. Can you not ask the NRF for details of one or two other members in your area?

 

[Neil Smith]

I'm currently getting quotes for my slate roof to be repaired or reslated and have never been asked for payment for a quote and it's a big roof of 270 square metres. Since your house is a Victorian house I guess it's slate. What I've learned so far is it costs roughly the same to use new slate compared to using the existing slate, new slate is quicker to do, existing slate takes longer because you have take more care stripping the roof so the slates don't get damaged and you will only be able to use maybe 70% of the existing slate. This means getting similar salvaged slate, depending on what type of slate you have, the cost can vary enormously. I've decided to fully strip the roof and redo with new slate. An option also is to get in touch with slate dealers who will normally strip your roof and put on felt to make it wind and watertight and take the slate as payment for stripping and depending on the type and quality of slate may even pay you.
This will also save a few thousand pounds off your roofing costs as the slaters won't have to strip the roof only put on the slate. You may even get a good deal from the slate dealers for your new slate because it cuts out the slaters margin. The person I am thinking of getting my slate from supplies the distributers who then supply the slaters. So this cuts out two levels of companies margins. It is worthwhile looking at all your options, although very time consuming.

 

[Caroline]

Thanks gents - food for thought there. There seems to be a distinct lack of decent roofers in this area - the guy who came is from Bolton (25 miles away) and there are no NFRC members at all in the Preston area which is quite staggering. I am very reluctant to use someone who is 'unmoderated' as for one, you have no idea what's going on up there and what they have or haven't done for their money and two, there are apparently a lot of fly-by-nights out there. The surveyor I have aready spoken to and he was not very forthcoming. I suspect there is an element of CYA with him, as I could have come up with the key themes of woodworm, wall ties, damp and roof in a house of it's age, size and construction! I will investigate slate suppliers and see what develops.

 

[Penners]

Caroline - have you considered asking your local planning/listed building department for suggestions on roofers? I did this a while back when I was looking for a builder. They obviously won't "recommend" anyone, but they let me look through their file of builders who they themselves have used for various building projects in the past.

I reckon it should be a useful disciplinary tool to be able to say to a roofer: "I got your name from XXXX District Council".

 

[Moo]

Have you thought of engaging an architectural technician (I think that's what they're called). Not quite an architect, but properly qualified and very knowledgeable. We had one (name supplied by our conservation officer) who was really well-informed about old buildings and who knew exactly who the good local firms were. She drew up the spec., put the work out to tender for us, and I think we got a really good deal as a result. Not free, of course, but I reckon she earned every penny.