Roofing costs

[Kwackersaki]

Hi, are there any roofers who are able to provide a very rough estimate to re roof the house and garage as per the pics?

It s concrete tile and looks to me to be in fairly good condition for a 40 yr roof. A family member has had some water ingress around the chimney and had a company round who has found some loose ridge tiles and holes in the membrane. Ive been up on the garage roof and it all looks in fairly good condition apart from the ridge tiles.

He s been told he requires a new roof and the quote was quickly reduced after he asked if they could re-use the original tiles. The quote is £20k which seems a bit top heavy to me.

The company is local (North West) and does have very good 5 star reviews. I had a quote previously from them for a flat roof which they gave without even getting up a ladder to have a look and was expensive against other quotes.

Edited by Kwackersaki on Saturday 7th June 06:25

Edited by Kwackersaki on Saturday 7th June 06:25

[smifffymoto]

Why do you think 20k is upper limit when you have no experience of roofing or the costs.
Get more local quotes rather than just guessing.Prices are regional so it won’t really matter what response you get here.

This isn’t a particular dig at you OP but many come on and post thinking the trades are expensive or ripping them off.
They think because they push paper around a desk or press computer keys they are some how superior to men whom use their hands and have a skill that aren’t willing to work for peanuts.

[Kwackersaki]

smifffymoto said:

Why do you think 20k is upper limit when you have no experience of roofing or the costs.
Get more local quotes rather than just guessing.Prices are regional so it won t really matter what response you get here.

This isn t a particular dig at you OP but many come on and post thinking the trades are expensive or ripping them off.
They think because they push paper around a desk or press computer keys they are some how superior to men whom use their hands and have a skill that aren t willing to work for peanuts.

Because I’ve had quotes to do my own roof which were no where near this price. Mine is a bungalow hip roof with 2 extensions so to my mind, apart from less scaffolding would be slightly more complicated.

I’ve also included the region so as not to get a roofer from London estimating.

[Road2Ruin]

smifffymoto said:

Why do you think 20k is upper limit when you have no experience of roofing or the costs.
Get more local quotes rather than just guessing.Prices are regional so it won t really matter what response you get here.

This isn t a particular dig at you OP but many come on and post thinking the trades are expensive or ripping them off.
They think because they push paper around a desk or press computer keys they are some how superior to men whom use their hands and have a skill that aren t willing to work for peanuts.

That's because £20k for that house is a lot. I had a larger house than that done not so long ago, clay tile, some new, most re-used, and it was £12k, including the scaffolding.

[Cow Corner]

Not possible to judge from the photos, but have they had a second opinion about whether full replacement is necessary?

As a general rule, similar concrete roof coverings would be expected to have a lifespan of circa 60 years, but obviously will need repairs to ridges, verges, chimneys, flashings, rainwater goods etc during that time.

[wolfracesonic]

Can’t help with the quote but I doubt very much a re-roof is needed. Re-bed the ridges, one of the dry verges in the pics needs re-fixing and holes in the felt, if there are just the odd few it’s not the end of the world, certainly doesn’t justify a new roof: and if they can’t sort the leaky chimney in isolation then I’m not sure you want to be using them.

[Cotty]

Mine cost just under £9,000 reusing the existing tiles and replacing broken ones.

https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/roof-...

[Cotty]

Also worth having the flashing done while they have the scaffolding up

https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/chimn...

[Aluminati]

That’s a 12-13 k roof, re using original, and insulation upgrade as required. But, there’s not a lot wrong with that. It’s had a verge repair before by the looks.

Put 3-4 k in that and it’ll do another 40 years.

[PhilboSE]

Cow Corner said:

As a general rule, similar concrete roof coverings would be expected to have a lifespan of circa 60 years, but obviously will need repairs to ridges, verges, chimneys, flashings, rainwater goods etc during that time.

No-one really knows what the lifespan is of a concrete roof, as they started to be used widely in the rebuilding programme after WWII with an expected life of 60 years, but many are now that old and still have life in them. Additionally, I d expect the quality to have improved over time so a concrete tile from the 80 s (generally a decent decade for quality of building materials) should still have many more decades in it.

Roof tiles are between £1-£2 each depending on brand, colour, size etc.; you can get a rough idea of material costs just by estimating the number of tiles on the roof and adding in extra for ridges and lead flashing, and some roof battens, Tyvek and eaves trays etc. Then add scaffolding and removal/waste costs of the old roof, then the labour costs, business overheads and finally a bit of profit for the bloke.

Finally be aware that changing the entire roof will put you firmly into the territory of having to comply with Buildings Regulations on insulation, which might be additional cost if you re under.

Impossible to say if that building needs a new roof or just maintenance, but I d suggest decent maintenance might be viable. If a re-roof is required, with a decent quality tile and following best practice / legal requirements, I can see it being in the £15k landing zone.

[Kwackersaki]

Thanks for all the replies.

Unfortunately it’s the only quote he’s had and given the go ahead already as they can start in a couple of weeks.

That alone would give alarm bells but as mentioned, they do have really good reviews and I’ve seen results of their work which looks good.

I’m not convinced it needs a complete new roof though but he’s a bit stubborn and won’t be told. Guess it’s his dollar at the end of the day.

[Cow Corner]

PhilboSE said:

Cow Corner said:

As a general rule, similar concrete roof coverings would be expected to have a lifespan of circa 60 years, but obviously will need repairs to ridges, verges, chimneys, flashings, rainwater goods etc during that time.

No-one really knows what the lifespan is of a concrete roof, as they started to be used widely in the rebuilding programme after WWII with an expected life of 60 years, but many are now that old and still have life in them. Additionally, I d expect the quality to have improved over time so a concrete tile from the 80 s (generally a decent decade for quality of building materials) should still have many more decades in it.

As I said, the 60 year lifespan is just a general rule of thumb, of the type we used when doing surveys and maintenance programmes for social housing. Many roofs will last longer than that (and a few less), but it s roughly the point at which you might find that repair may start to become less economical than replacement.

But I think that, fundamentally, we agree you wouldn’t generally expect replacement to be required after 40 years.

Edited by Cow Corner on Saturday 7th June 09:36

[Arrivalist]

I’ve got a concrete tiled bungalow that has original tiles from 1963. I’m thinking of getting it redone with new tiles this year mainly because they are not bedding in properly any more (due to issues from frozen
moss I think). That roof in the picture looks brand new compared to mine

[megaphone]

I have a 1930's house which still has the original concrete tiles, it's been repaired a few times but is still 'ok', might get it reroofed for it's 100th birthday. .

That roof looks like it just needs a bit of repair and maintenance, crazy to re-roof, but some people have more money than sence.

[Cotty]

megaphone said:

I have a 1930's house which still has the original concrete tiles, it's been repaired a few times but is still 'ok', might get it reroofed for it's 100th birthday. .

mine is mid 1970's and the felt had perished so had a new breathable membrane fitted. Worth doing when you get round to doing the roof.

[megaphone]

Cotty said:

megaphone said:

I have a 1930's house which still has the original concrete tiles, it's been repaired a few times but is still 'ok', might get it reroofed for it's 100th birthday. .

mine is mid 1970's and the felt had perished so had a new breathable membrane fitted. Worth doing when you get round to doing the roof.

No membrane on my roof, just tiles and battens, was the norm back in the 30's. Get's a bit dusty up in the loft.

[Evanivitch]

£20k is wild to reuse tiles.

I had a similar roof quoted with in-roof solar and all electrical equipment for 30% less than that.

[Cotty]

megaphone said:

No membrane on my roof, just tiles and battens, was the norm back in the 30's. Get's a bit dusty up in the loft.

Might be an idea to put one in.

[MitchT]

My mum recently paid £8k for a complete new roof about 60% the size of that. She's in West Yorkshire. Other locations may be more expensive.

[thebraketester]

Why not just fix the issues. The roof doesn’t look that bad, certainly not bad enough to warrant a 20k bill.