A new roof is one of the biggest investments you will make on your home, and choosing the right contractor in Fakenham makes the difference between a job that lasts decades and one that causes problems within a few years.
A full roof replacement means stripping the existing covering back to the bare rafters, inspecting every timber for rot or damage, and then laying new felt, battens and your chosen tile or slate before finishing with lead or mortar at the verges, ridges and any abutments. It is not simply laying new tiles over old ones. Any contractor who suggests doing that is cutting a corner that will cost you later.
The work also covers the hip ends, the valley gutters between roof pitches, the flashings around chimneys and soil pipes, and the ridge capping. Each of these junctions is where water gets in if the detailing is not right, so they deserve as much attention as the main roof plane.
Once the old covering is off, the timberwork is exposed for inspection. Sarking felt that has perished, rafters with woodworm or rot, and purlins that have dropped slightly all need attention before anything new goes on top. Skipping this stage is false economy.
For a standard pitched roof, the main choices are concrete interlocking tiles, clay plain tiles, natural slate or fibre-cement slate. Each has different costs, weights and lifespans.
The weight of your chosen material matters. If you are switching from lightweight tiles to natural slate, or vice versa, the rafter and purlin sizing should be checked by someone who knows what they are looking at. A structural issue with the timbers is better found before the new roof goes on than after.
New roof costs typically depend on roof area, pitch, complexity and the condition of the underlying timbers. Individual quotes will vary.
The main cost variables are: the size and shape of the roof (more hips, valleys and dormers mean more labour), the height of the property (scaffolding costs rise with height), the material chosen, and the amount of timber repair needed once the old covering is stripped. A very simple gable-to-gable roof on a single-storey extension will cost far less per square metre than a complex hipped roof with two chimney stacks.
Always get a price that is itemised. A single lump-sum figure tells you very little about what you are actually paying for, and makes it hard to compare quotes fairly.
This is the section most homeowners skip, and it is the one that matters most. Choosing a roofer based purely on price or on a recommendation from a neighbour is not enough. The questions below will help you separate contractors who know their trade from those who will give you trouble.
A written specification should state the material to be used (including the manufacturer and product name, not just "concrete tile"), the underlay type, batten size, fixing method (nails or clips), what happens with the ridge and hip capping, and what timber repairs are included or excluded. Without this, you cannot compare two quotes fairly and you have no basis for a dispute if the work falls short.
Any contractor who is reluctant to write a specification down is worth treating with caution. A good roofer knows exactly what they are going to do and should be able to set it out clearly.
Some roofing companies take on more work than their own crew can handle and subcontract jobs out. There is nothing automatically wrong with this, but you should know whether the person you spoke to will be on site every day, whether the workers are employed directly or subcontracted, and whether the person signing off the finished job has seen the work throughout. Ask directly: "Will you personally oversee this job, or will it be managed by someone else?"
A confident roofer will have at least one or two recent jobs in the area where the homeowner is happy to be contacted. If a contractor cannot point you to anything recent and local, ask why. It does not have to be in Fakenham itself, but it should be within a reasonable distance. Photographs on a website are useful but cannot replace speaking to a past customer.
For any full roof replacement, independent scaffolding is not optional. Any contractor who says they will use ladders or a tower scaffold only is either not planning to do the job properly or is willing to put their workers at risk. Ask who erects the scaffold, whether it will be inspected by a competent person before work starts, and how long it will remain in place. Scaffold hire is typically included in a roofing price but confirm this in writing.
This is a question that reveals a lot about how a contractor thinks. A good answer covers: how the debris will be managed (skip or builder's bag, and who arranges it), what they will do if they find rotten timbers or damaged purlins, whether any additional cost for timber repairs will be agreed with you before the work proceeds, and how the roof will be protected overnight if the job runs across more than one day. A tarpaulin thrown over an open roof in Norfolk in autumn is not adequate protection.
You should not be asked to pay the full amount upfront. A reasonable payment structure for a new roof might involve a deposit to cover materials, a staged payment midway through if it is a large job, and the balance on satisfactory completion. Be cautious of anyone who asks for more than a third upfront or who wants cash only with no paper trail.
This is a genuinely important question. Some contractors will give you a price based on a visual inspection from the ground or a quick look in the loft, then present you with a significant additional bill once the roof is stripped and the timbers are exposed. A good contractor will tell you clearly what is included in the base price, what might come up as an extra, and roughly what those extras might cost per rafter or per metre of purlin.
There is always an element of uncertainty until the old covering is removed, and any honest roofer will say so. The key is whether they explain this to you upfront or spring it on you once they have your roof open to the weather.
Old roof tiles, broken slate and timber debris need to go somewhere. Ask whether the scaffold will have a debris chute or edge protection to prevent material falling into the garden or onto a neighbouring property. Ask whether they will protect your gutters, fascias and any fragile planting below the eaves. These are small things but they indicate how a contractor thinks about your home.
Some warning signs are obvious; others are easy to miss when you are keen to get the job booked and the roof fixed. Keep an eye out for these:
A price that is 30 to 40 percent below every other quote is not a bargain. It means something is being left out, whether that is the quality of materials, the amount of timber repair included, the scaffolding, or the time spent on the details that make a roof weathertight for decades rather than years.
Three is a sensible number for a job of this size. Any fewer and you have no basis for comparison; any more and the process becomes difficult to manage. When comparing quotes, make sure each one covers the same scope. If one contractor is replacing all the ridge tiles and another is re-pointing the existing ones, you are not comparing like for like.
If the specifications differ between quotes, go back to each contractor and ask them to price the same scope. It takes more time but it is the only way to make a fair comparison.
Not every failing roof needs to come off completely. If the underlying timbers are sound and the covering is mostly intact, targeted repairs, re-bedding of the ridge, replacement of a batch of slipped or cracked tiles, and attention to the flashings may extend the life of the roof for another ten to fifteen years at a fraction of the cost of a full replacement.
A reputable contractor will tell you honestly whether a replacement is necessary or whether repairs make more sense. If every contractor you speak to immediately recommends a full replacement without offering a repair option or explaining why repairs will not work, it is worth asking why.
Signs that a full replacement is genuinely needed include: widespread spalling or delaminating concrete tiles, natural slate that has lost its nib and is holding only on the tail nail (a condition known as nail sickness), sarking felt so perished it is no longer providing any secondary protection, and rafter or batten damage that is too widespread to address economically piece by piece.
A full roof replacement on a standard semi-detached or detached house typically takes between three and seven working days for the roofing itself, not counting scaffold erection and strike. The exact time depends on the size and complexity of the roof and the number of operatives on site. Ask for a realistic programme before work starts so you can plan around it.
The work will be noisy. Expect early starts and a significant amount of waste material to be removed. Confirm before work begins where the skip or bags will be positioned and whether a permit is needed if it will sit on the public highway.
If your roof is showing signs of wear or you want an honest assessment of whether a replacement is needed, call us to arrange a roof survey. We cover Fakenham and the surrounding mid-Norfolk area and will tell you plainly what we find and what we recommend, without pressure to commit to anything on the day.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
