If your roof in Easton is showing signs of serious deterioration, knowing what to look for - and what's causing it - could save you from a far more costly problem down the line.
Most roofs can be patched and maintained for years. But there comes a point where repair costs are climbing, problems keep returning, and the underlying structure is no longer sound. A full roof replacement is the right call when you reach that point - not because it's the easiest option, but because it's the one that actually fixes the problem.
At Dereham Roofers, we replace failing roofs on homes in Easton and the surrounding area, using materials chosen to suit your property and your budget. This page is about helping you recognise when replacement is needed and understanding what's actually causing what you're seeing.
Some roof problems are obvious - water coming through the ceiling is hard to miss. But many of the signs that a roof is failing show up well before any visible leak. Catching them early gives you more options and more time to plan.
Understanding the cause matters because it tells you what needs replacing and what might be reusable. Here are the most common failure mechanisms on domestic roofs.
Traditional clay plain tiles, when well-made and well-maintained, can last 60 to 100 years. Concrete tiles, introduced more widely from the 1960s onwards, typically last 30 to 50 years before they begin to shed their surface coating and become porous. Welsh slate, if genuinely natural and of good quality, can outlast the house. Reconstituted or artificial slate products vary significantly - some hold up well, others delaminate within 20 to 30 years. When a roof is simply old and the materials are past their useful life, there is no repair that corrects that.
Tiles and slates are fixed to battens using nails. Galvanised nails were standard until relatively recently; older roofs may have plain iron nails that have rusted through. When nails corrode, tiles are held in place only by their own weight and the tiles above them - a strong gust of wind is all it takes for them to shift. On a widespread scale, this means the whole roof needs stripping and re-fixing, which amounts to a full replacement.
Roof battens are the horizontal timber strips that tiles hang from. They sit directly under the tiles and are exposed to any moisture that gets past the covering. Over many years, battens can split, rot or simply fail to provide a secure hold. When battens are in poor condition across a roof, the tiles have nowhere solid to fix to, and the roof needs stripping to replace them.
The rafters and purlins form the structural skeleton of the roof. Rot in these timbers is usually caused by long-term moisture ingress - often from a leak that wasn't noticed or wasn't fixed promptly. If structural timber is affected, it needs to be dealt with as part of the replacement, not left in place under new tiles.
On older properties, the underlay may be a bitumen-based felt that has become brittle with age. On very old roofs, there may be no underlay at all - just the tiles and open lath battens beneath. When the underlay fails, any tile that lifts or cracks in a storm will let water in immediately. Replacing the underlay is not possible without stripping the whole roof.
A roof replacement makes more sense than continued repair when two or more of the following apply: the roof is over 40 years old; you've spent money on repairs more than once in the past five years; there are widespread tile or slate problems rather than isolated ones; structural timber or batten condition is poor; or the felt underlay is absent or deteriorated. A good roofer will check all of these during an initial inspection rather than simply quoting to patch what's visible.
If you're not sure where you stand, call us and ask for a roof survey. We'll look at the tiles, the ridge, the hips, the underlay condition (from the loft if accessible) and the gutters, and give you a straight answer on whether repair or replacement is the better route for your home in Easton.
A full roof replacement means stripping all the existing tiles, felt and battens back to the bare rafters. The timber structure is checked and any rotten sections are replaced. New breathable underlay is fixed to the rafters, new treated timber battens are nailed on, and new tiles or slates are fixed in courses from eaves to ridge. Ridge tiles are re-bedded or mechanically fixed, and all flashings at chimneys, valleys and abutments are replaced or re-dressed.
We clear all waste from site as we go. Old tiles, felt and timber all leave with us. If you want to keep any of the original tiles - for matching future repairs, or because they have a reclaim value - let us know when we visit and we'll set them aside.
If you've spotted any of the warning signs above on your home in Easton, don't wait for the next wet winter to confirm what you already suspect. Call Dereham Roofers and ask for a roof survey - we'll tell you honestly whether you need a replacement or whether repairs can buy you more time.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
