How do you know you might need a new roof? It’s actually easier to tell than you might think. There are some tell-tale signs that let you know when there might be a problem. Not all of them mean an entire roof replacement is going to be necessary. Repairs can be made if the rest of the roof is largely in good shape. If you need to inspect, we recommend going out to the road below and taking a picture at high resolution with your smartphone. You can then blow it up and inspect things in detail. Don’t get out on your roof yourself, it’s too risky, simply ask us to do it. We have the equipment needed to make it safe and we are really experienced and know where to walk.

New roof in composite slate Kellet Road

New roof in new natural Canadian glendyne natural slate

With a flat roof, watch out for signs of water pooling. On the inside of your home, water entry of some kind in the upper levels or patches on the top ceilings are the first signs to look out for. You might also find discoloured patches on the ceiling. Don’t ignore them. They could mean a loose or missing tile, or they could be a sign of a more serious problem.

Flat roof pooling water in need of repair

We rebuilt it so it no longer pooled water

If you have an attic, go up there carefully and check to see if you can see any light coming in from the tiled roof area. If there is, give us a call and ask for help. Don’t leave it, it gets harder to repair if damp has been coming in for a time. Small water-marks and mossy or greenish mouldy patches can be a sign too. The work involved making a lip and reboarding the back section. The whole area within refelted using high tensile material which should be good enough to last at least 25 years.

Flat roof cracked

Flat roof repaired

Inspect your photos. Look for obviously slipped or missing tiles. That’s another problem you should not just leave, as water ingress can damage your timbers and cause bigger damp and rot problems in the roofing structure. If you see missing tiles, call us. They are usually not difficult to repair. If you have a very old roof, you can expect missing tiles to be possibly a sign of nail fatigue, that will mean a new roof is going to be required. After 100 years all the nails can be fatigued. We will tell you straightforwardly whether you are in for a small repair or a bigger one.

Flat roof pooling water in need of repair

We rebuilt it so it no longer pooled water

Check your photos again for signs of mossy areas or mouldy areas. If there are lots of them a new roof may be required. A few mossy areas may just mean smaller repairs. An old natural slate roof at the end of its useful life made of composite slate. As usual the owner knew there were problems because of internal leaks. Over time these tiles will go soft erode and slide off with nail fatigue

An old composite slate roof at the end of its useful life

Roof renewed in composite slate

Look at the ridge at the top of the of in your photos. If it is sagging in the middle, call us in. The line should be straight to the eye, a sagging roof is often a serious problem that needs immediate attention.

Plain tiled roof in need of repair

New roof showing the new Velux window

Broken and slipping tiles on a clay roof

Please note we put our own scaffolding in place

Strpping a roof back to repair it

Finished view of the new roof from the front

We also replaced the front bay tiles to perfectly match

Showing the new Velux window in detail

Blow up your photo and check the metallic looking parts around the brickwork where it meets the roof. We call those flashings. If any have slipped or dropped away in some way, or if you notice gaps, call us immediately. Those problems can be fixed often quite speedily.

Evidence of old shaling and the valleys have split

Showing new plain tiles in place

New plain tiles

New interlocking tiles in place. We also put new lead flashing

Then blow up the details again and check the brickwork in the ridges and side walls. Check the chimney too. We are experts at repairing brickwork and renderings around these areas so if you see any pieces have fallen off, or if there are cracks, or parts are leaning to one side, call us right away or use the contact form on this website.

Cracked walls and flashings

Wall during repair

Wall during repair

Wall fully repaired

Go to a top window and look at the gutters. If there are pieces of brickwork or pieces of tile in the gutters, call us in, it’s a sign something is wrong with the roof. If any of the guttering has fallen off, ask us for a quote to fix, don’t leave it as falling water will damage the sides of your building over time and cause damp to appear in the inner walls eventually.

Centre valley gutter needs repair leaking

With the edges smoothed out and all renewed in lead

If you are in any doubt about any of the things listed above, just give us a call and we will book in a check-over for you. There’s a small charge for a general checkover but it’s worth it for the peace of mind.

Dormer constructions

Dormer window with new zinc coating

A natural slate roof weathered and needing replacement

This picture show the natural slate roof weathered and old and in need of replacement. These roofs can last over 100 years, but like everything in life, they need replacing after  along period of  time.One of the work in progress photos shows us stripping back the old roof for inspection. In this case, no timbers needed replacing -however we topped up the insulation to current LABC requirements. As you can see there is no need to completely empty the loft as we were able to move things around to accommodate the work.No timbers needed replacing however we topped up the insulation to labc requirements. As you can see there is no need to completely empty the loft as we were able to move things around to accommodate the work. This is as close to Welsh slate in its appearance, which can be useful if you have another area of roof which needs to be matched. The photograph also shows new hips and new ridge tiles which we fitted to match.

New roof in new natural Canadian glendyne natural slate

The new roof pediment finished

Completed new lead flashing at the base of the wall

A new Velux window Deronda Road

If you are in any doubt about any of the things listed above, just give us a call and we will book in a check-over for you. There’s a small charge for a general checkover but it’s worth it for the peace of mind.

These dormer constructions can sometimes leak over time because the zinc will need renewing. In this case the soaker underneath needed replacing which we did. Symptoms to watch out for include leaking around the edges internally.

Dormer constructions

Dormer window with new zinc coating