Ely Roofers provides roof repairs in Soham, covering everything from storm-damaged tiles and cracked flashings to persistent leaks that have proved difficult to trace.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
Finding a competent, honest roofer is harder than it should be. Roof repairs are rarely cheap, the work happens out of sight, and most homeowners have no way to judge whether what they have been told is accurate. This page sets out what a good repair job actually involves, and the specific questions worth asking any roofer before you let them onto your roof.
A roof repair can be anything from replacing two broken slates to tracking down a slow leak that has been staining a ceiling for months. Common jobs include:
Timescales depend on access and on materials being on site, so ask for an estimated completion time before work starts. More involved jobs such as full valley relays or chimney stack work may take a little longer.
Small, straightforward repairs - replacing a few tiles, resealing a flashing, repointing a section of ridge - typically cost between £150 and £400. More complex work, including leak investigations, chimney repairs or relaying a valley, tends to run from £400 to £900 or more depending on access and materials. If scaffolding is needed, add £400 to £800 for a basic domestic scaffold lift.
What varies is the scope of work actually needed, the materials required and the access situation on your particular property.
The questions below are not about catching anyone out. They are about making sure the person you hire has actually looked at your roof properly, knows what they are doing, and has given you a quote you can rely on.
A quote given over the phone or based on a photo from a customer is rarely reliable. A roofer should get up and look at the problem directly before pricing the work. If they are quoting without an inspection, either they are guessing or they are planning to add to the price once they find more on the day. Ask specifically: have you been up on the roof, or will you inspect before starting work?
Make sure the quote covers materials, any access equipment needed (ladders, scaffolding or a podium tower), removal of old materials and making good. Some roofers quote for the labour only and add materials at cost on top. That is not necessarily wrong, but you need to know upfront. Ask for a written breakdown of what is and is not included.
For tile and slate roofs, ask whether replacement tiles will match the existing ones in size, colour and profile. Mismatched repairs are visually obvious and can affect how water sheds from the roof. For flashings, lead is the correct material for most applications - ask whether they are using lead or a substitute product, and if a substitute, why.
For flat roof repairs, EPDM rubber membranes and properly installed felt systems both perform well. Ask what system is being repaired or replaced, and what the expected lifespan of that material is in general terms.
A good roofer should be able to explain clearly what has failed, why it has failed, and why their proposed repair will fix it. If the explanation is vague, or if they are pushing for a full replacement without clearly explaining why a repair will not hold, ask them to show you the problem directly or photograph it for you. A roofer who cannot explain their reasoning is one to be cautious about.
This is a fair and important question. It is not unusual to find rotten battens, split felt or hidden damage once tiles are removed. Ask how the roofer handles this: will they stop and call you before doing additional work, or will they press on and add it to the bill? The answer tells you a lot about how they work.
Natural slate behaves differently from concrete tiles. Lead valleys need different techniques to EPDM. If your roof has an unusual pitch, an older material or a listed building restriction, it is worth asking whether the roofer has dealt with that type of work before.
A damp patch on a ceiling does not always sit directly below the point where water is entering the roof. Water can travel along rafters, pooling several metres from the actual source before it comes through. A proper leak investigation means inspecting the full roof surface, the flashings, the valleys, the verges and, if accessible, the underside of the roof from the loft. It takes time. Any roofer who goes up for five minutes and confidently announces the cause without a thorough check deserves a follow-up question or two.
After high winds, ridge tiles are among the first things to shift. They are bedded in mortar that deteriorates over time, and once the bond weakens, wind gets underneath and lifts them. A displaced ridge tile is a gap in your roof's first line of defence. If you can see from ground level that something has moved, get in touch promptly. In some situations a temporary fix - re-securing a tile or fitting a cover - is the sensible first step while a full inspection is arranged.
Flat roofs on extensions, garages and bay windows are common in many properties. Felt systems can split at laps and seams as they age, and EPDM membranes can lift at edges if the adhesive fails. A proper repair means identifying whether the problem is localised or whether the whole membrane surface is deteriorating. A patch on a membrane that is at the end of its life will not hold for long.
Like-for-like repairs on a standard domestic property do not require planning permission. If your home is listed or in a conservation area, check before any work starts, as restrictions may apply to materials or appearance. We can advise if anything you are planning is likely to need approval.
We work across Soham and the wider area including Ely, Burwell, Chatteris, Haddenham, Witchford, Stuntney, Waterbeach and neighbouring villages. Call us to arrange a proper inspection and we will tell you honestly what needs doing - and what does not. If you want a roof survey in Soham, get in touch and we will talk you through the next step.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
