Repairing the roof

A defective roof can be one of the biggest expenses when it comes to renovation projects. Ian Rock’s guide takes you through what to look out for, the possible repair options and the associated costs

How to avoid (pit)falls

Alot of successful renovation projects are shaped by good fortune to a greater degree than we perhaps like to admit.this is particularly the case with older properties where it’s often something of a gamble whether an ageing roof can cling on for a few more years until it becomes someone else’s problem. A defective roof has the potential to single-handedly make or break a renovation project. But it’s not all about money. News of roof failure is somehow more psychologically intimidating than reports of defects elsewhere, perhaps linked to a primeval fear of heights combined with the imminent threat of your home being deluged from above. For prospective renovators, however, the prime concern is to ensure that the day of reckoning is still some way off and the embryonic project isn’t going to be crippled with humongous repair bills.

GET IT CHECKED

The need for complete re-roofing is the mother of all budget-swallowing works.

Without a professional assessment in advance you’re effectively risking pouring money down a well of unknown depth. Even relatively straightforward repairs that involve working at height can be surprisingly costly because of the need for scaffold-hire and the fact that roofers tend to build an element of risk into their quotes.

A good roofing contractor will be more than capable of providing an accurate assessment of condition, although some less scrupulous firms may be tempted to adopt an unnecessarily pessimistic stance in a bid to drum up business. This is where an experienced independent surveyor can be worth their weight in handmade clay tiles — not just to flag up problems but, where appropriate, to provide reassurance that an old roof is actually OK. (Be aware, surveyors working for large corporate firms sometimes err on the side of caution, employing bland catch-all ‘survey text’ phrases in their reports.) Another good starting point is to take a good look at the roof yourself to see if there are any warning signs of trouble ahead.

Serious defects in roofs tend to get fixed as a matter of urgency to stop the elements pouring in. But these sorts of emergency repairs are often poor quality short-term fixes. So you and