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Re- roofing

Can anybody give me some idea of the cost of re-roofing my semi in West Midlands?

Thanks in advance. - Shaz

Reply to
Sharon_x
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About the same as a *very* long piece of string.

Seriously though, you can't expect even a reasonable guess without some information. Could be anywhere between £3k and £30k depending on materials, size, site access etc.

Al

Reply to
Al Reynolds

Don't give up on us Shaz, he's right. A "Warm Roof" is a different proposition to plain felt, tiles and batons as is the type of tile, their sizes and material. Then there is thatch, tin, lead, asphalt.....

Reply to
Michael McNeil

Few grand. 5-10k probly depending.

Detailed quotes are best left to local roofing firms.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

3 grand, provided it is artifical slate and no wood needs repairing. No complicated bits included like valleys or flashing.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

Many thanks to all who replied.

I got a second opinion this afternoon from a rather nice elderly builder. He spent about an hour checking the roof and then said that the one tile that was missing could easily be replaced. He also suggested that he should do a bit of flashing and that, thankfully, isn't as rude as it sounds. To finish off he suggested that he should replace my swan necks and rebed a couple of the round tiles on the corners. The swan necks turn out to be curly bits of iron which hold the round tiles in place. Finally he said that the roof is in good condition and nowhere near due for replacement. He gave me a figure of 350 pounds and is coming next Monday to do the job.

This is much better than the first person (cowboy???) who looked for about 2 minutes and suggested that if I didn't have a complete new roof immediately I would have an en suite shower in each bedroom. His price was a nice round figure of 6500 pounds in cash. I'm glad I asked for a second opinion here and from local paper.

Regards, Shaz

Reply to
Sharon_x

Bastards like that make my blood boil. I hope that you told the police and neighbourhood watch.

But even £350 sounds like a lot for a couple of hours work. How many tiles/swan-necks need replacing?

A clay tile costs about 50p to a quid. You can lift the other tiles up to slot it in, job done. Slates are a little more complex. You thread some copper wire or nail a piece of lead to the baton the original slate was fitted to and slide the new slate in place then curl the lead or copper up around the bottom of the slate, forming an hook to hold it up.

The guttering is just push fit, more like Leggo blocks than rocket science. OK, his travelling time and fetching parts will take up most of the job. But no more than a day's work all in, surely?

Reply to
Michael Mcneil

Within reason, even a rank amateur can tell if a roof is bad enough to require total replacement, assuming you can get a good look at it with binoculars etc. If there are no or few missing or slipped tiles, and any mortar filets etc look good, chances are it can be fixed. Other signs to look for is evidence of many replacements on a slate roof (bits of lead etc to retain the new ones) as this suggests nail failure.

Reply to
Dave Plowman

Apparently it's quite badly weathered and this accounts for most of the cost.

As far as the swan necks are concerned I think there are two but there might be others that can't be seen from the ground.

I think the price seems fair given that the builder said there's nearly two days work in all.

Regards, Shaz

Reply to
Sharon_x

filets I'm completely in the dark. As far as I can see there's only one tile missing and no obvious replacements, judging by the even colour of the roof. As I said in an earlier reply it seems that the chimney is quite badly weathered and re-pointing it is likely to be the main work and cost.

Regards, Shaz

Reply to
Sharon_x

a tile thats slipped out of place, common on slate roofs.

breakfast fillets, but if you have more than two of them you might need roof attention. (more-two fillets)

quite minor, as long as its fixed.

the way to tell is a replaced slate has a little metal tab at its lower edge, either dark lead or green copper.

Slate roofs are often relaid when there is no need to, as its money for the builder, thousands versus a days work at most. Scary phrases have been invented for the purpose, nail cancer, nail fatigue, etc.

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

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