A roof replacement in Eriswell is a significant job, and knowing exactly what happens from the first visit to the final clear-up helps you plan properly and ask the right questions.
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Before any quote is agreed, a roofer should get up on the roof and inspect it properly. A survey from ground level with binoculars tells you something, but it does not show you the condition of the underlay, the state of the battens, whether any timbers are soft or whether the ridge bed has failed on the back slope you cannot see from the pavement.
During a survey we check the covering material across all slopes, inspect ridges, hips and valleys, look at every flashing around chimneys, abutments and any flat-to-pitched junctions, and go into the loft to look at the underside of the roof structure. We note any rafters or wall plates that have been affected by damp, and we check the soffit and fascia condition while we are up there. The survey findings inform the quote, so nothing unexpected should emerge once work starts.
Brandon Roofers serves Eriswell and the wider area including Brandon, Lakenheath, Feltwell, Elveden, Mundford, Weeting, Thetford, Ickburgh and Hockwold cum Wilton.
A full roof replacement requires scaffolding. Any roofer offering to replace a full roof without scaffolding is either planning to work unsafely or is not telling you the full story about the scope of the job. The scaffold should give access to all slopes of the roof, not just the front.
Scaffold erection typically takes a morning. The frame is tied to the building and boarded at the working level. Debris chutes or tipping platforms are set up so stripped material can be brought down without it going through guttering or damaging the garden below. The scaffold is not removed until all work is complete and the site is cleared.
Stripping is more involved than it looks. Tiles or slates are removed first and loaded into bags or skips. Old battens are taken off next. The underlay comes away with the battens or is stripped separately. At this stage the full picture of the structure is visible for the first time.
On many roofs, this is when additional problems are found. Battens that appeared sound from the loft turn out to be rotten at the fixing points. Felt that looked intact from below is found to be split along the laps. Rafters that have carried a slow leak for years may have softened at the top. A thorough survey reduces surprises, but stripping always reveals the true condition of what is underneath.
Skips or bulk bags are positioned before stripping starts. All old material is loaded directly from the scaffold rather than dropped from the roof edge, which protects the garden, guttering and anything below.
Before any new material goes on, any structural defects found during stripping are addressed. Rotten sections of rafter are cut out and new timber is scarf-jointed in. Damaged or soft wall plates are replaced. Any brickwork at the chimney base or the gable ends that has been affected by long-term damp ingress is repointed or rebuilt as needed.
This stage cannot always be fully priced in advance, because the extent of timber damage is not always visible until the covering is removed. A reputable roofer should explain this clearly before work starts, and show you what has been found before carrying out additional work so you can agree the scope and cost.
Modern breathable underlay is laid across the rafters from the eaves upward, with each course lapping generously over the one below. Breathable underlay allows any moisture vapour that passes through the covering to escape rather than condensing on the inside of the felt, which was the primary cause of batten rot on many roofs built before the mid-1990s.
New treated timber battens are then fixed through the underlay into the rafters. Batten gauge is calculated to suit the specific tile or slate being laid. Getting the gauge right is not a minor detail: wrong gauge means tiles cannot seat correctly, ridges do not align, and cut tiles at hips and verges are the wrong size.
Tiling or slating starts at the eaves and works up the slope. Each course is fixed mechanically, not just resting on the batten. On exposed elevations, additional clips or nails are used at intervals to resist wind uplift. Valley boards and valley liners go in as each slope reaches the valley line.
Hip tiles are fixed as the hip is built up, bedded or dry-fixed depending on the system being used. Dry-fix mechanical ridge and hip systems are now standard on most new work: they eliminate the mortar cracking that causes ridge tiles to lift and let in water over time. If a roofer is still proposing bedded mortar ridges on a full replacement, it is worth asking why.
On slate roofs, each slate is double-nailed. The gauge and lap are set to give the correct amount of double cover on each course, which determines how much rain the finished roof can handle before water tracks back under the tails.
Flashings around chimneys, against party walls and at any abutment between the roof and a vertical surface are cut and dressed after the covering is complete up to that point. Lead is the standard material. The flashing is stepped into the mortar joints of the brickwork, fixed with lead wedges, and pointed in with a non-setting mastic or with lime mortar depending on the brickwork.
Chimney stacks that are no longer in use should be capped at this stage, either with a ventilated cap or with a lead cap over the pots. An open chimney top on a stack that is not used draws cold damp air through the flue and accelerates mortar deterioration around the stack.
Valley details, whether open lead valleys or close-cut tile-and-a-half valleys, are finished during this phase. The method chosen depends on the tile profile and the valley angle.
The ridge is the last part of the covering to go on. On a dry-fix system, the ridge tiles clip onto a continuous carrier rail and are sealed with a flexible profile that allows some movement. Verge tiles at the gable ends are bedded or fixed with a dry verge system depending on the original specification and the style of the property.
Guttering is refitted or replaced at this stage if it has been disturbed or if the existing brackets were seized to the old fascia. New fascia and soffit boards are fitted if they were found to be rotten during the survey.
Once the covering is complete and all details are finished, the site is cleared. All old tiles, slates, timber, underlay and packaging waste is removed. The scaffold is struck once we are satisfied the work is complete and the gutters are clear of debris.
A good roofer walks the job with you before the scaffold comes down. That is the only opportunity to check flashings and ridge details at close range. Do not let the scaffold be struck before you have had that walk-round.
If your roof needs replacing, call Brandon Roofers to arrange a survey in Eriswell. We will go through what we find with you clearly and give you a detailed quote before any work starts.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
