Once we have taken a look at your roof we can provide a detailed quotation for the work needed. We will give you :
An honest assessment of the state of your roof
The options for repair or a new roof covering
Details of any possible additional work that we can see, such as replacement timbers
We will also give you a detailed breakdown of the work and materials involved. This is designed to show you that we will cover everything, there will be no nasty surprises and extra costs half way through the job. You can also see exactly what you are getting for your money.
The most expensive jobs are those with a lot of detail to the
roof and if they are a Listed Building so have to conform to
other peoples criteria. The picture below shows a roof
that we recently completed - a Listed building that has
everything in abundance - dormers, valleys, box gutters,
chimneys, verges, tented scaffold etc. It was expensive to
do!
Please click to enlarge
Costs and Payment
For many people, one of the most daunting things about
considering roof work is the potential cost.
The first thing to bear in mind is that it may not cost as much as you think. We may be able to put a few simple repairs in place that will fix the problem. If you do need a new roof, you may be able to delay the work, with running repairs in place until you have sorted out finances.
To help you spread the cost, we can often replace or repair roof elevations one at a time.
South facing elevations usually weather a lot quicker then
North facing, which is understandable as the prevailing
weather in the UK is South Westerly. We can identify the sections in most need of work,
make good to those as cost effectively as possible and come back later to finish the rest of the job.
If your roof is leaking it will almost certainly cost you
more in the long run if you don't sort out the problem.
Our local authority - (Used
to be Penwith District Council but is now just Cornwall
Council) - do not
offer grants anymore towards roof replacement, but they will
arrange an interest free loan through them, if you are over
60, disabled or on income support and have enough equity in your
property. The loan is paid back when you either move
house or move on (in the more final sense!)
There is also a very good organisation called
West Cornwall Care & Repair (WCCR) who are a 'not for
profit' organisation that is one of a nationwide network of
home improvement agencies. They receive funding from
the government via Supporting People and from Social
Services and Local Authorities. They can assist people
over the age of 60 OR disabled people of any age.
They can help to find funding through charities if possible
- if a member of the family has ever been in the services
for example they may be eligible for help from The Royal
British Legion. WCCR can obtain quotes within
their own network of approved tradesmen. They can
oversee the work, make sure it is carried out correctly, on
time and for a reasonable cost. The team at Care &
Repair are very friendly and have no gain to make from you
(not for profit), which is a nice commodity and you know
they have your best interests at heart . For more
information you can contact
Colin Wilson at
West Cornwall Care and Repair.
Whatever happens, we will agree all costs and payment terms with you before starting work.
We will never ask for any payment up-front to cover cost of materials,
nobody should ever need to do that. (An interesting thing
- a lot of stuff I write for this website is often copied and
pasted on to competitors web sites - but never that last
statement!). Depending on the size
of the project we may request a staged payment half-way through, with the balance due on completion.
You would always pay less than the value of the work already
carried out for your own peace of mind.
Unlike some companies, we do not provide finance as we feel that
this is best left to specialists. The best way to finance this
sort of work is often through your mortgage provider. They are
usually happy to lend for this sort of work, because you are
adding value to your property and protecting your investment -
your home.
You may be able to extend your mortgage and borrow against the
equity in your property. You will probably find that this is far
cheaper than taking out a separate loan. Be wary of companies
that offer credit, they will usually be farming out the credit
agreement to a third party and at a premium interest rate.
The
detailed quotation that you get from us will help you to show
exactly what you need the money for and what the cost will be.
Roofing Terms
We deliberately provide you with a detailed quote so that you can see exactly what you are getting. Inevitably we have to use some technical terms to describe the work and materials, although some items are self-explanatory.
Below is an explanation to help you understand your quote
better.
Scaffold
- We will arrange all scaffolding. Extensive
work should never be done with just ladders (except
in an emergency), unless operatives have had
training and a full method statement is prepared.
Existing roof covering -
What is on there now.
Roofing felt
- IMPORTANT TO READ THIS! This as a layer
that sits underneath the slates or tiles to provide
additional protection. The biggest reason for
roofing felt is air pressure. Most slates or
tiles are sucked off a roof rather than blown off,
so the underfelt helps prevent the wind getting
through the gaps that would otherwise be there.
As a by product, it also keeps out wind-driven rain/snow/dust
and acts as a temporary barrier in the event of any
broken tiles or slates letting water through the
main covering. Breathable or non breathable felt can
be used - on new builds this is usually specified by
the architect. We only use felt certified to British
Standard, and unless otherwise specified, we always
use a top quality triple spun heavyweight (142 grms
per mtr) underfelt. Its things like this that
help your roof breath better so cut down on
condensation risks which can shorten the life of any
roof, well worth the extra expense of using good
quality felt.
Ventilation -
With the advent of
roofing felts it was noticed especially around the
1980's that houses were getting major problems with
rot in the timbers of the loft space. This was
found to be caused every day living - Tumble
dryers, chip pans, hair dryers, etc causing a lot of
condensation to rise to the loft space where it
couldn't escape. It would hit the first cold
surface - the underside of the roofing felt or
timbers - and turn back to water, soaking into the
timbers. When you go above 19% saturation rot
starts to occur. The biggest problems appeared (and
still do appear) in social housing. Drying
washing on radiators is probably the biggest cause
of damp from condensation. Ventilation will
vastly improve things and is installed as a matter
of course these days. From January 2011 we
have to provide ridge ventilation of 5mm on cold
loft spaces, but most good architects will allow for
full ventilation along with a good breathable felt.
Most refurbs do not have architects though and you
are at the mercy of your chosen roofing contractor
to know these things. It has been
noticed due to the last couple of extremely cold
winters that even the best breathable felts suffer condensation
problems. Its important your roofer knows
about where to put the ventilation - above or below
the under felt? Should you have eaves
ventilation? if so, 10mm or 25mm? Should you
leave an air gap between the rafters if installing
insulation? how much insulation can you safely
get in? Will the length of your rafters affect the
airflow?
Tanalised Roof Battens - imported wooden battens
pressure treated
to prevent damage from water, fungus or insects.
Verge - Where tiles or slates overhang a gable,
the underside is bedded in mortar and finished with slates or an inert board.
Wet lay vergeA very lovely verge,
even if I say so myself!
Code 3 Lead Soakers - this is a sheet of lead
placed between the slate and an abutment, such as a
chimney or wall, for weathering at junctions.
Code 4 Lead Flashings - lead sheets cut into the
brickwork and then dressed over a surface below. Used
to deflect water from a joint between two adjacent
materials, such as chimney brickwork and tiles.
Code 5, 6, 7 or 8 lead
- Used as a
flat roofing material on
bays or behind chimneys etc. The bigger the area
you need to cover, the thicker the lead you need to
use.
The
Lead Sheet Association (LSA) can give guidelines
about measurements, size of lead etc, or you can
contact us and we can advise you.
GRP Valley Liners - where two sloping roofs meet the valley is the line between.
This can be lined with a glass fibre material
(Glass Re-inforced Plastic) or lead to make it watertight.
GRP Bonding Gutter - this is used to make a clean
join between your roof and any neighbouring roofs.
Roof elevation
- one side of a roof
Hip detail
- Where one side of a roof
meets another. There are various ways to weather
a hip, please see below -
Mitred HipMitred
hip2 -Slates are cut to the rake of the hip
and have hidden lead soakers at every course
Lead hip - Laid on top of a mop stick at the
hip junction.
Ridged hip - The most
common and easiest way to weather a hip. Clay or
concrete ridge tiles laid on a mortar bed
Mortared hip - Old style way of weathering a
hip, okay for matching in with other old work
especially on listed buildings, but are prone to
cracking.
A Bit About Slates -
(A more in depth view can be seen on the 'roof
coverings' page)
We only
use top quality materials. Our slates come direct from sources carefully checked and selected by us.
You can choose between natural and artificial slates.
Natural slate is slightly more expensive, but looks
better for longer and will last 60 to 80 years or
longer. We offer a multitude of imported slate or the
very popular pre-used Scantle (Cornish) slate.
Artificial slate is somewhat cheaper, is just as
weather-proof and probably the best to cope with severe
storm conditions. These do not wear as well as natural
slate though and would be expected to last around 40 years
or so.
