If your roof in Mildenhall needs a full replacement, choosing the right contractor is the most important decision you will make before work begins.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
A roof replacement is not simply laying new tiles over old ones. The process starts by stripping everything back to the bare rafters: tiles or slates, battens, and the old roofing felt or membrane underneath. Once the deck is exposed, the timbers are checked for rot, sagging or damaged rafters. Any structural timber work needed is done before anything else goes back on.
After the timbers are sound, a new breathable membrane is laid across the roof. This is a critical layer - it stops wind-driven rain getting into the roof space while allowing moisture from inside the house to escape. New treated battens are then fixed over the membrane, and the new slate or tile covering is fixed on top, working from the eaves upward to the ridge.
The job also involves replacing or re-bedding the ridge tiles, re-pointing or replacing the verge detail, and making good any lead flashings around chimney stacks, valleys or abutments. A properly done replacement should leave the roof weathertight for decades with only normal maintenance.
Not every failing roof needs a full replacement - but it is worth understanding the signs that tell you it probably does. Widespread cracked or missing slates or tiles are one indicator, but the more telling signs are underneath: if the roofing felt has perished and is letting water into the roof space, if the battens are rotten and tiles are slipping, or if there is sagging between the rafters, a replacement is almost certainly the right call.
A patchwork of repairs over many years often signals that the underlying materials have simply reached the end of their life. Replacing individual tiles on a roof where the felt and battens are 40 or 50 years old is like fitting a new door on a rotten frame - it buys little time and costs money you would have spent on the replacement anyway.
Ask any contractor you are considering to explain specifically what they found when they inspected the roof, not just to quote for replacement. If they cannot tell you which timbers are questionable, what condition the membrane is in, or how the ridge was fixed, that is information you need before deciding.
Before you accept a quote for a roof replacement in Mildenhall, ask every contractor the same set of questions. The answers will tell you a great deal about how they work.
Get at least three written quotes for a roof replacement. The quotes should itemise the work: strip and dispose of old materials, any timber repairs, membrane specification, batten size and treatment, tile or slate type, ridge detail, and any lead or flashing work included. If a quote just says "re-roof dwelling" and gives a single figure, ask for a breakdown before you sign anything.
Price differences between quotes are common, and the cheapest is not always the worst - but a quote that is significantly lower than two others almost always means something has been left out. Ask the cheaper contractor specifically what they have excluded. Common omissions include timber repairs, skip hire, scaffold hire, and ridge replacement.
Typical roof replacement costs in the East of England vary considerably by roof size, pitch, and the material chosen. As a rough guide, expect to pay somewhere in the region of £5,500 to £15,000 for an average semi-detached or detached property, with natural slate at the higher end and concrete interlocking tiles at the lower end. Do not accept a firm quote from anyone who has not physically inspected the roof from scaffold or a ladder - anything quoted on the basis of a photograph or a look from the pavement is not a real quote.
The choice between natural slate, reconstituted slate, and concrete or clay tiles is partly aesthetic and partly practical. Natural Welsh slate is the longest-lasting option - properly fixed slates can remain sound for well over a century - but it is also the most expensive material. Reconstituted slate is a manufactured alternative that costs less and performs well, though it will not last as long as natural stone.
Concrete interlocking tiles are cost-effective and quick to lay, making them a common choice on 1950s to 1980s housing. Clay plain tiles are heavier and more expensive than concrete but are better suited to older properties where the original tiles were clay. If your rafters are marginal, the weight of the covering material matters - a roofer should flag this before specifying anything heavy.
A full roof replacement is the sensible time to deal with any leadwork that is starting to fail. Flashings around chimneys, in valleys and at abutments with walls or extensions are the points most likely to let water in, and they are far cheaper to address while the scaffold is already up than to return to later. Ask your contractor to assess and report on all lead and flashing details as part of the initial inspection.
The same applies to guttering, fascias and soffits. If the fascia boards are rotten, that is not a cosmetic issue - the roof timbers bear on them, and gutters fix to them. Replacing these at the same time as the roof avoids a second round of scaffold.
Not all replacements involve pitched roofs. Garage roofs, bay roof extensions and outbuildings often have flat or near-flat sections covered in felt or EPDM rubber. Felt flat roofs typically last 10 to 20 years depending on the specification and quality of installation. EPDM rubber membranes generally outperform standard felt and can last considerably longer when installed correctly. If a flat roof is blistering, cracking or letting water through at the seams, a full strip and re-cover is usually more cost-effective than repeated patching.
We carry out roof replacements across Mildenhall and into the neighbouring towns and villages. Our base in Bury St Edmunds means we cover the wider area including Mildenhall without difficulty. Before you decide anything, a roof survey is worth asking for, as it should give you an honest assessment of what your roof actually needs.
No obligation · We'll call you to arrange a free visit
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
