Use the form on this page, call 01225 285181 or send a WhatsApp message. Give us the address, a line on what you have noticed and, if you can, a photograph from the street or of the ceiling stain. That is enough for us to plan the visit.
What the survey involves
A survey is a visit to your property by a roofer, not a desk estimate from an aerial picture. We start outside, walking round the building to read the slopes, the chimney stacks, the gutters and the line of the ridge. A sagging ridge or a wavy slope can point to tired battens (the timber strips the slates or tiles hang from) or to rafters that have moved.
Where it is safe, we go up a ladder to the eaves and look along the courses. We check for slipped or cracked slates, nail fatigue, perished mortar at the ridge and verge (the sloping edge where a slope stops at a gable wall), and the condition of flashings, which are the strips of lead or other material that seal the roof where it meets a wall or chimney.
On terraces and older houses we give extra time to what the pavement hides. A parapet gutter sits behind the low stone wall that hides the front of many roofs, lined in lead to carry rain to an outlet. Box gutters, framed in timber boards, carry water between two slopes instead. Both hold water against the building if the lead splits or the outlet blocks. A valley, the inward fold formed where one slope runs into another, gets the same scrutiny.
If there is a loft hatch, we look inside too. Daylight through the covering, damp timbers, staining on the underlay (the membrane or felt below the slates) and the state of any insulation all tell us something the outside cannot.
The photographs and what we tell you
We photograph the problem areas as we go and send the pictures to you. They let you see the cracked slate, the split in the lead or the gap in the mortar for yourself, rather than taking our word for it. They are also useful if you are dealing with an insurer or a managing agent, or simply want a second opinion.
Alongside the pictures we explain, in plain terms, the fault as we read it, the cause behind it and the repair that answers it. Where repair will last, that is the option we put forward and price. Where a covering has worn past saving, we explain why and set out what a re-roof would involve. Our free roof survey page goes into more detail on the visit itself.
From survey to a fixed price
- We agree the scope. If there is more than one sensible option, such as patching a valley now or relining it in full, we describe both so you can choose.
- We check the permissions. For a listed building, a property in a conservation area or a job that touches Building Regulations, we tell you what consent is likely to apply and who decides it. If it needs notifying, we take care of building control.
- You receive the price in writing. The quote lists the work, the materials, the access needed (scaffold, tower or ladders) and how the waste leaves site. It is a fixed figure, not an estimate that can drift.
- You decide in your own time. There is no pressure and no obligation. If you have questions about a line on the quote, ask and we will explain it.
- We book the work. When you are ready, we agree a start date and confirm the guarantee terms. You also get our 10-year workmanship guarantee on paper.
If you want to compare our figure with others, our page on the contents of a roofing quote lists the details worth checking line by line, and how many roofing quotes to get covers how many to collect.
Matching materials and consent
Much of Bath and the villages around it is roofed in materials that are hard to replace like for like: Welsh slate, clay tiles, and in some villages stone tiles. The quote states which material we will use and where it will come from, whether new or reclaimed. A listed house may face conditions on that choice, so speak to B&NES planning ahead of any order. World Heritage status covers all of Bath, while its conservation area spans roughly half the city, so confirm how your own street is treated.
If the roof is leaking now
Call rather than filling in the form. Leaks and storm damage are prioritised, and the first visit is about stopping the water: a tarpaulin, a temporary patch or a cleared outlet. The survey and written quote for the permanent repair follow once the cause is understood. Typical national price ranges for each kind of work are on our roofing costs page.