We write it down, with photographs, before you spend anything.
Pitched roofing, lead work, chimneys and flat roofs across Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and the Dales. Every survey is free, takes about forty minutes, and you keep the report whether or not you use us. If the answer is that your roof has another ten years in it, that is what the report will say.
- R1What we look at, and from whereSection
- R2The four faults we find mostSection
- R3Materials, and why we pick themSection
- R4The guarantee, in fullSection
- R5Storm damage and emergenciesSection
- R6What the common jobs costSection
What we look at, and from where
A roof cannot be surveyed from the pavement with a pair of binoculars, and it cannot be surveyed honestly by someone who is only paid if there is a problem. We go up, we photograph everything, and the report lands in your inbox the same evening.
Daylight through the boards, damp staining on the rafters, sagging between purlins and whether the felt has perished. Half of all roof faults are visible from inside before they are visible outside.
Where two slopes meet is where water collects and mortar fails. We lift and check the bedding rather than assuming it.
Lead that has been patched with mastic, cracked haunching, and flaunching that has blown. The commonest cause of a damp chimney breast is not the roof at all.
Including where the water actually goes once it leaves the roof, because a perfect roof over a blocked gully still ruins a wall.
The four faults we find most
With what it costs to put right today, and what the same fault costs once it has been left for a couple of winters. These are the figures we quote most often, not worst cases.
| Fault | Caught now | Left two winters |
|---|---|---|
| Slipped and missing tilesNail fatigue on a roof over forty years old, usually in a run | £180 | £2,400 |
| Perished felt at the eavesWater runs behind the gutter and into the wall plate instead of into the gutter | £450 | £3,800 |
| Cracked chimney flaunchingShows up as a damp patch on a bedroom chimney breast, blamed on the roof | £320 | £1,900 |
| Failed lead valleyPatched with mastic by somebody at some point, which never holds | £890 | £5,200 |
Materials, and why we pick them
Your quote names the product, the colour and the quantity. If you want to price it against someone else's quote you will be able to, which is rather the point.
Matched to what is already on the street. In a conservation area we will tell you what the planners will accept before you order anything.
We stopped fitting mineral felt on anything that holds water. Twenty year systems only, with the manufacturer's own guarantee alongside ours.
No mastic, no lead replacement tape on a job that should have lead on it. Dressed, clipped and wedged the way it has been done for a century.
Graded and stamped. We photograph the battens before the tiles go on, so you can see what is under the roof you paid for.
The guarantee, in full
Twenty years on workmanship
If anything we fitted leaks because of how we fitted it, we come back and put it right, and there is no call out charge for that visit. It is not insurance backed, it is us, and it is transferable once if you sell the house.
- Covers the whole area we worked on
- Transfers once, to the next owner
- Manufacturer guarantees on top
- No call out charge on a return
- In writing, on completion
- Storm damage excluded, as everywhere
