Buying new roof - assistance and advice

[IT Minion]

Hi All,

We need to replace our roof. The ridge tiles are slipping/disintegrating, multiple tiles are missing and all in all it's a bit knackered. It's also going to cost an arm and a leg so i'm trying to work out how to reduce the cost without cutting corners.


Current roof:
Artificial slate, believed to be asbestos cement.
Cut rafters not trussed.
Two chimneys, three gullies.

Future desired state:
Smooth tiles, we like the slate look but apparently slates cost more and take more time to fit, so probably tiles.
Remove both chimneys down to the loft level.
Replace all soffits and fascias with uPVC.

Questions:
How on earth do you pick out tiles?

What sort of savings could I make by project managing and subbing out various bits compared to just getting someone in to do the lot. What drawbacks might there be to doing it that way?

What paperwork, (building control, planning permission) if any do I need to get done for this?

Any way to reduce the costs without cutting corners?

At some point i'd like to stick solar panels up on one section, is there anything I can or should do now to make it easier to fit them later (don't have the funds to fit panels at the moment sadly).

Dry ridge vs Wet ridge, any advice or resources I can read up on it? I'm leaning toward wet ridge for cost reasons. Edit: Dry ridge.

Any general advice on the process is welcomed. The only quote I've got so far (which was for slate and is over what i'm happy to pay) was £24k from a recommended roofing firm. I don't want to bring them out for a different quote until/unless I have more specific details.

 

[^woody^]

Can the rafters actually take heavier tiles without bowing?

Wet ridge is not an option under BS 5534.

You need a building regulation application under Part L1 for insulation, and if you are altering the material, for the roof structure.

You'll pay a few £000 for asbestos removal. Get certificates and transport notes.

Slate or imitation slate is not that more expensive. But roofers who are not slaters will charge more for their lack of expertise.

 

[catlad]

Why would you put imitation slate on your roof? the reason you are paying £££££££££ is because someone thought they would go the cheaper option a few years ago.
Get some more Quotes is my advice.

 

[IT Minion]

Can the rafters actually take heavier tiles without bowing?

How can I go about checking? I will get some pictures tomorrow but would a chippie who does structural work be enough to review or does this need a structural engineer?

Wet ridge is not an option under BS 5534.

Dry ridge it is. One down!

You need a building regulation application under Part L1 for insulation, and if you are altering the material, for the roof structure.

A call to building control will be entered into the plan.

You'll pay a few £000 for asbestos removal. Get certificates and transport notes.

Yup. I believe that the tiles could be taken to the local tip if double bagged properly but given the weight, and that i'd have to do the lifting and shifting I think it's going to have to be an asbestos skip.

Slate or imitation slate is not that more expensive. But roofers who are not slaters will charge more for their lack of expertise.

I'd be delighted with slate, I was told that it takes longer to fit as well as cost more. And for that matter the 24k quote I got was for imitation slate to boot.

Thanks Woody

 

[IT Minion]

Why would you put imitation slate on your roof? the reason you are paying £££££££££ is because someone thought they would go the cheaper option a few years ago.
Get some more Quotes is my advice.

More quotes is definitely in the plan. The problem is that right now i'm more or less at the 'I need a new roof' level of detail, which means that the roofers will be quoting me different roofs with different spec and it'll be near impossible to get truly comparable quotes. I hate being on the other end of the 'I need a new <computer system> how much will it cost?' conversation and having to explain why they've got a spread of quotes from £300k to £1.2m because of a lack of detail, I won't contribute to the problem.

Asking how much it'd cost in tiles and real slate isn't taking the **** though so i'll probably go with that once I've got a grip of the rest of it. That does circle back to how you pick out tiles, is there any sort of place that you can see them in person as a non-trade?

 

[^woody^]

the roofers will be quoting me different roofs with different spec

What you need to do is, you specify what you want and the roofers all quote you based on your specification. That way you get comparable quotes.

For working out the rafter loading potential, someone has to have a clue about timber span tables and loading. Normally this is in the realms of a professional not a tradesperson.

 

[IT Minion]

What you need to do is, you specify what you want and the roofers all quote you based on your specification. That way you get comparable quotes.

For working out the rafter loading potential, someone has to have a clue about timber span tables and loading. Normally this is in the realms of a professional not a tradesperson.

Yup, and i'm making progress on what spec i'm after. Tiles wise if i'm not picking the actual tile i'd go for then, i'd like to have at least a candidate tile to allow comparative quotes.

I'll have a look around for structural engineers to get quotes on an assessment of the current structure. Presumably if I do go for slate then I can avoid shelling out for them as the house will have been designed for that weight.

 

[^woody^]

The only significant cost differences are in tile type (concrete interlocking, clay or concrete single lap, slate) not the actual styles within the types. And there are labour costs too based on the time and work of differing tiles.

If you can get a m2 rate that is the most useful. And if the roof is joined to neighbouring properties, there are costs with junctions of differing tiles.

 

[IT Minion]

Right. Now i've got an idea on the spec I need to find some roofers to send it to. I've got one name by recommendation but other than that any pointers on where to find roofers? Right now i'm going to start working down one of the paid sites like check a trade for lack of a better option.

Just for fun, here's some photos of the roof.

 

[Notch7]

y pointers on where to find roofers

I would say pop into a local independant roofing supplier and ask them.

 

[renten]

Roof doesn't look that bad from a distance, if it's not leaking, plenty of time to plan the perfect roof.

 

[datarebal]

If you have an idea of what you fancy, go along to a decent roofing merchant and ask where they have supplied those tiles/slates to.. They will give you the street Better than any display

 

[IT Minion]

I've found a local family roofing merchants. Ill either pop down or drop them a ring.

The roof is shedding tiles, nice vertical slits of light from where they've dropped off. And the ridge tiles are crumbling and slipping. It might last a bit more time, or if it weren't asbestos it could be patched up for less than a full roof but I think it's pretty much end of life now.

 

[datarebal]

rare for asbestos to slip .. the ones i can see in the pictures are probably been stripped out in the past to allow repairs to the box gutter / valley
after which they were poorly re fitted..just guessing

that aside its past its sale by date

 

[IT Minion]

So, my roof is almost done. I'm generally happy with the work but I have no idea what I'm looking at on a roof.

The one bit that doesn't look quite right to me is the joints between the hips and the ridge tiles. Most if not all look similar to the one below. My roofer says that's it's unavoidable for mechanically fitted joints because of the mitre angles.


Is this ok, unsightly but mechanically fine or a bodge I should insist is redone?