Flat roof - Firestone EPDM - advice

[shaft1]

Hi,
Our flat roof above the kitchen started leaking and i'm thinking of having it replaced. The roof is square shape and measures 3.2m x3.2m and currently it's felt covered.

I've had a quote from a local roof company to replace the felt with firestone EPDM. They would also replace the plywood boards underneath and the wooden fasica boards with plastic ones. The quote was £1300 and job would take just ONE DAY.

Firestone sell a DIY kit (3.5m x 4.5m) for £230 so i estimate the materials are approx £450 which means £850 for one days labour and expertise!!! This seems very expensive.

Can someone please advice me if the quote is unreasonable ( as i suspect) and if so what would be a sensible quote? thanks

 

[HERTS P&D]

Hi,
I've had a quote from a local roof company to replace the felt with firestone EPDM. They would also replace the plywood boards underneath and the wooden fasica boards with plastic ones. The quote was £1300 and job would take just ONE DAY.

Firestone sell a DIY kit (3.5m x 4.5m) for £230 so i estimate the materials are approx £450 which means £850 for one days labour and expertise!!! This seems very expensive.

Can someone please advice me if the quote is unreasonable ( as i suspect) and if so what would be a sensible quote? thanks

How much are your other 2 quotes?


Andy

 

[shaft1]

I've had one other come around yesterday but he's still to give me a price. I was struggling to find a third roofer who'd heard of firestorm EPDM.

 

[Leadman]

You make it sound so simple,so if the company you have asked to quote is a legit one, he will no doubt have running costs, van etc, you hav'nt said how many men will be with him? even one and he will have to have employers liability insurance as well as public liability insurance which isnt cheap!
Then he will be guaranteeing the product for the next 20yrs, he will also be trying to make some profit for his company to grow, so it doesn't seem so expensive now does it!, it doesn't always pay to go for the cheapest in these situations.
Cheers
Dave

 

[Zeberdee]

3.2x3.2? That is about 10-12 sq mts?

That would be done in ONE piece of rubber, However the rubber that would be needed is probably near to 15-20 sq mts to include upstands and the gutter drip etc.

If you already have plyboard decking and its sound, Why rip it up and replace it? Why not just overboard with 9mm or 12 mm ply/OSB?

To be honest If you've got ply already and its sound (i.e. not been leaking or if it has been leaking the decking is wet but still sound) then an overboard is more than enough to get a nice clean decking to adhere the rubber to.

£1300 does sound steep for a total re-board. But price per sq mt varies on what part of the country you are IMO.

£800-£1000 seems reasonable IMO. Maybe cheaper if its an EASY job and can be in a day.

Regarding the DIY kits and prices, You have a pop if you think it looks easy enough to fit!

Oh and Firestone is prob the best EPDM to get fitted.

 

[shaft1]

You make it sound so simple,so if the company you have asked to quote is a legit one, he will no doubt have running costs, van etc, you hav'nt said how many men will be with him? even one and he will have to have employers liability insurance as well as public liability insurance which isnt cheap!
Then he will be guaranteeing the product for the next 20yrs, he will also be trying to make some profit for his company to grow, so it doesn't seem so expensive now does it!, it doesn't always pay to go for the cheapest in these situations.
Cheers
Dave

thanks for your reply. my thinking was that i wouldn't pay a plumber or a gas man (with or without a legit company) £850 for a days work so why is this roofing guy charging me 850 for a days work unless he was going to perform brain surgery!
having read a few other posts on here i think i'll risk getting the DIY kit and giving it a go myself. Then i'll find out if £850 was worth it or not.

 

[Nige F]

Trouble with the roofing game is it`s riddled with cowboys Leadman has a good point , (and particularly so if he is a leadworker) Roofing is the new tarmack ing In the spirit of a DIY forum I would say have a go yourself but get 2 assistants who have a clue about what needs doing- You`re lugging big old sheets of heavy rubber about - Also let us know how you get on . I`m probably going to do one roof myself here@ home in a year or 2

 

[^woody^]

Firestone sell a DIY kit (3.5m x 4.5m) for £230 so i estimate the materials are approx £450 which means £850 for one days labour and expertise!!! This seems very expensive.

The thing is, those installers will give a guarantee for their work (and carry the long term risk) and also for the actual material to be guaranteed by Firestone, then it needs to be installed by authorised trained people.

Yes it is cheaper to DIY, but that is the choice you face

 

[Mw Roofline]

They do it in a day because they've been on the training course and have a few hundered jobs under their belt. It'll take you two days and you'll have to get help from a mate, you won't get the finish as good as they will and when the rubber starts to lift on the OSB joins because you didn't do the secret rule it'll look shyte

 

[davecrouch]

cost for that should be around £900.00 plus vat, reboard with ply and firestone rubber glued down. including all trims and waste away i suppose it depends on what part of the country you are in, but thats the going rate in the north west.

 

[Nige F]

They do it in a day because they've been on the training course and have a few hundered jobs under their belt. It'll take you two days and you'll have to get help from a mate, you won't get the finish as good as they will and when the rubber starts to lift on the OSB joins because you didn't do the secret rule it'll look shyte

C`mon Mw what`s the secret rule I won`t tell anyone - you could PM me if you like - I`ve got mine to do in a couple of years

 

[shaft1]

just had another quote from a guy who seemed really professional and knew what he was talking about.

He'd charge £790 for ...
strip off existing felt
fit new epdm
fit trims to perimeter
10 year guarantee


An extra £100 if i want to replace the plywood boards, fascia and guttering.
This seems much more reasonable and sensible. I might try to haggle a bit and try to get it down by £50-75.

 

[shaft1]

cost for that should be around £900.00 plus vat, reboard with ply and firestone rubber glued down. including all trims and waste away i suppose it depends on what part of the country you are in, but thats the going rate in the north west.

spot on mate.

 

[Mw Roofline]

An extra £100 if i want to replace the plywood boards, fascia and guttering.

Bargain Pay the extra and have it done. Stick some new insulation in there whilst he's at it £3 a roll from B&Q. Unless its a cold roof.

 

[vasikhol]

just had firestorm EPDM fitted on our two flat dormars today,cost £900 inc v.a.t for both. area of each dormar 5.7mtrs x 2.8mtrs they did an execellant job looks tops.we added 6mm ply on existing 25mm ply to give a smooth suraface to start on,my advice get it done by approved installers you should get a 20 year guarantee through firestorm.