New Roof Needed - What Should I Be Looking For?

[pototea]

I am a home owner and have a mid terraced Victorian house in London. The back roof needs replacing (over 100 years old, minor leaks). I've got four quotes but since I'm not an expert I don't know what I should be asking these guys, what material they should use etc. Can anyone help?

Some comments:
- All three quotes are from the FMB website so are registered roofers
- No obvious cost advantage of getting the front roof redone at the same time as different scaffolding
- Cost to upgrade from Spanish slate to Welsh slate seems very high

Any help much appreciated!

Here are the quotes:

 

[datarebal]

Welsh slate is more expensive than Spanish anyway.
Remember Tyvek is a brand not a special product. One of your quotes comments that Tyvek has been omitted but the quote does say new Breathable membrane of which there are some very good ones.
A couple of them spec Cement fibre materials (note rivets) over Natural slate..
Advantage of doing both sides at the same time is you will only pay to have the ridge done once.
Questions to ask .. Spanish slate T1 S1 A1 W1 then a relatively safe bet. Site specific guarantee on the slate with a certificate. I

They dont appear to be quoting exactly the same.

 

[pototea]

Thanks and yes I agree they are not all the same and I don't know which one looks right!

My comment about Spanish slate vs Welsh slate yes I know Welsh is more expensive but I am being quoted £10k as an "upgrade fee" which doesn't sound right for an area of 3x x 6m. This means I am paying ~£15k just for tiles and when I look online Welsh tiles don't cost this much...

 

[datarebal]

3 x 6 m !? none of them are fair

 

[oldbutnotdead]

They're all quoting for different things, impossible to tell which is best value. Points to note;
1) Quotes 1 and 2 don't mention insulation. Quotes 3 and 4 mention insulation- is the loft habitable or just a junk space? And if just a junk space, is it already insulated to current standards (which building regs requires you to consider when renewing the roof covering). If it is already insulated to 300mm then you don't really need any more (unless you're planning a loft room in the future)
2) None of the quotes mention the requirement for a building control application- up here minimum £170.
3) How bad is the roof- have you been up in the loft for a look? Presumably there's currently no roofing felt (not necessarily a disaster), what state are the timbers in? Has anyone done a drone survey or even a ladder survey- the slates are probably not in bad condition but if the nails are all rusting out then replacement may be your only economic option
4) Fibre cement slates are a lot cheaper than natural slate and a lot easier to fit. Lots of people don't like the look of them but they do the job and they're cheap.
5) Good odds your existing slates will be salvaged and resold if they're in reasonable condition.....
6) That job up here in the NE to strip and recover both sides of the roof with Eternit is £2100 + VAT. Grim up North innit
7) Quote 4 looks very cheap- with all of the quotes, have you had a look at any jobs they've done recently (random tradesmen acquired from a website may or may not be any good).

 

[noseall]

They're all quoting for different things,

Correct.

I don't know what I should be asking these guys

Get a spec' drawn up so you can accurately compare quotes. Otherwise the roofers guesses are meaningless.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Correct.


Get a spec' drawn up so you can accurately compare quotes. Otherwise the roofers guesses are meaningless.

Who or where would be the best place to get such an animal? You could probably do it in your sleep but someone who has never put a roof on might struggle (this is a sincere enquiry by the way, if OP just copies and pastes from the ADs a sharp operator might notice he's missed something and tack it on much later as an extra and the cowboys will just ignore the detail or bodge the way they always do)

 

[noseall]

Who or where would be the best place to get such an animal?

^Woody^ will do it for you for a case of Stella.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

^Woody^ will do it for you for a case of Stella.

Yeah but what about the roof spec?