If you are having a new roof fitted in Littleport, this is exactly what the process looks like from the initial inspection through to the final clean-up.
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A new roof is one of the largest single pieces of work most homeowners ever commission. Understanding what should happen at each stage means you can follow the job properly, ask the right questions and spot if something is being skipped. This page walks through a full pitched roof replacement, step by step.
Before any price is given or materials are ordered, the roof needs to be inspected properly. A look from the ground tells you something, but not enough. A roofer needs to get into the loft space and, where safe access allows, onto the roof itself.
In the loft, the inspection covers the condition of the rafters and ridge board, the state of any existing underlay, and whether there is evidence of past water ingress - staining, rot or mould on the timbers. Any rafter that has softened or shows active rot needs to be recorded, because that affects both the scope of work and the cost.
On the roof surface, the inspection looks at the tile or slate condition, the pointing on ridges, hips and verges, the state of all lead flashings, and whether there is any sign of the roof deck moving or sagging. All of this should feed into a written scope of works before you agree to anything.
Scaffolding is not optional on a full roof replacement. Any roofer who suggests stripping and re-covering a full pitched roof without proper scaffolding is not working safely, and that should be a firm reason to walk away. A scaffold gives the roofers a safe working platform, protects the property below from falling debris and allows materials to be moved up and down without the risk of a ladder shift.
On a typical semi-detached or detached house, a scaffold takes around half a day to erect. It stays in place for the duration of the work and is struck once the job is signed off. The cost of scaffolding is a legitimate part of any roofing quote and should be itemised rather than hidden.
Stripping starts at the ridge and works down. Ridge tiles, hip tiles and verge tiles come off first. The main field of tiles or slates is then removed, and the old underlay is stripped back with it. Everything goes into a skip or a loading bay on the scaffold - a tidy strip is a sign of a roofer who takes the rest of the job seriously.
Once the deck is bare, the timber is inspected again in full daylight. This is when problems that were not visible during the initial survey sometimes appear. A board or batten rafter that looked borderline from inside the loft may reveal itself as genuinely soft once the load is removed. Any replacement of structural timber at this stage should be documented and agreed with you before the work is done.
Not every re-roof requires timber work, but it is not unusual. Rotten fascia boards are a common finding - they are exposed to more weathering than the main rafters and the old felt often holds moisture against them. New UPVC or treated softwood fascia and soffits are typically fitted as part of the job if the existing boards are beyond repair.
Rafters that have lost section due to rot are cut back to sound wood and a new section of matching timber is bolted alongside - this is called sistering. Where a ridge board has dropped or twisted, it is re-levelled and fixed before the new covering goes on, because a wavy ridge will look wrong and may not drain properly.
Modern breathable membrane underlay is fixed to the rafters from the eaves upward, with each roll lapping over the one below it. The lap dimension matters - too little and wind-driven rain can track under it. The underlay is fixed tightly enough to avoid sagging between rafters but not so taut that it cannot accommodate movement.
At verges, eaves and around any penetrations, the underlay is detailed carefully. A poor underlay job is invisible once the tiles are on, but it is the secondary line of defence if a tile ever lifts or cracks. It is worth asking your roofer what underlay they specify and whether it is breathable membrane or the older bitumen-based product.
Counter battens run vertically down the slope over the underlay. They create an air gap between the underlay and the tiling batten above, which allows any moisture that gets behind the tiles to drain away rather than sitting against the membrane. They are not always used, but on a new installation they represent good practice.
Tiling battens are then fixed horizontally across the slope at the correct gauge for the tile being used. The gauge - the distance between batten centres - determines how much each tile overlaps the one below it. The correct gauge is not guesswork; it is specified by the tile manufacturer based on the pitch of the roof and the exposure of the site. Getting it wrong means tiles that do not overlap enough to keep rain out, or tiles that are spaced so tightly they cannot seat properly.
Tiles are loaded onto the scaffold and distributed across the battens in small stacks before laying begins, to avoid concentrating load in one area. Laying starts at the eaves, with the first course set on an eaves tile or a tilting fillet to give the bottom tiles the correct angle.
Each subsequent course is laid to the gauge and checked for alignment. Any cut tiles at verges or around penetrations are cut with an angle grinder or tile cutter - they should be neat and consistent, not ragged. Hip tiles or valley tiles are fitted as the main fields meet each other at the hip or valley.
The ridge and hip tiles cap the vulnerable junctions at the top of the roof. Mechanically fixed dry-ridge and dry-hip systems are now standard on new roofs because they do not rely on mortar that will crack and fall out after 10 to 15 years. The system uses a plastic or aluminium carrier that clips to the batten, with the ridge tile bedded on a foam gasket and secured with a stainless steel screw. It looks neat, drains properly and does not need re-pointing.
All lead work at chimneys, abutments, valleys and around any roof penetrations is replaced or re-dressed as part of a full new roof. Lead is cut, formed and stepped into the masonry joints of any adjoining wall. At a chimney, the flashing includes a back gutter, side soakers and a front apron. Each piece is lapped correctly and dressed flat against the surface it sits on. Poorly fitted flashings are one of the most common causes of persistent leaks, so this stage deserves close attention.
Building regulations require adequate ventilation in the roof space to prevent condensation. On a cold roof construction - the most common type in domestic buildings - ventilation is typically provided at the eaves and at or near the ridge. Proprietary ventilation tiles can be inserted into the main field if additional ventilation is needed. This should be assessed at the survey stage and included in the specification.
A professional finish includes a thorough clean-up. All tile waste, old lead offcuts, batten offcuts and packaging from the scaffold and around the property are removed. Gutters are cleared of debris that has fallen in during the strip. The scaffold is cleared of any remaining material before it is struck.
When the scaffold comes down, you should be able to walk around the property and see a consistent, evenly laid roof with straight lines, neat cut edges and no debris left behind. If that is not what you see, raise it before the roofer leaves site.
We carry out full new roof installations in Littleport and across the wider area. If your roof needs replacing, call us to arrange a full inspection in Littleport and we will give you a written breakdown of exactly what the job involves.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
