Here is exactly what happens when you call Aylsham Roofers for a roof repair in Cromer, from the first look at the problem through to the final tidy-up.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
A roof repair starts before a single tile is touched. The first job is working out what is actually causing the problem - not just where water is appearing inside, but where it is getting in. These are rarely the same place. Water enters through a gap or failure point, travels along rafters, battens or felt, and drops where it finds a low point. A damp patch directly above the kitchen, for example, might trace back to a flashing failure at a chimney stack three metres away.
We look at the roof from the ground first, then from ladders or scaffold if needed. We check the obvious candidates - missing or slipped tiles, ridge mortar, lead flashings and verge pointing - but we also look for less visible issues. Felt that has split and pooled water, battens that have rotted through at fixing points, and valleys where debris has built up and is holding water against the roof surface all cause leaks that would be missed by a quick visual inspection from ground level.
Where access is needed to inspect the loft from inside, that is done before any external work begins. It helps us confirm the location of water entry and check whether the roof structure - rafters, ridge board, ceiling joists - has been affected by moisture over time.
Most repair work on a pitched roof requires ladders and roof boards. Roof boards - sometimes called crawling boards - spread weight across the tiles and allow a roofer to work safely without cracking additional tiles underfoot. For chimney repairs or any work above a two-storey elevation, scaffolding is often the right approach rather than a ladder and roof ladder combination. Working at height without proper access equipment is dangerous and leads to poor results.
Weather conditions affect when roof work can safely be done. Working on a wet or icy roof surface is not safe. We will always let you know if we need to delay a day because conditions are not suitable, rather than attempting the work anyway and creating a risk.
Before any tiles are lifted, protective sheets or tarpaulins are positioned below and around the working area. On a property where gutters, conservatory roofs or parked vehicles are below, this protects them from debris and falling material.
What happens next depends on what the survey identified. The most common repairs break down as follows.
Replacing individual slates or tiles: The slate or tile above the damaged one is lifted carefully using a ripper tool or by removing its fixing. The broken piece is slid out, a new matching tile is positioned, and it is secured - on slates, typically with a copper clip or a fresh nail through the gap left by the lifted tile above. The surrounding tiles are checked and re-seated if they have moved.
Ridge tile re-bedding: Old mortar is removed cleanly from the ridge board and the tile surfaces. Fresh mortar - usually a sand-cement mix with a bonding additive, or a proprietary flexible mortar - is applied to the ridge board and the tile is bedded firmly into position. Pointing is applied to close the joints at each end. Modern flexible mortars are preferable to a rigid mix because they cope better with thermal movement without cracking.
Lead flashing repairs: Failed lead is cut back to sound material. If the failure is a split or crack, a patch of matching code lead can be dressed over it and sealed with lead sealant in some cases. Where the flashing has pulled away from the wall, the chase - the slot cut into the mortar joint - is raked out, the lead is re-secured with lead wedges, and the chase is repointed. If the flashing itself is beyond repair, it is stripped and replaced in full.
Flat roof repairs: If a torch-on felt roof has a localised blister or split, the affected area is dried thoroughly, the damaged felt is cut back and a patch is torched on. If an EPDM membrane has lifted at a seam, specialist EPDM bonding adhesive is used to re-bond it. Where the underlying deck - usually OSB board or plywood - has softened through long-term water ingress, that section of deck is replaced before any new surface material is applied, because laying felt or membrane over a soft deck will fail within a short time.
Once the physical repair is complete, the surrounding area of the roof is inspected. We check that tiles adjacent to the repair are sitting correctly, that no debris has been pushed under neighbouring tiles, and that any mortar work is weather-tight. Lead work is pressed firmly into position and checked along its full length.
If the repair followed a report of a leak indoors, we will advise you on whether the interior damage - stained plaster, damp insulation, wet ceiling boards - needs attention and in what order. In some cases the interior can be left to dry out before redecoration; in others, particularly where timber has been wet for a long time, a builder or joiner should look at the structure before cosmetic repairs are made.
All broken tiles, old mortar and debris are removed from the roof and from around the property. Gutters adjacent to the work area are checked and cleared if debris has fallen in. Any tarpaulins or protective sheets are removed and the area is left clean.
We will tell you what we found, what we did, and whether there are any other areas of the roof that we think need attention in the near future. If something needs doing soon, we will say so plainly and explain why.
If you have noticed a damp patch, heard something shift in the wind, or simply want a check on an older roof, call Aylsham Roofers to arrange a survey in Cromer.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
