North Walsham Roofers carries out roof repairs in Sheringham and the surrounding area, from the first look at what has gone wrong through to the finished job and a clean site.
A lot of homeowners are unsure what to expect when they ring a roofer. Will someone actually come out and look? How long before anything gets done? Here is exactly how a roof repair job runs from start to finish, so you know what you are agreeing to and what questions to ask.
When you contact us about a repair in Sheringham, the first conversation is about what you have seen or noticed. A damp patch on a ceiling, a tile you spotted from the garden, a drip after heavy rain - tell us what you know. That helps us come prepared with the right materials and equipment.
Before any repair work begins, someone needs to get eyes on the roof properly. A view from the ground using binoculars gives a starting point and sometimes that is enough to confirm what has failed, but it rarely tells the whole story. A proper inspection means getting up on the roof, checking the affected area and the sections around it, looking at flashings, ridge mortar, valley condition and the state of the tiles or slates nearby.
This matters because a single visible problem on a roof often has a companion issue nearby. A slipped slate may have slipped because a nail has corroded and the slate below it may be loose too. A leak above a bay window is very often caused by failed flashing rather than a broken tile, and the flashing failure may be at a point slightly away from where the water is coming through inside.
A thorough inspection on site - not a guess from the pavement - is the only way to give you an accurate picture of what needs doing and what it will cost.
Once we are on the roof, the goal is to find the actual cause of the problem, not just its most obvious symptom. Water is deceptive. It enters at one point and can travel along rafters or sarking felt before dropping through the ceiling somewhere entirely different. Following the water back to its entry point takes time, but it is the only approach that leads to a repair that actually holds.
Common causes we look for during inspection include:
We will tell you what we find and explain clearly what needs attention now, what can wait, and what is purely cosmetic. You should expect that from any roofer you ask to inspect your roof.
Once the inspection is done, we go through what needs doing with you. A repair quote should tell you what material is being used, how many tiles or slates are being replaced, whether any new lead flashing is involved, and what the access requirements are. Vague quotes that just say "roof repair" without specifics are a warning sign - they leave room for disagreement once the job is underway.
Ask any roofer you speak to: what exactly is being replaced? What material will be used? Is this a like-for-like repair or are you recommending a different material? If scaffolding or a tower is needed, is that included in the price?
We carry a wide range of tiles and slates from our base in North Walsham, and for most repairs in Sheringham and nearby places like Mundesley and Bacton, the materials we need are already on the vehicle. That means the repair can usually be done in a single visit rather than coming back after a supply run.
For a tile or slate replacement, the process involves setting up safe access, carefully lifting the overlapping tiles or slates around the damaged section without breaking them, removing the failed piece, and fitting the replacement correctly. Slates are typically fixed with two nails through pre-drilled holes or, where the nail holes are in a difficult position, held with a copper or aluminium clip. Concrete interlocking tiles usually hook over the batten and are nailed at intervals.
For ridge tile repairs, the loose or cracked sections are lifted out, the old mortar is cut back, the ridge is re-bedded on fresh mortar and re-pointed to seal the joints. A dry-fix mechanical system is an alternative to mortar and is increasingly used on new work and re-roofs as it does not rely on mortar remaining intact over time.
Flashing repairs involve cutting back any failed mortar or old lead, dressing new lead into the masonry joints (called raking out and pointing up), lapping the lead correctly over the tiles below, and sealing the top edge. On chimney stacks this also means checking the soakers - the individual lead pieces that step up behind each tile course - are correctly overlapped and not pulling away.
Flat roof repairs, whether on a felt section over a bay window or a larger extension roof, depend on the age and condition of the membrane. A small blister or split in felt that is otherwise sound can be cut back, dried out and patched. An aged membrane that is cracking across a wide area is better replaced entirely, often with EPDM rubber sheet which bonds flat to the deck and handles the temperature swings and pooling water that accelerate felt deterioration.
Once the repair is complete, the area is checked from the roof before access is taken down. All replaced tiles and slates are pressed and checked for movement. Flashings are checked for correct laps and sealed edges. Ridge pointing is checked for voids before it sets. On a flat roof repair, any new membrane is checked across its full area for adhesion and sealed edges.
You should not need to take our word for it - if access is safe and practical, ask to see the finished repair before the scaffold or ladder tower comes down. Any roofer confident in their work will not have a problem with that.
Any broken tiles, old mortar, offcuts of lead and general debris from the repair come down with us when we leave. The area around the property - paths, gardens, driveways - should be left clear. If a scaffold tower has been used, the ground around it is checked and any marks on surfaces from feet or pads are pointed out and dealt with before we go.
After a repair, it is sensible to check the relevant internal area the next time there is heavy rain. If the leak source was correctly identified and the repair was done properly, the damp patch should stop growing and, once the internal structure has dried out, the staining should be the only visible sign. A ceiling that was damp for a long time may take several weeks of dry weather to fully dry out before you can redecorate it.
If the repair does not hold after a proper spell of rain, call us. There are occasions where a second visit is needed because the initial inspection missed a secondary ingress point. That is a rarer outcome when the first inspection is thorough, but it does happen on complex jobs, particularly where a roof has not been looked at for many years.
If you have noticed a problem with your roof and want someone to come and look at it properly, call us and we will arrange a survey.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
