Roofing FAQs

The warning signs tend to arrive together: a knock at the door from someone who says they were passing, a claim that your roof is dangerous and must be done today, a price given verbally with nothing in writing, a request for most of the money before work starts, and no landline or trading address you can check. One sign deserves a question; several at once are a reason to close the door. The full list is in our guide on how to choose a roofer.

A good roofer is easy to check and comfortable being checked. They give you a written, itemised quote that names the materials, explain whether the job is a repair or a replacement and why, show current public liability insurance without being chased, and put the payment terms in writing with nothing large asked for up front. Look for a trading address, membership of a scheme you can confirm on its own register, such as Buy With Confidence or TrustMark, and past customers willing to talk to you.

We do not publish names, and it is worth being wary of any list that does, because a name on a web page tells you nothing about a firm's insurance or recent work. What you can do is hold any roofer to the same tests: an address you can check, current insurance certificates, a written quote, membership you can confirm, and recent jobs near you that you can go and look at. Peterborough City Council's Trading Standards runs Buy With Confidence locally, and its register is a sensible first stop. Our how to choose a roofer guide covers the rest.

In general, a roofer working on your house is responsible for their own safety. The Work at Height Regulations place duties on the people doing and organising the work, and on a domestic job the client duties under the construction regulations (CDM 2015) pass to the contractor rather than staying with the homeowner. The law also expects a skilled tradesperson to guard against the risks that come with their own trade. The sensible step on your side is to choose with care: ask to see the firm's public liability and employers' liability certificates and check the dates on them. This is general information, not legal advice, and our guide on how to choose a roofer explains the position in more detail.

Honestly, no: we do not inspect or approve the roofing firms we pass enquiries to, and we would rather say that plainly than hint at checks that have not happened. You can check them yourself in a short time using our guide on how to choose a roofer, which covers the Buy With Confidence register, insurance certificates, written quotes and your cancellation rights.

Most roofers price the whole job rather than the hour, so an hourly figure on its own is a poor guide. What moves the total is how the roofer reaches the roof (ladder, tower or scaffold), how many people the job needs, the materials, how long the fault has been left, and whether rot turns up once the covering is opened. Our roof repair costs guide sets out researched UK day rates and job prices, so you can see where a quote sits.

The size and pitch of the roof, the covering you choose, the scaffold, whether battens and membrane are renewed, and how much lead and ridge work is involved all move the price, and stone slate is priced very differently from concrete tile. Our what a new roof costs guide gives researched UK ranges by house type and material. Figures are kept to that guide on purpose, because a number on this page cannot know your roof.

That depends on the fault, the access and how far the damage has spread. Refixing a few slipped tiles from a ladder is a small job; the same leak on a steep roof that needs scaffold, or one that has rotted the timber beneath, is a much bigger one. Ask whether the quote includes scaffold, making good and taking the waste away. Typical UK ranges for the common repairs are in our roof repair costs guide.

Sometimes. Buildings policies usually respond to sudden damage, such as tiles lifted in a gale, and usually exclude wear and tear and damage that built up slowly, such as mortar that had been dropping from a ridge for years. Which side your leak falls on is decided on the evidence and your policy wording, so photograph the damage before anything is moved and speak to your insurer before permanent repairs begin. Our roof leaks and home insurance guide explains how the Financial Ombudsman Service looks at storm claims. Treat it as general information rather than advice on your own policy.

Whether roof work needs permission depends on the building and where it stands, so check before anything starts. If the house is listed, alterations that affect its character generally need listed building consent. Peterborough City Council lists 29 conservation areas, and its 56 Article 4 directions cover 334 homes, where some everyday works can need permission. The council says the works these directions can restrict include re-roofing or alterations to chimneys and ridge tiles, and that the restrictions differ from area to area. An Article 4 direction may apply to one house and not to the house next door, so if your home is in a conservation area, or you are unsure, ask the council's conservation team before anything is ordered. In Stamford, the Deepings, Bourne and the other towns outside the city, ask the district council that covers your address.

We handle urgent enquiries, but we are not the roofer and cannot promise when anyone will arrive. If water is coming in, ring 01733 592054 and say so at the start; the enquiry is passed on marked as urgent so the firm can call you back quickly and talk through making the roof safe until a proper repair can be quoted. Send an enquiry outside working hours and you will get a call back on the next working day. Our page on storm damage repairs covers what you can safely do in the meantime.

No, Roofing Peterborough is not a roofing company. It is an enquiry service: we pass your enquiry to an independent local roofing firm, and that firm quotes for the work, carries it out if you accept, and is the business your contract is with.

Yes, entirely free for you. There is no charge for sending an enquiry or for receiving a quote. The roofing firm may pay us for the introduction, and our referral marketing disclosure explains that arrangement.

Peterborough with its townships and villages, plus Stamford, the Deepings and Bourne in South Kesteven, Spalding, Whittlesey, Wisbech, Yaxley and Farcet, Huntingdon and Oundle. The full list, grouped by district, is on the service areas page. If you are between two places on it, ask anyway.

Your details go to an independent roofing firm covering your postcode. They contact you to arrange a look at the roof, then give you their own quote, which you can accept, decline or compare with others. Nothing is owed to anyone until you agree a price with the roofer.

A few things. We are not a roofing supplies merchant or stockist. We do not cover chimney sweeping, conservatory roofs, roof lanterns, car roof boxes or roof racks, or industrial sheeting, and we do not pass on enquiries for pressure-washing tiled roofs, which tile manufacturers advise against. Nor are we a jobs board for roofers looking for work.