What affects the cost of a roof in Gloucester

Why we do not publish a price list

Because it would be misleading. Two Gloucester houses of the same size and age can differ by thousands once you account for access, the covering, the state of the timbers and how many chimneys, valleys and dormers there are. A headline figure that ignores all of that is a number designed to get a foot in the door, not an honest estimate.

What we do instead: come and look, photograph what we find, and give you a fixed price in writing. It is free, there is no call-out charge, and there is no obligation to go ahead.

What actually drives the price

• Access and scaffold. Often the biggest line after materials. A mid-terrace reached down a shared alley costs considerably more to scaffold than a detached with a driveway.
• The covering. Natural slate costs more than concrete interlocking tile, both to buy and to lay, because it is a slower job done by hand.
• What is underneath. Nobody knows the state of the battens and rafter feet until the roof is stripped. A good quote says what happens if timber needs replacing rather than pretending it never will.
• Chimneys, dormers and valleys. Every one is a detail that has to be formed and leaded. Two roofs of identical area can differ substantially on this alone.
• Waste. Stripping a roof produces several tonnes of material. Skips and tipping are a real cost and belong in the quote, not added afterwards.
• Season and urgency. Emergency work in the middle of a storm is a different job from planned work booked three weeks out.

How to compare two quotes

Compare the scope, not the number at the bottom. A cheaper quote is usually cheaper because something has been left out of it. Ask each roofer the same six questions and the gap between them normally explains itself:

• Is scaffold included, or added later?
• Are the battens and membrane being replaced, or is the new covering going back onto the old ones?
• Is the leadwork being renewed, or left as it is under a new roof?
• Is waste removal in the price?
• What happens, and what does it cost, if rotten timber is found once stripped?
• What is the guarantee, and does it cover materials as well as labour?

Ways to spend less without regretting it

Do the guttering and fascias at the same time as the roof and you pay for scaffold once instead of twice. Catch a leak early and it stays a repair rather than becoming a structural job. And choose a covering that suits the house rather than the cheapest on the shelf — it usually costs less across twenty years, particularly when the work is guaranteed for that long anyway.

Not sure whether you need a repair or a full re-roof? That is exactly what the survey is for, and it costs nothing to find out.