Most homeowners in Bridgend only think about their roof when water appears on a bedroom ceiling or a slate lands on the drive. At that point the question is simple but the answer often is not: patch it, or start again? This guide walks through how a roofer weighs it up, so you can judge whether the advice you are given makes sense.
The single biggest factor is how old the covering is and what it is made of. Much of the housing around Bridgend, Pencoed, Maesteg and the Ogmore and Garw valleys is Victorian or interwar terraced stock, originally roofed in Welsh slate. Good slate can last 100 years or more, but the nails holding it tend to fail first. If you are seeing slates slipping one after another every winter, that is nail sickness, and no amount of individual repairs will stop it.
Concrete interlocking tiles, common on 1960s to 1990s estates in places like Brackla, Litchard and Broadlands, typically last 40 to 60 years. Once the surface goes porous and the tiles start to delaminate, replacement is usually the sensible route. Newer roofs under 20 years old with a localised problem are almost always worth repairing.
A rough rule many roofers use is the 25 to 30 per cent line. If less than a quarter of the roof needs attention, repair is normally the cheaper and perfectly sound option. Once you are past a third, the labour, scaffolding and access costs of repeated repairs start to overlap with what a full strip and recover would cost anyway.
Look at where the problem is, not just how big it is. A leak at a chimney, a valley or around a Velux is often a flashing or lead problem, and fixing that can be a few hundred pounds on a roof that is otherwise fine. Water tracking in along the whole eaves line, or daylight visible from the loft in several places, points to the underlay or battens having failed, which is a bigger job.
In South Wales a straightforward repair such as refixing a handful of slates, replacing a cracked tile or re-dressing lead to a chimney generally falls somewhere between £150 and £600, depending on access. A full strip and recover on a typical three-bedroom semi with new breathable membrane, battens and slates or tiles usually runs from around £6,000 to £12,000, with natural slate at the upper end and scaffolding included. Flat roofs and larger detached properties sit outside those figures.
The honest comparison is what you will spend over the next five to ten years. If you have paid for three separate repairs in as many winters and each one needs a scaffold tower or a cherry picker, you may already have spent a third of the cost of a new roof and still have an old roof. Repairs on a roof that is otherwise in good order are money well spent. Repairs on a roof that is worn out are just delaying the inevitable, and often the interior damage from repeated leaks costs more than the roofing work.
Bridgend sits close to the coast and takes the full force of south westerly weather coming in off the Bristol Channel. Roofs facing that direction wear faster, and storms regularly lift ridge tiles and slates on exposed properties in Porthcawl, Ogmore-by-Sea and the higher ground above Maesteg. If your roof loses material every time a named storm passes, the fixings and mortar have reached the end of their life even if the slates themselves look fine.
The loft is the best place to judge the true condition. Go up on a bright day with the light off and look for pinpricks of daylight, dark staining on the rafters, damp or crumbling battens and any sign of the felt sagging or tearing. A roof that looks tidy from the pavement can be in poor shape underneath, and the reverse is also true. Any reputable roofer should be willing to show you photos from the roof and the loft before recommending a full replacement.
Ask for a written breakdown that separates scaffolding, materials and labour, so you can see what a repair really costs versus a recover. Ask what guarantee comes with each option, and whether the membrane and fixings on a replacement carry a manufacturer warranty. If you are told the roof needs replacing, ask specifically why a repair will not hold, and expect a clear answer about nails, battens, underlay or the covering itself.
It is also worth asking whether a replacement is a good moment to add insulation at rafter level, fit new fascias and guttering while the scaffold is up, or change roof windows. Bundling that work is far cheaper than doing it separately later, and a full recover is often the only time it is practical. A second opinion is never a bad idea on a job of this size.
Yes, replacing a single slope or a section around a chimney or valley is common and often the right call if the rest of the roof is sound. The main drawback is that new and old materials will not match perfectly and the older sections will still need attention in time.
A well done repair using proper hooks or new fixings should last many years, but on a roof with nail sickness you can expect further slates to slip elsewhere each winter. If you are repairing more than once a year, it is time to price a full recover.
Insurers usually cover sudden storm damage such as slates lifted in a named storm, but not wear and tear or a roof that has simply reached the end of its life. Take photos straight after any storm and get a roofer's report, as that is what the insurer will ask for.
Got a roof job in mind after reading this? Give Paul a call or send a photo, and you will get a straight answer and a free quote.