Roof Replacement & Re-Roofing in Derby

The deciding factor is usually whether the failures are isolated or widespread. A few slipped slates or cracked tiles on an otherwise sound roof is a repair, but when the fixing nails have corroded across the whole roof, the underlay has perished and slates or tiles are letting go faster than they can be chased, repair becomes a losing battle and a strip-and-re-cover is the honest answer. We give you a straight assessment at the free survey and set out both options with figures, so the choice is yours to make.

Nail sickness is the gradual rusting-through of the iron or steel nails holding each slate or tile to the batten, and it affects the whole roof at once because every nail is the same age and corroding at the same rate. Once it sets in, refixing one slipped slate does nothing for the dozens next in line, so repairs come thicker and faster until they no longer make sense. At that point a full re-cover with new fixings, battens and underlay is the sound investment rather than repeated call-outs.

A straightforward re-roof on an average house usually runs around five to ten working days on site, covering the strip, new underlay and battens, the covering, and the ridge, verge and flashing details, though that figure does not include scaffold, which is booked separately. A larger or more complex roof with several hips, valleys and dormers takes longer, and weather can extend it since covering work stops in heavy rain or high wind. We give you a realistic programme in the written quote rather than an optimistic one.

Re-covering a significant portion of a roof is notifiable work, so it falls under building control, chiefly because Building Regulations Approved Document L requires the insulation to be brought up to standard when you re-cover, and Approved Document C covers moisture resistance. In Derby that notification runs through Derby City Council as the unitary authority rather than the county. We handle the roof to those standards and set out the requirements at survey so nothing about the approval side comes as a surprise.

The 2014 revision of BS 5534, in force from 2015, withdrew reliance on mortar bedding to resist wind uplift, so all single-lap tiles must be mechanically fixed and perimeter tiles need at least two fixings. That is why modern ridges and verges are dry-fixed with mechanical clips and systems rather than simply bedded in mortar. On Derby's exposed suburban roofs a mortar-only ridge is exactly what lifts first in a spell of strong wind, so fixing to the current standard is what keeps the covering where it belongs.

Yes — on street-facing roofs inside Derby's conservation areas such as Friar Gate, Strutt's Park and the Railway area, and the former village cores at Mickleover and Allestree, a re-roof is expected in matching natural slate or clay tile rather than modern concrete, with natural stone slate the vernacular toward the Peak District. We source coverings that match the existing roof in size, colour and profile so the re-roof sits within the street. We flag any likely consent requirement at survey so it is factored in before the work is scoped.

A re-roof strips the old covering and perished underlay back to the rafters and rebuilds the roof from the structure up, replacing underlay, battens and any rotten timber. An overlay lays a new covering over the old one, which is quicker and cheaper but leaves the tired underlay and battens in place to fail underneath. We re-roof as a full strip because it is the only way to put right what the old covering was hiding, and because an overlay adds weight and buries problems for a future owner to find.

Yes — a proper re-roof includes new breathable underlay and new treated battens set to the correct gauge, because the covering is only as sound as what it is fixed to. The old bituminous felt underlay on an ageing roof will have perished and stopped doing its job as a secondary barrier, and reusing tired battens under a new covering is a false economy. Renewing them while the roof is stripped is the whole point of doing the job as a re-roof rather than a surface swap.

Yes — a re-roof is the natural moment to renew worn lead valleys and chimney flashings in fresh lead to BS EN 12588, rather than refit tired lead around a brand-new covering. Old lead that has split, fatigued or thinned will be the first thing to leak on an otherwise new roof, so renewing it while the scaffold is up and the roof is open makes both practical and financial sense. The written quote sets out the leadwork alongside the covering so the whole scope is clear.

As general trade guidance rather than a sourced figure, a natural slate roof can last a very long time, clay and concrete tile roofs commonly give several decades, and the underlay and fixings beneath them set the practical service life. Because a re-roof renews the covering, the underlay, the battens and the fixings all at once and lays them to BS 5534, you get a full-length life rather than the shortened one an overlay gives. Looking after the ridges, valleys and gutters afterwards is what carries it the full distance.