Getting roofing quotes in the UK
Roofing quotes are hard to compare because most of the cost is access and the parts you will never see, and easy to get wrong because you cannot inspect the finished work yourself.
A roofing quote should state whether scaffolding is included, and list tiles, battens, underlay, ridge, verges and flashings. Ask whether any guarantee is insurance backed, because one from the company alone lasts as long as the company. Ask for photographs before the covering goes on.
What a real quote itemises
Ask for these in writing. Somebody who works properly will be glad to list them, because it is how their price gets justified against a cheaper one.
- Access. Scaffolding or a tower, who is providing it, how long it is hired for, and whether the price includes it. This is often a quarter of the job and the commonest hidden extra.
- What is being replaced. Tiles or slates, battens, underlay or felt, ridge, verges, valleys and flashings. A quote that says 'new roof' without listing these is not a quote.
- Dry or wet fixing. For ridges and verges. Dry systems cost more and are now the norm for good reason.
- The timber. Whether any structural timber is included, and what happens to the price if rot is found once the covering is off. Agree the rate for extra work before it is needed.
- Insulation and ventilation. Easy to leave out and expensive to add later. Ventilation is what stops a well insulated roof rotting.
- Waste, and weather. Skip and removal, and what happens if it rains mid job.
No single register, so the insurance and the guarantee do the work
Roofing has no statutory register. What matters instead: public liability insurance that is current, because this is work at height over your property and your neighbour's; and whether any guarantee is insurance backed. A twenty year guarantee from a company is worth exactly as long as the company lasts. An insurance backed guarantee, from a body such as the Confederation of Roofing Contractors or through a scheme like TrustMark, survives the company closing. Ask which you are being offered, because the word 'guarantee' alone tells you nothing.
Nobody inspects the part that fails
The underlay, battens and flashings are what keep water out, and they are invisible the moment the tiles go on. This is the trade where photographs matter more than any other: ask for pictures of the roof stripped, the new underlay and battens down, and the flashings before covering. A good roofer offers these unprompted. Keeping them is also how you prove what was done when you sell or claim.
Three quotes, and the general checks
Get three for anything beyond a small job. You are not looking for the cheapest, you are looking for the outlier. Then run the same three checks you would for any trade: the registration their trade requires, current public liability cover, and the company on Companies House. Those checks are here.
Can Tradelynx introduce you to one?
We only route work in Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Southampton, and only in the trades we have people for: right now that is builder, carpenter, electrician, handyman, landscaper and roofer / guttering. Everywhere else, and in every other trade, we are still building our supply and would rather say so than pretend.
What is worth keeping afterwards
The photographs of the work before covering, the guarantee and whether it is insurance backed, the materials used, and the date. A roof is the thing a surveyor comments on first.
A HomeLynx Passport is free and covers every UK home, whether or not we route work near you. If you already have somebody you trust, they can run your job through Tradelynx wherever you both are.