UKH

Has anyone had a house re-roofed in Sheffield recently. Looking for recommended roofers and an indication of price. It's a standard three bed semi with easy access all the way around. Cheers

In reply to Sam Beaton:

I can text my Dad tonight for you about who did the family home and if it was a good job done, it was circa ten years ago but decent people tend to stick around (unless they retire). 

In reply to Sam Beaton:

10 years ago I retiled my kitchen roof after reading how to do it in a book. After that I made a mental note that if I ever needed my house roof doing, then I would do it myself.

Scaffolding, underlay membrane, slates and muscle power = save a fortune.

In reply to The Lemming: A family friend taught himself how to, but he's an engineer and very practical, and had the space in his life as well, sometimes it takes space in life away from other things to take something on. I reckon cost was the main reason the family friend did it himself.

In reply to Sam Beaton:

Did mine 32years back, the slates were 36" X  24" and weighed a ton. Not the ideal 1st roof but not 1 has slipped so i must have learned quickly.

In reply to The Lemming:

Ive just had my house in Sheffield re roofed. I wouldnt recommend the roofer though. I ended up finishing it, and had to fit the velux myself as he couldn't do it lol. It's strange as he gets recommended often in my area but I've honestly never seen such poor workmanship.

I know this doesn't help you, sorry  

In reply to deacondeacon:

I see 'who's a good tradesmen' posts like this on my local FB group and people basically just recommend their mates / family all the time.  Tradesmen I know from personal or trusted friends experience to be poor get recommended all the time.  It would be better to ask who to avoid, then you'll get the really useful info.

In reply to Removed Usercapoap:

It's not rocket science.😀

You put a breathable membrane over the wooden beams.

You nail down batton at the correct width size.

You place slates onto the batton in a pretty pattern. You nail some in place.

You save a fortune.

In reply to Toerag:

This is great advice.  If a recommendation doesn't come from a satisfied customer it is not a recommendation, or at the very least needs to be taken with a big pinch of salt.

In reply to Sam Beaton:

Just a point to add if you do consider taking it on...  I agree that it is straightforward and satisfying, but modern regs now often specify stronger rafters than were originally used on older properties.  I extended my house a few years ago and the specified rafters are (very) much bigger than on the original roof.

In reply to The Lemming:

A lot depends on the age and construction of the house. 

Newish build house, dead easy. Old place like mine with salvaged ships timbers cut to fit the house, rotten bits to cut out and a couple of hundred years of bodging to sort - I'm biting the bullet and paying somebody.

In reply to The Lemming:

Define fortune? 

Much of that fortune would be eaten up by hiring and erecting of enough scaffolding for a 3 bed semi. Whilst you are slowly learning on the job, thinking about your eaves and ventilation... The scaffolding meter is ticking. 

How long do you think it would take one person to erect the scaffolding... to carry up new slates, etc.. It's surprising how much time the non building elements suck up. 

I wouldn't recommend any newbie diy'er to reroof their house. If the roof leaks etc.. you have no come back, nor insurance. The roof is by far the most critical part of any building. 

In reply to Sam Beaton:

I refelted and slatted my roof, reused most of the slates and purchased more at Valley road roofing at £0.50 per slate.

Didn't use scaffolding as you can stack them on the top half of roof while felt and slat bottom half, but you do need to be sure footed, took me on my own 4 days for a four bedroom semi.

In reply to robert-hutton:

That's good going, sounds like your the man for this job. You be on a grand a day.....

In reply to Ridge:

I'd bottle out here too and open my wallet for the peace of mind and my limbs to remain intact.

In reply to The Lemming:

Its not the same anymore, just have a look at the H&S rules now. My builder mate has to have a fence around his scaffolding with a locked door and it has to be inspected and signed off ect ect.

In reply to Sam Beaton:

There are a lot of chancers out there, I had a lot of roof work done last year and the approach I found repeatedly was, we’ll bodge it up for you for a couple of grand, then come back in 2 or 3 years and replace the whole thing for you.

Eventually found a wee firm - Dumfries based, so probly too far away for you - called Topseal, not much more than a one man show, but Andy conserved everything he could, re-sealed my 50 year old tiles, replaced some rotten timbers and installed dry liner and new gutters. He discussed every stage of the job, took photos, and showed the rotten bits he was taking out. I think the challenge is in finding someone with that kind of approach.

In reply to Sam Beaton:

Just to be clear,I have no intention of doing this job myself no matter how easy anyone says it is to do!!

In reply to Sam Beaton:

From what you said about the age and condition of the beams,

I'd pay what ever it took as well 😀

In reply to robert-hutton:

The scaffolding is for the roofers, too. My childhood home is a three storey house (attic bedrooms) semi detached with sloping roofs, with next door having waist high bushes just outside their front window.  The neighbour told us about 2 guys were doing some roofing at the front of their house above the bushes, and one said to the other, 'You stay up here and I'll go and make the coffee' - the guy goes in to make the coffee and the other fellow then appears in the kitchen, 'I thought you were up on the roof? 'I fell off'. I guess he'd have needed a coffee.

In reply to Sam Beaton:

As mentioned earlier, be wary of recommendations, many people wouldn't know a quality job if it punched them in the face. 

As an engineer I rarely let a garage do work on my cars, and using recommended garages has ended up with me doing the work again, but properly. I've had similar issues with plumbers, electricians and decorators.

Some of the funniest recommendations I've seen, have been on facebook for tattoo artists. People showing how great their tattoo artist is, with "art" that would be substandard for a 2 year old.

In reply to artif:

As an ex HONEST garage owner No One & I mean No One lays a finger on any of my cars except at MOT time  and  in my presence

In reply to Removed Usercapoap:

I know the feeling

There are some good ones out there, but it takes a bit of research.

In reply to artif:

It certainly does, I have tried loads of places for my vans and been letdown by poor service or downright shafted plenty of times but I have found a great place now, their hourly rate is about 30% more than the average round here but the final bill is cheaper, they work fast so though its more per hour jobs don't take as long and the real bonus is not wasting our billable time going back to get problems sorted. 

In reply to artif:

Recently, I used a recommended plumber that was also doing maintenance at a place I was renting, for work at my own place. I trusted him. I had to rip out everything he did, to my own financial loss. It was a proper cowboy job. I then used the plumber that was literally closest to me, at about 30s from my front door on foot and he did an excellent job. Anecdotal, I know, but adds some ammunition to your point.

Electrician-wise, I was lucky that I found out that an extremely capable guy I know who was head researcher and then assistant professor at my department when I was still doing electronics quit academia and became an electrician. Not cheap, worth every penny, didn't get to sample any "recommendations" like with the plumber...