Roof Repairs in Long Eaton, Derby & Nottingham

What counts as a roof repair?

A roof repair is anything short of stripping and re-covering the whole thing. In practice that covers an enormous range of jobs — from tightening a slipped ridge tile to rebuilding a valley, from replacing three cracked plain tiles to re-pointing a whole chimney stack. Some of it is half-an-hour up a ladder; some of it needs a scaffold, a van full of materials, and two pairs of hands for the best part of a day. We quote honestly for both, and we don't inflate small jobs into big ones.

The common domestic repairs we see week in, week out across Long Eaton, Sawley, Beeston and the surrounding villages are: slipped or cracked slates and tiles after high winds; mortar failure at the ridge or hip (the line along the top of the roof); cracked or lifted lead flashing around chimneys, parapets and abutments; small leaks through felt or membrane where nails have backed out or battens have rotted; blocked, sagging or broken guttering throwing water back up under the eaves; and spalled or lost pointing on chimney stacks letting damp in.

How we quote and charge

Every repair starts with a free site visit. We'll get a ladder up, take photos of what we find, and walk you through them on the ground so you can see exactly what we're proposing to put right. You get a written fixed price — not a day rate, not an estimate — usually within 24 hours. If we find something unexpected once we're up there doing the work, we stop, come down, and re-quote. We don't send surprise invoices.

Small repairs typically start from around £120 for a single slipped tile or a patch of re-pointing where access is easy. Ridge re-bedding (taking off the existing ridge tiles and re-bedding them in fresh mortar with mechanical fixings) on a terraced house is usually £650–£950 depending on length. Chimney flashing replacement comes in around £450–£800 per stack. Full chimney re-pointing depends on size but most are between £500 and £1,200. Larger jobs — significant lead or valley work — are quoted individually.

Materials and workmanship

Where possible we replace like for like — same tile profile, same slate grade, same pointing mortar mix — so repairs blend in rather than stand out. If the original tile is no longer made (common on 1930s and earlier properties), we'll source a matched reclaimed tile from a local yard; if that's not possible we'll agree a close alternative with you in writing before we fit anything.

For ridge re-bedding we use a 3:1 sharp sand and cement mortar with lime, bedded wet onto a double strand of dry-verge mortar line, and we fit mechanical ridge clips on every second tile — that's the current British Standard (BS 5534) and it stops the ridge lifting in storms the way it used to. For flashings we use code 4 or code 5 milled lead to BS EN 12588, dressed into the brickwork and pointed in with a proper lime-and-sand mortar rather than silicone.

Common warning signs of a failing roof

It is much cheaper to catch a roof problem early than to wait until your ceiling is stained. Here are the signs we see most often that mean a roof needs looking at. Damp patches on upstairs ceilings, particularly around chimney breasts or near external walls. A puddle of grit and slate dust at the foot of a downpipe — that's mortar breaking down above. Daylight visible from inside the loft around the chimney or at the eaves. Slates or tiles sitting visibly lower than their neighbours on the roof slope. A sudden appearance of broken tile on the driveway or in the flowerbed after a storm.

If you notice any of these, ring us and we'll come and have a look. A 20-minute inspection now could save you £3,000 in plaster and decoration later.

Frequently asked questions