Roofers in Wokingham

Wokingham's roofs vary as much as its housing. Around the market place and the older streets in the centre, many buildings have steep roofs of plain clay tiles, with chimneys, dormers and lead valleys. On roofs that old, the usual jobs are replacing cracked or slipped tiles, rebedding ridges and repairing chimney flashing. The town centre is a conservation area and has many listed buildings. If your home is in it, or is listed, check with Wokingham Borough Council before you change the roof covering or rooflights, as it may need permission or listed building consent.

Estates from the 1970s and 1980s, such as Woosehill, mostly have concrete interlocking tiles. These are hard-wearing, but after 40 years or more the mortar bedding the ridge tiles and sealing the verges at the gable ends cracks and falls out. Rebedding the ridge, or fitting a dry ridge and dry verge system that uses mechanical fixings instead of mortar, is one of the most common roofing jobs here. Fascias, soffits and gutters from the original build are often due for replacement at the same time.

Newer neighbourhoods such as Arborfield Green, Montague Park and Matthewsgreen have modern roofs. Faults in the first couple of years, such as loose ridge or verge fixings, may still be covered by the developer's warranty, so report them to the developer before paying a roofer. Flat roofs on garages, porches and rear extensions are common across the town, and older felt roofs often start to leak after 15 to 20 years.

Scaffolding is often the biggest single cost in a roofing quote, so ask whether it's included and how long it will be up. Ask the roofer to send photos of the problem from the roof, and check what guarantee comes with the work. Reviews on Trade Pilot come from real, invoiced jobs, so you can see which roofers have finished similar work for other homeowners.