Single, no knowledge of roofs and feel I might make a financial mistake, please help?

@Rooooof , I’m not sure if you can search the NFRC website for a specific company, but you can do a general search for companies in your area who are registered with them. I just did a search for companies within 20 miles of my postcode, and got about 30 hits, so unless there are 100s registered in your area, it should be easy to find the company who’s quoted for you if they are NFRC registered.

Number one has cowboy written all over him.
I had my roof replaced last year and I know suspected asbestos has to be tested and taken away by a specialist.
Any decent roofer has a waiting list. I had to wait six months for mine.
For comparison on price, my two bed detached bungalow roof cost about £10k.
Price varies a bit on area of course, I am in Hampshire.
I would get on and book it in now. If you get a leak then it will end up costing you more to repair the water ingress.
My roof leaked water into my boiler and fused all the electrics. You don’t want that.

Hmm. I had the peaked roof over a window which was leaking into the loft) retiled and repaired by a roofer my late Mum’s boss worked with. Also the damaged part of the loft was lined. It was no more than about 4 years ago.
Cost £1600 mates rates cash in hand inc scaffolding.

I think you need to really get more quotes. Also, my mums boss was an architect that’s how he knew my roofer. So I recommend to ask any local architects which roofers they use.

I’m not against using non-VAT registered tradesmen, but it’s not a £90,000 salary, it’s a £90,000 business turnover. That really isn’t a very large scale operation.

Firstly, have a look at this for asbestos removal. Direct from HSE not all jobs involving asbestos require licensed work. This would suggest that your roof is covered in not needing it as it comes under low risk

https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/licensing/non-licensed-work.htm

Secondly, you can earn £90k before you need to be registered for VAT. That is a bloody nice salary and lots of tradespeople will simply down tools in February/March to avoid going over the £90k threshold. There are lots of sole traders talking about this online because once you tip into the VAT registered threshold you are being undercut by people who are more than happy earning £89,900.

I have had a lot of work done on my property which included a lot of non-VAT registered trades. It doesn't make them dodgy. I was invoiced for all work and paid them into their bank accounts and given receipts. I have one chap who goes on holiday abroad with his family every school holiday as his wife is a teacher and he schedules work around it.

And lastly, YouTube is a great place to look for information from professionals showing their jobs. This is Fix My Roof and may feature the work you are needing to be done to your roof. This helps you get informed of what to expect.

https://www.youtube.com/@FixmyroofCoUk

I feel your pain. I had a roof done about 5 years ago and felt totally at the guy’s mercy. I believe he did an Ok job on the roof itself - which I think was original, ie 120 years old - but there were still some issues. I have no idea if I paid a fair price tbh, it was £13k.

Have you been able to put the word out around the area, has anyone else had a roof done recently? Id always prefer to speak to someone f2f than rely on online reviews.

Quote 1 sounds actively dangerous, swerve him.

Quote 2 sounds ok. But if you don’t have to do it now, why not wait a bit? You could start to put the money away and aim to pay some of the bill by savings interest?

My mate is a builder, he owns a pretty big firm and has various trades working for him. He has always said unless a roof is leaking you don’t touch it. My roof is close to 100 years old. I did have to replace the original ornate iron guttering about 18 years ago as some fell off in a bloody storm on to my car.

You do need a li enc to remove asbestos and dispose of it according to strict legislation what that means I have no idea but the developers next door did everything except remove the asbestos garage.

Yes not no 1. What is wrong with the roof exactly. Is it just cracked tiles if so how many.
Most older houses on the uk have asbestos. Why does this need to be pulled out of the roof.

Hi, I feel your pain…it’s hard making these costly decisions without much, or any knowledge.

Just had the the leaking roof/ do I repair or replace the roof? decision myself. Useful things I found out:

A new roof now needs to comply with building regulations and be certified by Building control. However, many contractors don’t seem to know/ don’t tell you this. Issues would arise down the line, if you were selling the house and didn’t have much, or any paperwork showing your certificate, guarantee, correct materials used etc.

Some firms have Competent Roofer status and can certify the works themselves.

There’s a trade body called National Federation of Roofing Contractors.

The trouble is that in the UK, anyone can call themselves a roofer, builder etc. It makes homeowners very vulnerable and the sums involved are huge to us.

Your local guy quoting £10K may well be fine for small patch up repairs, but I don’t like the sound of his approach to the asbestos, and has he offered any sort of guarantee on the work?

The best firms usually have long wait lists but that’s a sign that they do good work.

In your position as it’s not urgent, I would do some more research into local firms bearing in mind these issues, and get more quotes. Doesn’t sound like you need to rush this decision.

I found a company registered with NFRC who were Competent Roofers, they were brilliant to deal with, all communication by email and very clear. Their prices were comparable to my other quotes.

Definitely not number 1. Either of the other two sound fine, I'd go with the cheaper one.

Waiting or not will depend on whether you would be using all your savings or not?

The problem with waiting a few more years means that the prices will rise in that time. How big a team can they put on it? Ideally you want 3-4 guys rather than a one man band to get it done quickly. I’d go for the middle one, wouldn’t touch the cheap one with a barge pole as asbestos needs proper removal, as a householder you’d need liable.

It’s a scary thing to be wholly responsible for such big decisions. I’ve just bought my first house alone and it’s overwhelming dealing with tradesmen and hoping they’re not ripping you off etc when you’re not used to be the one to do that.

I’d say the middle one sounds like someone you can trust and as it’s the middle valuation I’d be tempted to do that, but if it will last another couple of years without issue I’d probably keep the money back in case any other jobs need doing.

Don’t know about the prices but you want asbestos dealt with properly as that’s dangerous stuff if just knocked about. We had a few asbestos tiles in a cupboard and the company still did full ppe coveralls