Roof repairs/new roof - any thoughts?

[Sunnyside4]

House built circa 1962. Lived here 10 years. Had work done initially around chimney to eliminate leak. Then a couple of years later to side of dormer for leak there. We sometimes get water coming in through the light in kitchen.

Chimney leak re-appeared 2020, sadly ended up getting cowboys who seem to cause more harm than good to ridge system and verge ends of the roof.

Chimney area now leaking again and also other side of dormer. I suspect I can see water marks on the central wall underneath ridge system.

We have two quotes for circa £4,700, both doing slightly different things but we can address that - might end up adding a few hundred though.

Had four out to quote, all said we didn't need a new roof. However, we asked one builder to supply a quote for new roof - it's £10,750 with 15 year guarantee. It's a lot of money, but moving forward don't want to find more repairs in a few years, and if we moved have to think about survey.

Any thoughts?

How much have you spent so far? Will it be a better investment to know it's completely sound?
We are currently having ours replaced completely and I'm so glad we chose this over patching repairs. Once it was coming off it was clear that it was a total mess and we'd have spent thousands more over the next few years.

Around £3,500 on three initial repairs and £6,000 on what we're sure were cowboy builders, we weren't comfortable or confident when they were here doing the job and roofers coming out to quote have told us they made a hash of it.

House not perfect, but living wise very flexible for old age, so could live here for rest of life. If we did sell, I suspect the roof will come up on a survey as it'll be obvious there's a new ridge and quite a few new tiles (old tiles no longer made). There are about 100 properties like ours and I think about five have new roofs, and others are often having repairs.

Bumping in hope of responses. Thank you.

If you want to stay in the house for the rest of your life then bite the bullet because it will buy you peace of mind and it's a long term investment. Otherwise it seems to be becoming a money pit.

Then no more worrying about if a leak is going to occur in the same place or somewhere new. No more looking up at the ceilings and worrying about downpours in weeks /months of constant rain.

If you do need to sell buyers will be happy to buy it with a new roof and it will sell quicker. But get a reputable local company with excellent reviews...and go and see some of their past work which they should be able to show you.

Thanks. We do have to think about money for the future, but I just want to be able to relax every time it rains!

Whether a full roof repair or patch up, we're going to use a local chap who two people I know have used. I've also seen him working on various local properties over the years, and currently working on church roof. Need to find out how it works, but he'll give us a guarantee for the work.

I would suggest, if you haven't already, to make sure sure the roofers are a member of Confederation of Roofing Contractors (www.corc.co.uk) or National Federation of Roofing Contractors (www.nfrc.co.uk)

Buit go through the bodies website as some roofers may claim to belong, but perhaps don't or have been booted out.

Would you be able to get the chimney removed? They are often of no use any longer - although that might not be the case for you - and are structures you have to maintain without being of any use.
Roofer would tile/slate over the area where chimney once was.
Doing it that way gets rid of a vulnerable area - leading around chimney stack, chimney stack itself.

If you can find someone you totally trust and price is ok for you, then I'd go for a complete new roof.

Thanks for your replies. DH texted the roofer this morning to say we want to check on a couple of things either way and he said he'll come tomorrow when we're both here.

The chimney is a joint chimney with our neighbour, so we can't just get rid of it. Sadly neighbour passed away and property going through Probate, so not going to be able to discuss with potential new neighbours for months.

Why? Four contractors have said a new roof is not needed! There are no real guarantees with new rooves I'm afraid and the OP could be swapping a perfectly good one for one with defects. Roofers are one of the worst trades for cowboys imo. That's not to mention the hassle and expense either.

@Sunnyside4 Depends where you are. In Scotland I believe - and I'm not an expert - that you can remove it as it's not a jointly owned structure. You own 100% of it as do they. Obviously it's best to have neighbour approval but not necessary in the eyes of the law as I understand it. The law is different in England because of the party wall act. However, you can still get work done. You'd have to liase with the executor. Up to you obviously but I'd explore all the options as roofing work can often turn into an absolute nightmare.

No on one here can tell you if you need a new roof but your existing roof is 60 years old?
Can it be repaired, yes of course, are there the people who are able to do it well? yes and no and thats your problem, a new roof may well be worse than your old one if an idiot is doing it.

People over complicate roofs, primarily because they don't know what they are doing, the main issue you'll have now is that water has been getting into the house for some time, thats going to lead to rot, which means what was a simple repair is now long and complicated.

If you go on FB and look for the roofing outlaw, he can put you in touch with people who are good.
He was of great help to me and avoided a £20k bill, i had repairs done.