To feel worried about roofers…

[BEAchDays2]

I need to hire a roofer because we have a Leake, and for some reason I actually feel really stressed about it. I think there is something about the fact that they go up on the roof and Check, and there seem to be so many different ways you can be scammed with Roofing! But you can’t sort of see what they can see… Does anybody have any horror stories, which led you to understand potential pitfalls? Or stories of good roofers, and why you trusted them? I’ve already had one set of people out to look at the roof, and there was just something really untrustworthy about them, which sounds horribly judgemental, I didn’t like the teeth sucking, and the vague grabbing of a figure of a few thousand from the air… Help!

Frustratingly, I can’t seem to get back to the start of that post…obviously I mean Leak…

Word of mouth is the only way to find a good roofer IMHO.

Can you ask on a local FB/Nextdoor group or similar for recs.

Roofers, like a lot of tradies, don’t like wee jobs like fixing leaks. But they shouldn’t charge you more than a few hundred quid max unless it’s multiple leaks and/or substantial damage.

Maybe try and get a few quotes or ask your neighbours for recommendations. Failing that, try online for recommendations.

Good luck.

Word of mouth, sorry, I think that's the only way. I've got two trusted roofers - and they are always really hard to get hold of as both very busy. You are right to be wary.

I've had a crap one who managed to break more tiles than he fixed. I've also had what I hope was an ok one replacing the whole roof which was a bit nerve wracking.
Try and get a recommendation from someone who's got the same kind of roof as you.

And I wouldn't go for a one man band who wants full payment up front. That's too much of a risk.

Check their presence and reviews online. Again I'd be wary of someone who has limited online footprint.

You want them to quote for the job, not an hourly rate. And get everything in writing, including a guarantee.

Get quotes from at least three. Anyone very pushy I'd be wary of. Decent builders are rarely free immediately so if they can do it straight away that could be a red flag.

I think you’re right to be cautious. I’ve had a lot of problems with mine, several people I contacted didn’t even bother to turn up and of those who did the quotes ranged from a couple of hundred to thousands. I went with one I felt comfortable with but despite him coming back several times the leak persisted.

One of the biggest issues is getting them to provide proper detailed quotes, they don’t seem keen to commit or spell out specifically what they’re going to do and what happens if there’s a problem.

Trust a Trader and the like make no difference, the people I’ve found through there have been no better than FB recommendations.

Sorry to sound negative but I thought it might help to know what you’re dealing with. My best suggestion would be don’t just go on personal recommendations but try and find someone who is connected to a friend or contact so they have a reason to do a good job but no idea if you can find anyone like that.

You can ask them to take photos and show them to you to explain where the issue is, then take them again when they've fixed it.
That's what my gutter guy does.

My roofer goes up and takes photos, shows me them and we discuss the work needed and cost.

Don’t hire someone who gives you a funny feeling and make sure they come highly recommended. We just spent £60k on building works. I have no idea what the hell they did because I don’t have any technical expertise. But they were really lovely and trustworthy, so much so I left them with our keys while we were on holiday, and they were highly recommended.

Finding any good tradesman is hard. What annoys me is when you ring , leave a message and they dont bother calling back. Always worth using recommendations

Yes, don't pay anything up front! When my roof was replaced I paid nothing until the job was finished.

We had a roofer recently who used a drone to take pictures of the roof so he could show us and give us a quote (we have a three storey house, so I'm guessing easier than getting a ladder up there).

Go on your local face book and ask for recommendations.

Ask on local groups for recommendations. We found an excellent builder that way.

We used a roofer recommended by a neighbour and he was great, I've recommended him to others too. With a warning that he looks like a pirate or as he said once, "I know I look like a meth head bab, but I know me roofs".

I’d ask around locally for a recommendation (not just on local social media pages where some random person recommends his brother!) Actual people who’ve used them to do a job.

Thanks so much all.

Deffo would next pay upfront for anything like this so that’s good!

also will go for recommendations! Thank you

They should take photos /video to show you

I very nearly.got.scammed 2 years ago after we had a leak. Looked online check out websites, reviews/testimonials. Went and got quotes from the most professional looking website, had them out, quoted 15k for whole roof replacement etc.

They sent a quote through and it had the man's name on the email and luckily I googled him and he was a known scammed, court case after court case for cowboy roofing scams etc.

We cancelled.

I then asked people for recommendations on local facebook group, got quotes from about 6. Temp repair ranging around £600 to permanent replacement of damaged area for approx. £3000.

We went middle of the road with also lots of recommendations. I am not naive but the original lot were so convincing. I always recommend the guys we used in the end, they were great, everything happen on the dates they said it would. I was really worried after my initial experience though.

I.wouldnt use checkatrade type websites from recommendations either.

Sorry about typos, I was rushing*

You are right to be worried. My dh is a builder and the amount of times he goes up onto roofs and can see what an absolute bodge job they have done. Other times they have done nothing to the roof but charged the customer a fortune. I would say the majority of them are dodgy. As others have said, it needs to be word of mouth.

Also Trust a Trader etc are useless. The biggest villain "builder" we know is on there.

If you are living alone use the words “we” in any conversation you have (not “I”)
”we have a roof leak” for example

Consider placing mens clothing in places that are seen - a pair of old workboots outside the door / a uniform hat or gilet or similar. Or ask a male relative or friend just to be around your property when they come.

Roofers that came recommended by close friends billed me for “scaffolding” that was not needed nor used on the job.

As the widow of a tradesman, I am finding out now first hand for myself just how many scammers there are and how many unethical tradesmen make a visual assessment of your circumstances…

Ask for photos of the roof also.

Word of mouth ideally from somebody you know well. Or otherwise has anybody in your neighbourhood had their house re-roofed recently? Knock on the door and ask if they would recommend the people they used.