****Our roof is leaking! ****HELP!!!**** What do I do and how much should I expect to pay!?****

[ReverseThePolarity]

HELP!

Our roof is leaking! We noticed last night there is a drip of water coming through the ceiling. As this is the room we eventually want to move ds into this is pretty urgent!

However, having - until now - been lifelong renters we have no idea what to do - this sort of thing was always previously done by landlords/ladies - and are pretty nervous about being taken for a ride!

We would prefer to pay to have it done BUT:
-What do we do about getting someone in to fix it?
-Should we ring around some roofers and get them to give us a quote?
-Do we have to pay for quotes or should they do it for free?
-How much should we expect to pay for a quote if we do have to pay?
-And how much should we have to pay to have the roof fixed?
-Will they need to fix the entire roof or will it just be a case of moving a few tiles around?

TIA!

Bumping this - dh doesn't believe anyone on MN will have a clue how to help and I want to prove him wrong!!

First of all, put a bucket under the drip!

Look here for a local roofing contractor. Arrange quotes. You may find someone cheaper - in fact you will - who isn't registered with the Federation of Master Builders, but it's a bit safer to go with a company that has membership. Don't bother with a company that won't do free quotes.

What you'll pay for the roof to be fixed depends on how bad the problem is - it might be a few replacement tiles (couple of hundred quid?) or all or part of the roof (thousands.)

When did you buy your house, and what type of survey did you have done? Will your buildings insurance cover work? Are you freehold or leasehold?

quotes will be free
just ring a few places from the yellow pages and get them to come round

your blg insurance may cover emergency work or call outs

Have you gone into the loft and had a look around, or looked at the roof from outside to see if you can see any slipped tiles? Without having someone look at it, you can't tell if it needs patching or replacing.
If it is a flat roof, they need replacing about every 10 years anyway.

Ask your neighbours if they can recommend a roofer.
We had our roof replaced a few years ago and were not charged for the quote.
We paid about £3000 a few years ago to have the whole roof tiles replaced and roof strengthened. If you have the whole roof done you must have it looked at by building control (local council) to ensure that it is done to the right regulations.

If the leak has affected your decor you may be able to claim on your house insurance for redecoration.

You'll find local builders in your yellow pages - I'd go for roofing contractors rather bog standard jack of all trades types. Loft conversion companies may do roof repairs.

A quick and speedy temporary solution might be to bung expanding foam in the hole in the roof - but do this with caution. Neither of you wants to plummet through the ceiling and you could make the problem worse. It won't put off the inevitable repair but may buy you time if you're strapped for cash.

Ask around locally (and local mners) for recommendations. Does anyone on your street have a new roof? Anyone had a loft conversion? Does your town have a local website?

I'd urge you to go with one of the cheapest FMB companies you can find. The expanding foam job is really just a sticking plaster and not to be attempted unless you're very confident about what you're doing.

HAs either of you looked in the loft?

Thanks everyone!!!

I had a leak in my DS's room and it was the flashing which had come away from the brick. My neighbour got on the roof with a gun of gooey stuff and filled in all the gaps and now there are no more leaks

I suppose that depends on how high your roof is, whether you have a ladder that reaches it and how scared of heights you are though

We are in the middle of having a whole new roof. Its costing 3.5K .

We did have the quotes for just patching it up but decided to have the whole thing done.

The wood and felt were soaked through and rotten. We noticed wet patches on ceiling in our room when we removed the ceiling 'wall'paper.

The only positive is that the roofer is VERY good looking!! All my friends have been round for a cuppa and a look.

mossy, eek! you poor thing ---call a plumber as if you have dripping water your electrics might be affected and you might get a nasty shock when you switch on the lights. you really don';t want to be in the shower or anything.

send dh into the loft to see where the leak is as well, yeah yeah equality in the meantime

the plumber will prob be able to do something and will certainly know a man who can. get 3 quotes though, and one from a pole as they will be a sensible price. any uk plumber will probably be on holiday in the maldives anyway

have you got house insurance? give them a call... good luck