I need roof maintenance advice!

[SweetAndFullOfGrace]

We've moved recently into a 1980s bungalow with a later loft conversion and rear extension. This is our first house so I don't know what I'm doing!

It's mostly in good shape, but there have been a few roof issues that we've had to sort already (gutter issue at the new extended end and leak where the porch roof joins the house roof at the old original end).

When the roofer looked at the leak in the old original end he said the tiles are very thin and we should keep an eye on them. Does that sound right?

Now we have some plaster coming away in the loft extension at the same end - it's in a row and looks like plaster over nails coming through, which makes me think water is coming through nail holes.

I would rather know about all the issues and have them fixed all at once, so how do I find the problems, rather than having to call a roofer every time it rains? Can I pay someone to do a roof MOT?

All roof related advice is welcome as I've no idea what to do!

Well my experience is with a much older house and a shared rood (recipe for years of fun) but for what it's worth, the very best thing you can do is find, by word of mouth, a recommendation for three good reliable roofers. Then get them all to come and have a look and tell you what they think needs doing. If they all say more or less the same thing, go ahead and pick one. If they don't you can ask why xx says this needs a doing when zzz doesn't, and see what they say.
It's also very worth asking your neighbours if they've had any problems and/or have reliable roofers - my DPILs just had to replace their entire 1980s roof (sorry!), as did their neighbours, because the builders had used a dodgy lot of tiles.
A decent roofer will tell you honestly what needs to be done and it needn't cost the earth; they'll also advise you on what will need doing but can wait, and what you might want to check regularly. My friend who's a conservation person swears by gutter cleaning annually; I'm not that thorough but again, I don't have my own roof.
Good luck!

Thanks Finger? What did you ask them to do when they came to look at the roof? I don't want to give them a blank cheque but equally it's quite difficult to get tradies to turn up here, they only seem to bother if they think the job will be worth it for them.

I would say you have a leak and that you want a general overhaul of the roof as you've just moved in. Really the key thing is to get a recommendation about who's reliable, I'd say. Try asking at work, school if you have children, local shops if it's rural.