When do you replace the whole roof?

[newroofadvice]

If you have a leak from the roof, does the whole roof need to be replaced, or just the part the leak is coming from? i.e. a patch work?

How does a building surveyor know whether the whole roof needs replacing or not?

When should you replace a whole roof?

Thank you.

If is stone slate - it should last 100-150 years.. If cement roof tiles - 15-25 years.. It is expensive - we replaced ours recently.

🤣 i think you will find cement ( concrete ) roof tiles last longer than 15-25 years. ……. 🙄

not with current winter storms 😥

A leak ie a couple of broken tiles, would be a repair job. Ditto flashing repair/slipped tiles/repointing edges etc. For me it would have to be a massive repair of half the roof to be thinking sod it, might as well replace the lot eg a tree crashes through one side, or trusses rotted through.

Basically it depends, if it's an economic decision then when the cost of repairs over time exceeds the cost of replacement. If you are a roofer then you can probably help it along for longer than if you live somewhere with hardly any tradespeople.
If you're selling soon then replacing it is unlikely to make your money back
If it's your dinner home and you hate getting tradespeople in then just go for it.
If you're doing a loft conversion in 3 years then patch it up.
In your case if it's a leak and the substrate is sound then patch it up. If there's underlying issues eg not enough fall or rotten main beams then it's going to make more sense to replace.
Even in a replacement it can be best to reuse some materials, you might replace the felt and battens but reuse most of the tiles.

You might as well have asked how long is a piece of string!😀

Not really going to be damaged by some wind and rain! unless they're falling off and smashing!

The ones on our house have been on since 79 and are fine with very little wear, no reason why they wont last another 40 years.

stroms are more likely the damage lighter weight tiles , slate , rosemary’s than heavy concrete ones.

We replaced our concrete tiles last year, partly for aesthetic reasons though. They had been on since 1957. We had a couple of small leaks which could have been patch repaired really.

My nephew's a roofer and I asked him that question. He says a slate roof over 100 years, but cement roof tiles can last up to 30 years or even a bit more if well maintained so if a tile is lost it's replaced immediately. He also said guttering needs cleaning out annually and gutters on roof every 20 years.

How do you maintain a concrete roof tile exactly ?

I have a 3-storey property so anything roof related can be a major disaster! The first roofer was talking about scaffolding and a license from the council etc… and that was ‘just to inspect’ 🙄 £££

I then found a roofer who came out, went in the roof void to inspect and then used his drone to survey the roof. He showed me the exact position of the issue. He said the quickest and cheapest solution was to install a sky light over the issue. That cost me £1500 and solved the issue. Since then I’ve had people access the roof via the sky light to fix an issue around the chimney and a gulley.

Apparently this is very common practise with landlords - the installation of skylights to access the roof.

If it cracks or falls off you replace it. They crack sometimes apparently. Then they let water in and it soaks into the felt stuff underneath.

@newroofadvice Take a look at this article, it might help.
https://swinglerroofing.co.uk/unveiling-the-secrets-of-roof-repairs/

We need a whole new roof on the main building (not extension), roof is estimated to be 125 years old (possibly older) slate.

Its missing LOADS of tiles (about 30 in the garden that have fallen off), theres no membrane and the purlins have rotted causing the roof to bow. The facia and sofits are also rotted through and someone at some point removed the lead flashing and concreted over it which has cracked. You can see the sky from inside the attic.

It needs replacing because its just too far gone to patch back up.

A patch up is good on a newer roof that has lost the odd tile in a storm etc...

Although some houses have had concrete roof tiles last 60+ years and still going, the manufacturing guide on concrete roof tiles states 25-30 years.

Its like anything, things have a recommended life span but can out live that.

My slate roof is the original roof, and the house was built in 1870.

I had a leak and I had roofers quote me anything from £60 for a bit of cement on it, all the way up to £8k for a new roof. The cement fixed it.

A trusted roofer friend said if it’s not causing a problem, leave it. If there is a problem, it may be obvious or it may be trial and error.

The saying goes that the further up the house you get and the less you can see the work, the more you risk being swindled! (The saying is actually more like “the tradespeople get rougher the higher up you go”, and while it seemed ok for an actual roofer to say that I feel a bit snobby repeating it!)

Hard to say, but I'd think a patch job for now, but it's a sign there are potential weaknesses. Our house was built 1962 - just had a new roof.

We purchased 10 years ago and realised there was a leak on moving in (dormers in roof so no access above for surveyor and high wardrobes hiding). Then another leak into our bedroom and one of the valleys on original windows started leaking. This last year first leak back, staining down centre wall and leak down other valley. Had new roof in last couple of months.

What is your situation OP?

If you have a roof leak, it might just need a patch repair rather than a full replacement. A building surveyor will assess the roof’s overall condition to decide. I had a similar problem and consulted RNS Roofers in Guildford,they were great at providing clear advice. I highly recommend reaching out to them!

Depends on what, if anything is wrong with the actual timbers. If they're fine, you may just need some tiles/slates replacing.
Our house is about 100 years old. Original timbers and slate. We've just had it re-slated, as a fair few had been patched in with those lead hooks which is a sign a roof need reslating, but the surveyor told us not to take any crap about needing new slates. We good a good roofer, and he said the same. He did the job reusing the old slates and some reclaimed ones to replace any broken ones, and putting in a mebrane underneath the slates (originally they'd been 'parged' - -sealed with lime to stop draughts- and the parging was dropping off). He did put on new gutters and barge boards etc. as that needed doing too.
The timbers needed nothing doing to them at all. They were in excellent condition and far beefier than modern ones would be.

I had a massive leak when the felt shingles roof on my house got blown off in a storm. To refelt the roof & then cover in synthetic slates cost £1500 in 2002, so probably now would be nearer £5k. It was all done & dusted in less than 5 days including the scaffolding.

It's unlikely you would need to replace the entire roof, but it depends on many factors. that's why your best to get a proper professional to come and have a look and to assess it. in fact I got a few of them over to get a fair view from various firms. got to shout out mj roofing crawley they were lovely chaps https://roofingcrawley.com/ good luck with it! i know it is such a nightmare with a leaky roof

Blimey the post that suggest a tile roof needs replacing every 15/25 years is a bit worrying. I can’t think of a single house around here that’s had a complete roof replacement and the houses were built in the 50’s . The odd tile gets replaced when one slips after a storm etc , but there must be a horrendous decline in manufacturing standards if that’s genuinely the case with new houses .