Thetford Roofers carries out roof repairs for homeowners in Attleborough, handling everything from the first inspection to the final clear-up.
A damp patch on a ceiling, a ridge tile that has shifted or a gutter that seems to be overflowing before rain even gets heavy - these are the signs that something on your roof has failed and needs attention. Getting the repair done properly means following the right sequence of steps, from identifying exactly where water is entering to making sure the surrounding roof is in sound condition before you leave the site. This page explains what that process looks like in practice.
Thetford Roofers carries out roof repairs for homeowners in Attleborough and the surrounding area. We replace slipped and broken slates, re-bed ridge and hip tiles, reseal and repoint flashing, and carry out flat roof patch repairs.
The process begins before anyone goes up a ladder. From the ground, an experienced roofer can often spot obvious faults: a tile sitting slightly higher than its neighbours, a ridge tile that has rotated, a length of flashing that has started to lift, or mortar that has dropped away from a chimney haunching. These observations shape where to look first once we are on the roof.
Inside the property, the location and appearance of any staining matters. A damp patch that appears only after sustained heavy rain behaves differently from one that shows up every time it drizzles. A stain beside a chimney breast rather than directly beneath it suggests a flashing problem. Wet loft insulation with a dry ceiling below means water is pooling above the plasterboard and has not yet soaked through - but it will. All of this is gathered before any access equipment goes up.
Safe access is not optional. For a standard two-storey house, that means a properly footed ladder at the correct angle, with a standoff to keep it clear of the guttering. For larger or more complex roofs, scaffolding may be needed. A roofer who quotes for a repair without getting up on the roof and carrying out a proper inspection is guessing, and a guess is rarely accurate enough to fix a leak properly the first time.
Once on the roof, the inspection covers the whole surface, not just the area above the damp patch indoors. Water rarely enters directly above where it appears on the ceiling. It follows the line of a rafter, runs along a felt underlay or travels down a timber before dropping - sometimes several metres from the actual entry point. The roof section directly above the stain is one starting point, but nearby junctions, the drainage route across the roof surface and any vertical elements such as chimneys or dormers all need checking.
The loft space should also be inspected from inside. Daylight showing through the roof, wet patches on the felt, staining on the rafters or insulation that is damp in a specific area all help confirm where water is getting in.
Common faults found during a roof inspection include:
Leak tracing is not always straightforward. A leak that appears only after very heavy rainfall often points to a joint or junction that is functional in normal rain but overwhelmed when water volume is higher - a mortar crack in a ridge, a slightly lifted flashing edge or a valley that is partially blocked with moss and debris. A small fault of this kind can be active for years before it causes obvious internal damage.
Before starting work, we explain what we have found, what needs to be done and what material will be used. That means you know what you are agreeing to before the repair begins. If we find additional problems during the inspection that were not visible from outside - damaged felt, more extensive mortar failure than the surface suggested - we tell you before proceeding, not after.
Materials are matched to the existing roof as closely as possible. For slate roofs, that means sourcing a slate of the correct size, thickness and colour rather than using whatever is in the van. For tiled roofs, matching the profile and surface texture matters both for appearance and to ensure the new tile laps correctly with its neighbours. Ridge and hip mortar is mixed to the right specification - a mix that is too strong becomes brittle and cracks quickly in frost.
The repair itself follows a clear sequence. Damaged or loose material is removed carefully without disturbing sound slates or tiles alongside it. Any deteriorated felt or timber beneath is assessed and, if necessary, addressed as part of the same visit. The replacement material is fixed correctly - slates nailed or clipped at the right spacing, tiles bedded or mechanically fixed as the manufacturer specifies, lead flashing dressed and wedged into the mortar chase before being pointed in.
Ridge tile re-bedding means stripping the old mortar completely rather than pointing over it. Pointing over cracked mortar is a common shortcut that fails within a season or two. The tile bed and the tile itself are cleaned back, and fresh mortar is applied to the correct profile so that water sheds away from the tile rather than pooling at its edges.
Flashing repairs follow a similar discipline. If the flashing lead itself is sound but the mortar chase has cracked open, the old mortar is raked out, the lead is dressed back into position and the chase is repointed with a flexible mortar mix. If the lead is cracked or has been patched repeatedly, replacing the full length of flashing is more reliable than another patch repair.
Once the repair is complete, the surrounding area of roof is checked again before we come down. Tiles dislodged during the repair are re-seated, debris is cleared from gutters and valleys, and any moss or lichen buildup near the repair area is noted. This is not a full roof clean, but disturbing tiles during a repair can shift neighbours slightly, and checking that nothing has been inadvertently loosened is part of finishing the job properly.
After every repair, we provide a written report on the overall condition of your roof. It identifies areas in sound condition, areas showing early wear and anything that is likely to need attention in the next few years. This is practical information, not a sales pitch - it means you can plan maintenance rather than waiting for the next failure to show up on your ceiling.
If you have a roof problem in Attleborough and want to know what is causing it and how it will be fixed, call us to arrange a roof survey. We will go through the whole process with you before any work starts.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
