Thetford Roofers carries out roof repairs for homeowners in Mildenhall, from replacing slipped slates and re-bedding ridge tiles to resealing flashing and tracing the source of a leak.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
A single loose ridge tile or a small gap in the flashing might not look urgent, but water does not need much of an opening to get into a roof structure. Once moisture reaches the timbers or the insulation, the damage spreads faster than the original defect. Getting a repair done while the problem is contained is almost always cheaper than leaving it.
We carry out roof repairs for homeowners in Mildenhall and the surrounding area, covering everything from replacing individual slipped or cracked slates to re-bedding mortar ridge tiles, repointing verges, and resealing lead or code-metal flashing around chimney stacks and skylights. After the work, we provide a written report on the condition of the rest of your roof so you know what else, if anything, to keep an eye on.
Roof leaks rarely enter the house directly below the point where water gets in. Water travels along rafters, battens, and the underside of the roof deck before it finds somewhere to drip. The damp patch on your ceiling may be a metre or more away from the actual fault, and the room directly below the stain is not always the one that sits under the problem area of the roof.
Before any repair is priced or started, the right approach is to identify the true source. We look at the roof section above the stain first, then work outward to junctions and changes in roof plane. Common entry points include the lead flashing where the roof meets a chimney breast, the mortar fillet along a parapet wall, and the join where a rear or side extension meets the main house wall. A dormer cheek or a valley gutter hidden behind a parapet are also worth checking early.
Some leaks only appear after prolonged heavy rain rather than a short shower. That usually points to a slow drainage problem rather than a single cracked tile - perhaps a partially blocked valley or a sagging gutter that is forcing water back under the tiles at the fascia. Other leaks show up as overflow at the fascia level before any indoor damp is noticed, which is a clue that the gutter is backing up and wetting the rafter feet. Marks beside a chimney breast inside the loft, or wet loft insulation that is not directly under any obvious tile damage, are both worth photographing and mentioning when you call.
This is the angle that matters most for homeowners in Mildenhall who want to avoid a second call-out. Carrying out a repair is one thing; understanding what to do afterwards to keep the roof sound is another. The roof does not stop ageing the day the repair is done, and a few straightforward habits can extend the life of the work considerably.
Clear gutters and downpipes at least once a year, preferably in late autumn after the leaves have fallen. A blocked gutter does not just flood the path - it forces standing water back under the lowest course of tiles and against the fascia board, saturating the rafter feet over time. If the fascia is uPVC you may not notice the damage until it is structural. Fitting leaf guards is worth considering if you have large trees nearby.
Check the mortar along ridge tiles and verges after a hard frost. Frost is one of the main causes of mortar failure on older roofs. The freeze-thaw cycle breaks down the bond between the mortar and the tile, and ridges that were sound in October can be loose by March. Loose ridges do not always fall immediately - they can sit looking fine from the pavement while water gets in through the crack in the mortar underneath. If you can see any ridge tiles that have shifted even slightly, treat it as urgent.
Look at the lead flashing around your chimney stack from ground level after any significant windstorm. Lead that has been dressed correctly rarely lifts in ordinary wind, but older lead that was not properly secured into the masonry joints, or that has become brittle, can peel back at the edges. A small bead of sealant on ageing lead is a short-term fix at best; the right repair is to re-dress the lead and re-point the chase into the brickwork.
If your property has a flat roof section over an extension or a bay window, check it once a year by feel if you can safely reach it. A flat roof felt surface that has gone soft or spongy, or that shows blistering, is telling you the membrane is failing. Catching it before a split opens up saves the cost of replacing the deck boards beneath.
A properly done repair should stop the water entry at the source. However, any moisture that was already inside the structure before the repair will take time to dry out. A damp patch on a ceiling does not always disappear immediately after the roof is fixed - it can take several weeks of dry weather for the plaster to dry through, depending on how long the leak had been active. If the stain is still spreading after two or three weeks of dry weather, that is worth reporting back to us.
After ridge tile work, the fresh mortar needs time to cure. It should not be walked on or disturbed, and a heavy frost in the first 24 to 48 hours after laying can affect the set. We take note of forecast conditions before re-bedding mortar in cold weather.
Keep an eye on the areas immediately around any repair for the first season. A roof with one failed flashing often has others that are close to failure - that is what the written condition report is for. If we flag something as needing attention in the next year or two, take that seriously. Addressing it at a planned time is far less disruptive than dealing with an emergency call-out in January.
Replacing a small number of slates or tiles typically costs between £150 and £350 depending on the number of tiles, the pitch of the roof, and the access needed. Re-bedding a full ridge on a standard semi-detached house usually falls between £400 and £800. Chimney flashing repairs vary widely - a simple re-seal might be £150, while a full lead re-dress with re-pointing of the chase can reach £500 or more depending on the chimney size and condition of the brickwork. These are typical current UK ranges; every job is priced on what we actually find.
If you have noticed a damp patch, a displaced tile, or anything on the roof that does not look right, it is worth having it checked without delay. We cover Mildenhall and the wider area including Thetford. We will tell you clearly what needs doing now, what can wait, and what to keep an eye on - in writing.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
