Think of a roof as something with a medical history. It is looked over, kept clean, patched when it is hurt and eventually replaced when repairs no longer hold. A roofer can help at each of those four points, and the work is quite different every time. A tile that has slipped needs a steady hand and a ladder. A rotten batten needs someone who can read what has gone wrong underneath. A new roof needs a plan, a survey, safe access, a check of the rules and a written price.
This page walks through the four stages, then takes on the question homeowners ask in practice: why not do it myself, or ask the handyman who built the fence? The answer is not always never. Some jobs stay on the ground and suit a confident homeowner. Others do not, and the difference is mostly about safety, rules and what you cannot see from where you stand. We finish with your rights and where to turn if work goes badly. Our homepage lists the work we do.
Four jobs a roofer does for a roof
The work falls into four stages, and every roof passes through all of them. Knowing which stage yours has reached keeps you from paying for the wrong thing, and from buying more work than the roof calls for.
Inspecting
An inspection is a trained look at every layer: tiles, ridge, flashings, gutters, then the loft. You leave with pictures taken on the roof and a short list sorted by urgency. Our post on regular roof inspections covers the visit in full and carries a checklist.
Maintaining
Maintenance is the small, repeated work that stops a roof ageing early: clearing gutters, removing moss, rebedding a loose ridge tile, renewing tired pointing. Done in time, it costs a fraction of repair, and a great deal less than renewal.
Repairing
Repair deals with something that has already failed: a slipped slate, a split flashing, a cracked hip tile, a torn patch of felt. A good roofer will also say when mending is the wiser spend than starting again, and when it is not.
Renewing
Renewal means a new covering, and often new battens and underlay beneath it. Published lifespans show roughly when that arrives. Marley quotes about 60 years for concrete tiles and stresses it promises nothing. For clay, the Building Research Establishment sets a 60-year floor, whereas slate, CORC reports, can pass 100 years when looked after. Which of these your roof is made from changes the whole conversation. Our roof replacement service begins, like every job, with a survey and a written total price.
Roofer or handyman: where the line sits
A good handyman is worth having for a dripping tap and a sticking door. A roof is a different order of work, because the faults are hidden, the access is hazardous and a poor repair can cost you the roof beneath it.
What does a roofer know that a general builder may not?
Roofing is a trade of detail. The overlap between tiles, the nailing of a batten, the lead code chosen for a flashing, the fall of a flat roof and the fixing of a ridge all have right and wrong answers. BS 5534 covers slating and tiling. Marley notes that the law does not require you to follow it, yet it remains the yardstick for a sound job, and since 2014 it has looked for mechanical fixings on ridge and hip tiles, not mortar by itself.
Does the day rate tell me anything?
Checkatrade's June 2026 guide puts a typical UK roofer at £35 to £45 an hour, or £280 to £360 a day. A day rate is a poor way to judge a job, because how long the work takes depends on what the roof turns out to need once the covering is lifted. Our answer on what a roofer charges per day goes into it.
When is a handyman fine?
For work that stays wholly on the ground, such as clearing the bottom of a downpipe or tightening a bracket you can reach from a firm base, you do not need a roofer. For anything above the first-floor line, or on the roof itself, the risk goes up and the room for error goes down. If the job is mixed, split it: let the handyman do the ground-level part and bring in a roofer for the rest.
Why roof DIY costs more than it saves
The case against DIY on a roof is not that homeowners are clumsy. It is that roofs hide their problems, and that the one mistake you cannot repeat is a fall.
What goes wrong in practice?
Three things turn up again and again. The repair treats the symptom: water rarely drips from the place it gets in, so a patch beside the stain can leave the real fault alone. A sealant or a coat of paint goes over something that needed a proper repair, and it buys a winter or two before the problem returns, larger. And a product gets used for a job it was not made for. Foam sprayed onto a leaking roof without fixing the leak is a fair example, and the Energy Saving Trust, asked about it, answers that it does not recommend doing this.
What can a homeowner safely do?
Look. Use binoculars from the garden, check the loft with a torch, and photograph anything odd from the ground. Clear leaves from a low gutter using a stable ladder with someone holding it. The seasonal checks that stay on the ground are in our roof maintenance checklist answer. Treat the roof itself as out of bounds. Tiles are slippery when damp, and a fragile surface such as asbestos cement sheeting or a rooflight can give way underfoot. HSE leaflet A14 warns that an asbestos cement roof is fragile at all times.
If you have spotted something and are unsure, send photos taken from the ground. We will say what needs a closer look, and what does not.
Working at height: setting up a safe job
The most valuable thing a professional brings is not a skill with tiles. It is a way of getting onto the roof, working there and coming down again without anyone being hurt, including whoever stands underneath.
What should safe access look like?
On a house, safe access usually means a scaffold along the eaves with a working platform and edge protection, or a tower where the work is small and local. A bare ladder leant on a gutter is a way up, not a way to work. For a larger job you should see boards, guard rails and a route up that is kept apart from the work area. Ask any roofer how they will reach the roof before you ask about materials, and treat vagueness as a reason to hold off.
Who sorts out the scaffold licence?
Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 says scaffolding which obstructs a public road or pavement needs the highway authority's licence. On your own land none is needed. For Crawley addresses the authority is West Sussex County Council, whose page does not state who applies, so the application is worked out between us and the scaffolding firm. Put the same question to everyone who quotes, and ask whether the price includes the scaffold.
Do cranes or tall equipment come into it?
Near Gatwick, the airport wants a permit for a crane or tall lifting kit within 6km, unless the kit stands under 10m or has taller trees or buildings shielding it all round. Scaffolding is not named in the airport's rules, but the permit is a reason to ask what machinery a roofer plans to bring.
Rules a roofer keeps track of
Roof work touches more than one rulebook, and none of them is visible from the ground. A professional handles them as routine and should tell you plainly which apply to your job.
Do I need Building Regulations approval?
Sometimes. Per the Planning Portal, work that touches under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof does not usually call for approval. If the new covering weighs 15 per cent or more extra, or would react to fire very differently, approval is required. In Crawley, the borough's own building control page lists replacing more than 25% of a roof's surface among works needing approval, so larger re-roofs go to them for a view. Elsewhere, ask the local building control body.
What about planning, asbestos and wildlife?
Planning rules usually leave like-for-like re-covering alone, whereas a changed appearance, a roof window or a dormer may need permission, and listed buildings and conservation areas bring extra controls. Ask the council's planning team. HSE says to assume a building built or refurbished before 2000 contains asbestos, so unknown sheets, soffits and garage roofs are left alone until they are identified. Bats and nesting birds are protected by wildlife law, so a roofer stops and checks before disturbing either.
None of this is legal advice, and none of it is cause for nerves. It is simply a reason to have the roofer explain what applies and to see the answer in writing alongside the price.
Your rights if you hire a roofer
Hiring is easier when you know what the law gives you, and what a sensible check looks like before anyone gets on a ladder.
How do I check a roofer is genuine?
Start with a few basics. Compare written quotes, speak to a past customer rather than relying on a printed reference, make sure there is a landline or an address, and ask to see proof of insurance. If a firm names a trade body, look the firm up on that body's own member list. Our guide to how to tell a dodgy roofer works through the warning signs one by one.
What does the law give me?
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires a trader to perform a service with reasonable care and skill. Say you accept a price at home after the survey and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 normally give you 14 days to cancel without giving a reason, running from the day after you agree. One exception: you asked for the visit expressly to deal with urgent repairs. Where the right to cancel was never explained to you, the window stretches to as long as 12 months.
Who can I ring if it goes wrong?
Citizens Advice runs the consumer helpline for individuals, and it can pass details of a complaint on to Trading Standards for you, which you cannot do yourself. Keep your paperwork and photos together before you call.
Whoever you hire, expect the price as one total, with the start date and the scope set out in writing, and keep a copy somewhere you can find it. If anything on the page differs from what was said at the survey, ask about it before you sign, not after the scaffold goes up. A roofer who is happy to talk you through the paperwork is usually one worth hiring.
Part of Roofers in Crawley: the full guide
Using a professional: your questions
Is a roofer worth it for a small repair?
Usually, yes, because the visible fault is rarely the whole story. A roofer who can see the underlay, battens and fixings around a slipped tile often finds why it slipped. The visit also gives you photos of your own roof, which are worth having even when the answer is that nothing more is needed.
Is dry-fix better than mortar for a ridge?
Dry-fix systems are tested to BS 8612 and hold ridge tiles mechanically, which is what current practice expects. A mortar ridge can still be sound when it has proper fixings as well. Ask the roofer which method suits your roof, why, and how the tiles will be fixed down.
What should be written down before work starts?
One total price, what it covers, and whether the figure includes VAT and any scaffolding, the start date, how long it should take and who handles the licence if the scaffold is on the highway. Ask for any workmanship cover in writing too, and keep every document with the photos in one folder.
