Can a Roof Be Replaced in Winter?

The risk in any re-roof is an open roof when rain arrives. In winter that risk is higher, so the way the job is run changes. The crew strips and recovers in sections, working across the roof one slope or one bay at a time, and the section that is open is covered with the new underlay and battens, or with temporary sheeting, before the day ends. Underlay is the waterproof sheet laid beneath the covering, and battens are the thin timber lengths that carry the tiles.

Sheeting must be fixed down, because winter wind lifts anything loose, and it should be checked when work stops for the evening and again before the first tile is lifted next morning. Underlay laid in the morning can be pinned down with battens at once, which holds it against the wind until the tiles follow. Before the work begins, ask how the roof will be covered each evening and what happens if the forecast turns. A sound answer names the sheeting, the fixing and who will be on site to deal with it. Our page on what happens if it rains during a roof replacement goes through the day-to-day detail.

Cold is more of a problem than rain for anything wet-fixed. Mortar bedding for ridge tiles, hip tiles and verges needs to cure, and fresh mortar that freezes can be weakened. Roof adhesives and flat roof bonding products also have working limits set by the manufacturer, covering both temperature and surface dampness, and those limits are on the data sheet for the product being used.

There are two sensible responses. The first is to schedule the sensitive items for a dry, mild spell, and leave them until the weather allows. The second is to use a method that does not depend on curing. A dry-fixed ridge, hip or verge system is held mechanically with clips and fixings. Marley explains that the 2014 revision of BS 5534 ruled out relying on bedding alone for ridge and hip tiles, so each also gets a clip, screw or nail. BS 8612 is the specification that dry-fixed systems are tested to. Read more about dry ridge and dry verge.

In midwinter the working day is much shorter, and the crew has less time to strip, fix and cover each section before the light goes. Tile fixing in poor light is also how mistakes and injuries happen, so a careful roofer plans smaller sections than they would in summer and stops early rather than rush the last course.

A winter job should therefore be expected to take longer than the same job in July, and the written programme should allow for days lost to rain, ice and high wind. Wet or frosty roofs are slippery, and scaffold boards can ice up overnight, so a start may be delayed until the surface is safe to work on. Work is also stopped in high winds, when sheets, tiles and scaffold are all at risk.

Cold slows hands as well: a crew in gloves fixes fewer tiles an hour than in June, which is one more reason the programme should be longer. Ask for a rough duration with a clear note that it moves with the weather, and ask to be told each evening what was finished and what the next day holds. Our guide to how long a roof replacement takes shows the usual stages.

If the roof is leaking, the answer is rarely to wait for spring. Where a ceiling is already stained or dripping, make-safe work comes first, and the re-roof can follow when the weather allows. If the roof is simply old, a winter start is possible with the planning above. Waiting only makes sense when the sensitive details, such as a long run of wet-bedded ridge, are best left to a better spell.

You also need to be at home or reachable, since the house is exposed to the weather if something goes wrong. Check the loft for stored items, and move anything that cannot get damp. Tell the crew where the water tank and any wiring run, so nothing is disturbed while the old covering comes off. Your own insurer should be told if the roof is damaged by a storm, because photographs of the damage are the evidence an insurer will ask to see. Our roof replacement page covers the wider process.

Give us the address, the age of the roof and the covering you are thinking of, and we will describe how we would sequence the job around the coming weeks of weather.