One total price and a scope you can read
The price at the bottom of a quote should be a single total. What makes that total mean something is the description above it: what is being done, to which part of the roof, with what. A quote that says "re-roof, £X" tells you very little. One that says what comes off, what goes on and where, gives you something to hold the job to.
A good scope is written in sentences, and states:
- Which slopes, flat sections or other parts of the roof are covered.
- The new covering by type and make, and the underlay and battens.
- How ridges, hips and verges are finished and fixed.
- Lead or other flashings at chimneys, abutments and valleys.
- Whether gutters, fascias and soffits are in or out.
The detail should come from a survey of your roof, not from a guess made from the pavement. The survey is why the price follows it, and why you should see photos of your own roof along with the quote.
Fixings matter, too. Under BS 5534 they are calculated for the site's exposure, so ask the roofer to say how the new tiles or slates will be held on. BS 5534 is a code of practice, not legislation, and a roofer who works to it can explain what it means for your roof.
Checking VAT, scaffold and waste
Three items decide whether two totals can be compared fairly. If one quote includes them and the other does not, the cheaper one may simply be the incomplete one.
- VAT. The quote should say in words whether VAT is in it. The standard rate is 20%, so adding VAT to a total that leaves it out raises that total by a fifth. The VAT on roofing work page explains the rest.
- Scaffold. Access to the roof has to be safe, so work at height is planned around it. Check that it is in the total, and who arranges any licence if it stands on the pavement.
- Waste. Old tiles, battens and packaging have to go somewhere. The quote should say the roofer removes them.
Ask these as direct questions and note the answers on the quote itself. A phrase such as "scaffold extra" in small type is a signal to ask what the full figure comes to, and to get the answer on paper.
If a job needs a skip on the road, the quote should say who books it, because Kent County Council looks to the skip company to apply for the permit.
None of this squeezes the price. It lets you read two totals and know they cover the same job.
Start date, stages and who does what
A quote that names no start date leaves the timing to whoever is busiest. Ask for a date or a week, and for the length of the job in working days. Then ask what happens if rain stops work, since roofs cannot be left open.
The stages are worth having in writing for two reasons. They tell you what to expect each day, from the scaffold going up to the clear-up at the end. And they give you the points at which payment can follow progress, as explained on the roofer deposit page.
On a longer job the quote might set out:
- The date the scaffold is due and when it comes down.
- When the old covering is taken off and the roof closed in again each evening.
- When any building control inspection is arranged, and by whom.
- What is left to finish before the last payment, and who signs it off.
Also ask who your contact is on site, how you will be told about each day's work, and how changes are agreed. If something unexpected shows up when the roof is opened, such as rotten timber, the change should be written down and priced before the work goes on, not added to the final invoice.
Cancellation information on a quote signed at home
Sign at your own house after a survey and the contract counts as off-premises, so you get 14 days from the day after signing to cancel. The quote or contract should tell you that, in writing, along with how to cancel.
Leaving it out has a cost: the cancellation period can then be extended by up to 12 months. A quote that leaves it out is incomplete.
Work should not begin inside the 14 days unless you ask for it, and the request needs to be in writing. An urgent repair you specifically asked a trader to visit for, such as a leak that cannot wait, is outside the cancellation right. The page on cancelling a roofing contract goes through the detail, including how to give notice and what to keep as proof that you did.
Citizens Advice recommends written quotes from at least 3 different traders before you decide. Lay them side by side and read the scope first. Quotes from Castle Roofing Margate follow the survey and give one total.
