Roof Repair or Refurbishment? How to Decide

When a roof starts showing its age, homeowners are often unsure whether to keep repairing it or invest in refurbishment. Refurbishment sits between a one-off repair and a full re-roof. This guide explains the difference and how to decide.

What Each Option Means

• Repair — fixing a specific fault, such as a slipped tile or a failed flashing.
• Refurbishment — renewing several worn elements across the roof, such as ridges, hips, valleys and flashings, while keeping the main covering.
• Re-roofing — stripping and replacing the whole covering, battens and underlay.

When Refurbishment Makes Sense

• The tiles or slates are mostly sound but ridges and valleys are failing
• You have needed several separate repairs in recent years
• Mortar is cracking along ridges and verges
• Flashings around chimneys and walls are lifting or perished

When It Doesn't

If the underlay has failed across the roof, tiles are porous or sliding throughout, or timbers are damaged, refurbishment will only delay the inevitable and a re-roof is usually better value.

Our roof refurbishment service in Wilmslow explains how we assess whether refurbishment is right for your roof.