Re-roofing in Erith is usually the end of a long story. A roof gets patched after one storm, then another, until the patches outnumber the original tiles. By then a new roof is usually the cheaper option over time. We're roofers from west Dartford who replace roofs across Erith, from the First World War houses on Northumberland Heath to 1930s homes on the ABC roads and newer properties near the riverside. A new roof here has to be built for the wind. That means a breathable membrane, new treated battens, tiles fixed to suit the exposure, and ridges and verges held by mechanical fixings rather than mortar alone. It starts with a free survey and a written quote.
A roofer rings you back to arrange a visit.
A re-roof is a big outlay. These are the parts of the job we won't cut corners on.
01
Everything comes off: tiles, battens, old felt. It's the only way to see the state of the rafters, and on century-old Northumberland Heath roofs there's often a split or sagging timber that needs sorting before anything new goes on. We photograph every timber repair, so you can see what you paid for.
02
Old bitumen felt traps moisture in the loft, and condensation on the timbers is the result we see most. A modern breathable membrane lets water vapour out while keeping rain off, which matters in a house where loft insulation has been added over the years.
03
Every tile is fixed to the standard the roof's exposure demands. On windier Erith streets that means more clips and nails than a sheltered roof inland, plus dry-fixed ridges and verges that don't depend on mortar holding up. That detail matters most in the first big storm after the job.
04
Swap a light covering for heavy concrete tiles and the rafters carry a lot more load. If a new covering adds 15% or more to the roof's weight, Building Regulations approval is needed. We work that out before you choose. It's a quick sum once the rafters are measured, and it can save an expensive surprise.
05
A roof counts as a thermal element, so re-covering it is the time to bring the insulation up to current standards. We'll explain what that means for your house and price it in, so it isn't a surprise on the building control paperwork.
06
A full replacement comes with our 10-year guarantee, set out on paper. Keep it with the house deeds, because buyers' solicitors tend to ask. You'll know what it covers and how to make a claim.
1,000+
Roofs repaired, renewed and rebuilt
10 yrs
Written guarantee on every re-roof
5★
The only rating anyone has left us
£0
For the survey and the written quote
Erith isn't one type of house, so it isn't one type of re-roof. On Northumberland Heath, the Vickers estate was built in sizes matched to each worker's grade, so a labourer's cottage and a manager's house on the same estate need very different amounts of material. Many of those roofs have been re-covered before, sometimes in a heavier tile than the original. We check the rafters, wall plates and party walls before suggesting anything.
Around the town centre, much of the housing dates from after the clearances of 1966 to 1980, and the roofs tend to be simpler shapes. In the Lesney Park Road, Erith Riverside, Brook Street and Oak Road conservation areas, the choice of covering carries more weight, and changing material may need a word with Bexley's planners first. Whatever the street, exposure decides the fixing specification. You never see that part of a re-roof, and here it matters most.
If your roof has life left in it, roof repairs in Erith may be all you need, and we'll tell you so after the survey.
"Several Erith roofs we've stripped turned out to carry two or three generations of patching, with newer tiles laid over the same tired battens."
We measure every slope, check the loft, and look at chimneys, valleys and the neighbours' roofs where they meet yours. On a re-roof the survey sets the materials list, so we take our time over it. Expect us to be there for an hour or so on a typical semi.
We'll go through the realistic options for your house, slate, clay or concrete tiles, and what each one weighs. If you're in a conservation area we'll flag it now, so the choice doesn't land you in trouble later. Samples are worth seeing in daylight, held up against your own roof line if possible.
A full re-roof covers more than half the roof, so building control has to be involved. We'll explain which route applies. If you share a party wall, we'll go over how the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 might apply before the scaffold arrives.
Scaffold goes up with edge protection and sheeting where needed. Before stripping starts we check the forecast, and we only open as much roof each day as can be made watertight by evening. On a terrace, we'll agree with the neighbours where the scaffold meets their side.
Old coverings come off and go straight into a skip. We inspect each rafter, replace or strengthen anything split or rotten, and correct any sagging before a single new batten goes on.
A breathable membrane goes down, then treated battens set to the gauge for your chosen tile. Tiles are laid and fixed to the exposure standard for that roof, with dry-fixed ridges and verges and new lead where it's needed.
We go over the finished roof, clear the gutters, strike the scaffold and hand you the photos and the building control completion paperwork. Then every last bit of waste leaves with us. The gutters get a final rinse so nothing from the job blocks a downpipe later.
10
Years' cover on a new roof
1,000+
Roofing jobs finished
Paperwork in your hand on the last day. Not posted out "in due course".
Re-roof a house in Erith with us and you get 10 years of cover on the workmanship. It's a written document. It has your address on it, lists what was done, and is dated the day the roof is signed off. If water gets in because something was fitted wrong - a batten, a fixing, a lap, a flashing - a roofer comes back and puts it right. You don't pay for that.
Why are we happy to promise ten years? Because of how the roof goes on. Every tile or slate is mechanically fixed to BS 5534, the current British Standard. Ridges and hips are fixed too, not just sat in mortar. A breathable membrane goes down first. Where a roof meets a wall, a chimney or the house next door, it gets proper lead or a tested dry system. Shortcuts there are what make a guarantee expensive, so we don't take them.
Tiles, slates and membranes also carry the maker's own warranty. Those vary by product, and your paperwork tells you which ones apply. If a job is too unusual to guarantee in the normal way, you'll hear that at quote stage.
Read the table below for the main coverings on offer. For Erith, wind resistance and weight are the two columns worth reading twice, especially if your house dates from the Vickers era.
| Comparison point | Concrete interlocking tile | Clay plain tile | Natural slate | Fibre cement slate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical lifespan | 50 years or more | 60 to 100 years | 80 to 100+ years, depending on source | Around 30 years |
| Weight | Heavy | Heaviest, as each tile is double-lapped | Light | Lightest of the four |
| Relative cost | Lowest | Mid to high, slow to lay | Mid to high, Welsh slate dearest | Low to mid |
| Look | Chunky profile, common on postwar homes | Small, warm-coloured, traditional Kent look | Thin, dark and neat | Uniform slate look, flatter colour |
| Planning and conservation | Fine for most homes, can jar in a conservation area | Often expected on older Kent buildings | The like-for-like choice for slate roofs | May be refused on listed or conservation roofs |
| Best for | Budget re-roofs on postwar and newer houses | Period homes and steeper pitches | Victorian terraces, slate-to-slate jobs | Lighter swap where rafters are marginal |
Every re-roof is priced from a survey. These are the factors that move the number most in Erith. The quote shows each one as its own line.
A terrace re-roof typically costs £8,000 to £14,500. Larger 1930s semis, like many on the ABC roads at Northumberland Heath, sit nearer £10,500 to £16,000. Detached houses start around £14,000 and can pass £24,000 when the roof shape is complicated.
Concrete tiles generally cost least, both to buy and to lay. Natural slate and handmade clay cost more, in materials and in labour. If you're in one of Erith's conservation areas, the cheapest option may not be the one the council will accept.
On older Erith houses, the century-old Vickers homes especially, nobody can promise the rafters are sound until the old covering is off. We price an allowance for common timber repairs and show you photos of anything that goes beyond it.
Taking down a redundant chimney, rebuilding a stack, replacing fascias or adding rooflights all change the price. We list each one separately so you can decide what goes in now and what can wait. Some owners spread the extras over two years.
Usually not, if the new roof looks much the same as the old one. Planning in Erith sits with the London Borough of Bexley. If your home is in a conservation area such as Lesney Park Road or Erith Riverside, or it's listed, check with Bexley before changing the material or colour, as some conservation areas in the borough have Article 4 directions that remove the usual freedoms. Building Regulations still apply: re-covering more than half a roof needs building control approval.
It might. These houses were built during the First World War with rafters sized for the original covering. Moving to concrete tiles can add a lot of weight, and if it adds 15% or more, Building Regulations approval is needed and the timbers may need strengthening. We check the rafters and work out the load before recommending anything.
A typical terrace or semi takes one to two weeks once the scaffold is up, depending on the weather and what we find under the old tiles. Wind is the main thing that slows us here, because laying membrane in strong gusts isn't safe. We'll give you a realistic timescale at quote stage. Expect noise on the stripping days and fairly little after that.
Yes, and on a terrace or semi it often makes sense. Sharing scaffold can cut costs for both households, and the join along the party wall is done once, properly. Each of you gets your own quote and pays for your own half. If only one side is being done, we'll still make a neat, watertight junction with next door's roof.
We plan around it. Each day we only strip as much as we can make watertight before we leave, and membrane goes on as soon as the timbers are clear. Tarpaulins stay on site for sudden showers. This stretch of the Thames estuary gets far less rain than most of the UK, so long wet spells are rarer than you'd think, but we don't take chances.
At around 360 metres, Erith's concrete pier is the longest in London. It was built in 1957 as a deep-water wharf and reopened for walkers and anglers in 1999 when the supermarket beside it was built.
Learn more about Erith Pier on Google Maps
Community theatre on the High Street, founded in 1949. The auditorium is part of the old Oxford Cinema of 1913, and the street frontage was rebuilt in 1973.
Learn more about Erith Playhouse on Google Maps
Grassland and woodland on the slope between Erith and Belvedere, with a fenced playground in the open part of the park. The Green Chain Walk passes through on its way down to the Thames.
Learn more about Frank's Park on Google MapsEvery review left for us so far has been five stars. We're adding them here as they come in.
Reviews only tell you so much anyway. When a roofer comes out to Erith, ask to see photos of a recent job on a house like yours. A good roofer will have plenty and won't mind you asking.
We'll survey, measure and send a written quote that lists every part of the job. Take as long as you need to decide. The survey is free, and so is the advice.
