"Complete re-roof" is used loosely, and the looseness is where quotations stop being comparable. Here is what the word should mean, and what the alternatives cost you over time.
Two quotations for a Crewe semi can both say "complete re-roof" at the top and describe substantially different pieces of work. The word is not regulated and it gets used to mean everything from a full strip back to the rafters down to a re-covering that leaves most of the existing build-up in place.
Since the cost follows the scope, this guide starts with what "complete" ought to mean, then compares it honestly against the cheaper alternatives — because sometimes the cheaper alternative is the right choice, and sometimes it is a way of paying twice.
Used properly, the term describes stripping the roof back to the rafters and rebuilding the whole covering system. Every layer is new:
Anything less than that is a different job, and may well be the right job. But it should be described as what it is.
| Complete re-roof | Overlay | Partial / repair | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Existing covering | Stripped and removed | Left in place | Left in place |
| Underlay | Renewed | Not addressed | Not addressed |
| Battens | Renewed | New over old | Not addressed |
| Timbers inspected | Yes, fully exposed | No | No |
| Added weight | None | Yes, significant | None |
| Up-front cost | Highest | Lower | Lowest |
| Expected service life | Full | Limited by what is underneath | Short |
| Insulation upgrade | Included, and required | Rarely addressed | Not triggered |
| Guarantee available | Yes | Limited | Limited to the repair |
Overlaying looks attractive because it removes the strip, the waste and much of the labour. The problems are structural and practical. You are adding a second covering's weight to a roof designed for one. You cannot see the timbers, so any rot stays and keeps going. The old underlay and battens — which are very often the actual reason the roof is failing — remain in place. And when the roof does need doing properly, the eventual strip is heavier and more expensive than it would have been.
There are cases where it is defensible, generally on a sound, relatively young roof where the covering has failed but everything below it is demonstrably in good order. Those cases are less common than the number of overlays being sold would suggest.
If the rear slope has failed and the front is sound, doing the rear is a reasonable decision — especially where the two are separated by a ridge and there is no visual join. On the terraced housing common in Crewe, the front slopes often face the same way along a whole street and weather differently from the rears, so this situation does arise.
What rarely works is splitting a single continuous plane. You pay for scaffolding and set-up twice, and you get a visible line between old and new that will still be there in twenty years.
Within a complete re-roof, the variables that shift the figure most are:
A complete re-roof in Crewe normally needs no planning permission. A like-for-like renewal does not materially affect external appearance, so under section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 it is not development at all. Crewe is also not covered by any of Cheshire East's Article 4 directions, which apply to eight conservation areas elsewhere in the borough, so permitted development rights have not been withdrawn here.
Building regulations do apply. Renewing the covering renews a thermal element, which under regulation 23 of the Building Regulations 2010 brings a duty to improve thermal performance where feasible — 0.16 W/(m²K) for a roof in an existing dwelling under Approved Document L Volume 1. The insulation work and the certification are part of a complete re-roof, and their absence from a quotation is a sign the quotation is not complete.
Apex Roofing does not publish rates, because a rate quoted without seeing the roof is a number that will change. What we do is survey the roof and the loft, write down exactly what is included, state the rate for any defective timber before we start, and give you a quotation that can be compared line by line with anyone else's.
Every Apex quotation states what is included and what is not, so you can put it beside anyone else's and see the difference.
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A re-roof strips the existing covering back to the rafters and rebuilds: new underlay, new battens, new covering. An overlay leaves the old covering in place and lays new material over it. Overlay is faster and cheaper up front, but it hides whatever is underneath, adds weight, and generally cannot address the underlay or battens — which are usually the reason the roof needed attention.
Sometimes. Where one slope has failed and another is genuinely sound — a north-facing rear slope against a south-facing front, for instance — doing one and not the other can make sense. On a single continuous plane it rarely does, because you pay for access twice and end up with a visible line.
Only if it says so. Pitched and flat roofing are different trades using different materials, and a quotation for the main roof will not normally include a flat roof unless it is listed. If you want both, ask for both to be itemised.
Almost always. Fascias, soffits and guttering need the same access as the roof, and the scaffolding is the expensive part. Doing them a year later usually costs more in access than the components themselves.
Apex Roofing covers Cheshire and the surrounding area for complete roof replacement, new slate and tiled roofs and re-roofing.
Apex Roofing Cheshire · 105 Fence House, Fence Avenue, Macclesfield SK10 1LM
Tell us about the property and the roof in Crewe, and we will come back to you — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 07377 461095 · WhatsApp +44 7465 861265 · Email apexroofing14@gmail.com
