How to hire
Match the firm to the roof first. A roofer owns pitched coverings, flat roofs, leadwork, chimneys and rainwater goods — not structural timber alterations, which need a builder or surveyor's judgement, and not internal damp diagnosis alone, which may need a damp specialist. Say the covering type, the roof's age if you know it, and where water shows inside; leaks travel along timbers, so the stain rarely sits under the hole.
Check standing before anyone climbs up. Type the business name into the find-a-roofer search on the NFRC website and check the name that comes back matches the firm you are hiring, or search the Confederation of Roofing Contractors member list the same way [1] [7]. TrustMark membership points to a firm checked for trading practices and customer service as well as competence, a Checkatrade profile shows how many checks the firm has passed, and Federation of Master Builders membership is further evidence of a managed business [3] [8] [4]. Ask for public liability insurance details with the limit stated, and a recent local job you could check. Be wary after high winds: doorstep callers offering today-only deals deserve a closed door — invite two or three established firms to look properly instead.
Get two or three itemised written quotes on the same scope: materials by name, scaffolding in or out, waste removal, start and finish dates, and how bad weather is handled. A deposit for ordered materials is normal; full payment before completion is not. Citizens Advice sets out your rights with traders and the steps if work goes wrong — keep every quote, photo and invoice together [6].
Pin down the guarantee before work starts. Ask how many years it runs, whether it covers labour and materials or materials only, and what happens if the firm stops trading — members of the Confederation of Roofing Contractors can offer insurance-backed guarantees under its financial conduct licence [7]. A long guarantee is only as good as the firm behind it, so match the promise against the company record. Get the guarantee terms in writing on the invoice, not as a verbal promise.
Agree access and materials in the same conversation. Any two-storey work usually needs scaffolding or edge protection, so ask who arranges it, whether its cost sits inside the quote or apart, and how long it stands. Standard concrete tiles are usually easy to match while natural slate, clay and reclaimed tiles take longer to source, so ask the roofer to name the exact tile going on and show a sample against the existing covering. Ask for dated photos of the problem areas and agree a contingency for rotten timbers found mid-strip.
Before paying, check the work from the ground and the loft: straight courses, sound ridges and verges, clear gutters, and daylight where it should not be. Ask for dated completion photos of details you cannot see, confirm Building Control sign-off where structure or insulation changed [5], and get the guarantee terms in writing. If anything is hidden before you have seen it, ask for it to be shown.
Telford and Wrekin adds its own layer. A like-for-like re-roof that leaves the outside appearance alone usually needs no planning permission; alterations projecting from the slope or raising the ridge face stricter limits [9]. Eight conservation areas sit in the borough, including Wellington and the Severn Gorge, where works that would otherwise pass may need permission [13]. In the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site a long-standing direction means roof alterations facing a road, waterway or open space need permission, with chimney, flue and vent-pipe works covered too [12]. Listed buildings face their own restrictions; the council's pre-application advice or a Lawful Development Certificate settles whether permission is needed [11].
Building control is separate from planning and catches more roof jobs than owners expect. Small repairs affecting less than half the roof normally need no application; larger re-covers, structural alterations, a much heavier covering or one that behaves very differently in a fire all need approval [10]. A big strip can also trigger an insulation upgrade, since a roof counts as a thermal element. Contact the council's Building Control team before work starts [11]. Ask each firm who handles this side: notification, self-certification, or leaving it to you.
A typical job runs in sequence. First contact is a call or form with photos: covering type, roof age if known, where water shows, and how the roof is reached. Next comes the survey, where a good roofer climbs a ladder, looks in the loft, photographs the faults and talks repair against replacement. Then quotes arrive on the same scope for line-by-line comparison. Once booked, expect scaffolding first, a noisy strip day with deck and timbers exposed, then membrane, battens, covering, ridges, leadwork and gutters. Sign-off is the ground-and-loft check with photos, guarantee paperwork and final invoice together.
The written quote should read like a small contract: your address and the firm's full name, materials by product and colour, scaffolding and waste as included or separate, start and finish dates, weather-delay handling, price split into labour, materials and VAT, stage payments with the balance on completion, and the guarantee length with its cover. The closing paperwork should mirror it: itemised invoice, guarantee terms naming whoever backs them, dated photos of finished details, and building control sign-off where structure or insulation changed [5] [7]. Keep the bundle with your house papers.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough Telford ranges run like this: replacing a handful of standard tiles £75–£400; a single ridge tile £80–£300; clearing gutters front and back £75–£350 [2]. These figures come from a Which? survey of eleven traders in November 2025, include labour and materials but exclude VAT, and Telford usually sits below London and South East prices [2].
Garage-size flat roofs and full re-roofs run higher: re-covering a single garage £1,400–£3,500 in felt or £1,950–£4,000 in rubber EPDM, and a full tiled re-roof on a three-bedroom house £7,000–£21,000 [2]. What moves the price most is access: scaffolding on a two-storey roof can dwarf the repair it serves, and steep pitches, fragile slates and hidden rotten battens all add labour [2]. Tile type matters too — standard concrete is quick to match, natural slate and reclaimed tiles are not — and chimney repointing, leadwork renewals and waste removal each add their own line [2].
Guttering, fascias and roofline work move with the length of the run, the height of the eaves and how the crew gets there. A straight single-storey run is the lowest-cost shape of the job; two-storey heights, long runs and rotten fascias behind the gutter all add labour, with scaffolding as its own line where ladders will not do [2]. Ask whether downpipes, brackets and waste sit inside the figure, and get the material named.
Chimney and leadwork pricing turns on access and extent. Repointing one sound stack is small; rebuilding a leaning stack or renewing long flashing runs is not, and each needs safe access at height priced in [2]. Matching pots, cowls and lead to the existing roof takes sourcing time, so ask what is reused and what is new. Where chimney and roof meet in one job, get the two scopes as separate lines.
Because hidden damage only shows once the covering comes off, many roofers give estimates rather than fixed quotes for larger jobs, then confirm the figure after the strip. Treat an estimate as a starting point: agree what triggers a change, put a contingency for rotten timbers in writing, and ask for dated photos of anything found mid-job. Get the final scope in writing with the scaffold position stated, materials named, waste removal included or excluded, VAT shown, and start and finish dates agreed.
Never accept a re-roof price given from the ground with no loft or ladder inspection. Invite two or three firms to look properly, compare their itemised scopes like for like, and keep every quote, photo and invoice together in case you need Citizens Advice guidance on your rights [6].
Red flags
Prices a full re-roof from the pavement with no ladder inspection, no loft look and no photos.
Asks for a large cash deposit or the full balance before materials arrive [6].
Knocks after a storm offering a today-only discount and pressures you to sign on the spot.
Plans two-storey work with ladders only and no edge protection or scaffold.
Gives no business address beyond a mobile number and cannot produce insurance details.
Starts work with no written scope, no price breakdown and no start date agreed.
Brushes off rotten battens or perished felt found mid-strip instead of pricing the extra work openly.
Offers a cash discount with no written receipt and no VAT shown anywhere on the paperwork.
Refuses to put the guarantee length and what it covers on the final invoice.