Roof replacement and new roofs in Bognor Regis

A new roof is the right spend when faults run across whole slopes; a single failed spot is a repair.

Nobody should buy a new roof they do not need, so the first question on every survey is whether the roof can be saved. A repair holds when the covering, the battens and the underlay around the fault are sound. Replacement comes into play when they are not. The difference shows in the pattern: a leak at one flashing points to one repair, while leaks at the eaves, the valley and the back slope in the same winter point to a roof wearing out everywhere at once.

1.1 What points towards replacement

We look for faults spread across a slope rather than gathered at one detail. Slates slipping in rows suggest the nails have failed with age. Concrete tiles crumbling at their edges, felt that tears like paper when we lift it and battens that give under a thumb all say the same thing. So does a roof that has been patched three times in three places: each patch was reasonable, but together they show the fabric around them has run out of life. Our guide to the signs you need a new roof lists the rest, and the guide on when a roof should be replaced rather than repaired sets out the decision step by step.

1.2 What points towards a repair

Age alone proves nothing. An older roof with sound timbers and a covering still doing its job often needs one detail renewing, and that is what we recommend, because the cost effective solution is whichever job puts right only what is actually failing. Our roof repairs service covers that route, from slipped tiles to lifted lead. Regular maintenance helps here: cleared gutters, checked valleys and a flat roof repair made while the deck is still dry all stretch the life of a covering. A reliable fix needs sound material to tie into, though, and where the surrounding roof is failing, each repair sets up the next leak. When you have lived with a roof for years, it is easy to put up with small signs until a bad night of rain forces the issue, so an early survey costs little and gives you time to plan.

1.3 Photographs before any price

Everything above is judged on evidence. We photograph the loft side of the roof, the state of the battens and underlay, and the covering from above where we can reach it safely. The pictures travel with the written quote, so you see exactly what we saw and can pass it to anyone else. If you want a second opinion from another roofer, the photographs are yours to hand over.

The old covering comes off slope by slope, the timbers are checked, and the new roof goes on in a fixed order.

A full replacement is a sequence, and doing it in the right order is most of the quality. It starts with the scaffold, because working from ladders makes it impossible to strip a roof safely or keep the edges neat. Where the scaffold has to stand on the footway or road, the Highways Act requires a licence, which the highway authority issues, and it is worth asking your roofer who makes the application. West Sussex County Council asks for at least 10 working days' notice and charges £266 for one month, so the scaffold date often sets the date of the job. Weather conditions set the pace after that: a roof is never left open to rain, and the strip is planned slope by slope for that reason.

3.1 Stripping and checking the timbers

With the old tiles or slates off, the roof structure is visible. We check the rafters and wall plate for rot, the battens for softness, and replace what is failing, as set out in our answer on whether roof timbers need replacing. Two checks come before anything is stripped. Bats have legal protection, and replacing a roof can disturb them. Then there is asbestos: HSE says to presume it is present in a home built or refurbished before 2000 until a check proves otherwise, which matters for old cement sheets and soffits. Careful removal of asbestos cement is non-licensed work, but once the sheets break up substantially it becomes notifiable.

3.2 Underlay, battens and ventilation

Underlay is the membrane laid beneath the battens to catch what gets past the covering, and the battens are the timber laths that carry the tiles. A roof also has to breathe. For high-resistance underlay, Marley gives 25 mm of continuous eaves ventilation on pitches of 15 degrees or less and 10 mm above 15 degrees, with BS 5250 as the code on moisture in buildings. A vapour-permeable membrane changes those needs, which is why underlay and ventilation are chosen together as one roofing solution for the house.

3.3 Tiling, ridges, verges and lead

Tiles go on from the eaves upwards, each fixed as BS 5534 asks. Since the 2014 revision of that standard, mortar alone is no longer enough for ridge and hip tiles; each is also fixed mechanically, and dry-fix systems are tested to BS 8612:2018. The verge is the roof's outer edge above a gable end. Lead is dressed round chimneys and abutments, where a flashing seals the roof to the wall. When the last ridge is on, the gutters are cleared of debris and the waste leaves with us.

Prices for a re-roof turn on the size of the roof, the covering and the access, so a range is a starting point only.

Homeowners ask for an average, and the plain answer is that averages hide a wide spread. Checkatrade's roof replacement guide, updated October 2026, gives a UK average of around £8,000, with most replacements between £4,000 and £19,000, and around £12,000 for a three-bedroom semi-detached of ordinary size. These are national figures, and none is a quote for your roof. Our guide to what a roof replacement costs goes through them in more detail.

5.1 Hip, gable and flat compared

Checkatrade's replacement table, headed plus VAT and last updated October 2026, runs from £2,800 to £7,500 for a flat roof, £7,000 to £16,250 for a gable roof and £9,250 to £18,000 for a hip roof. A hip is the angled line running down an outward corner of the roof, where two slopes join. A hip roof means more cutting and more ridge to fix, which is why it costs more than a gable roof. Checkatrade also gives a garage re-felt at around £1,000 to £2,000, with an average of £1,500, which shows how far the cost falls when the roof is small and flat.

5.2 What moves your figure

Access comes first. Checkatrade gives scaffolding for a roof replacement at £700 to £1,300, and a tall terrace needs more than a bungalow. Then the covering: natural slate costs more per square metre than concrete. Then the pitch, the number of dormers and chimneys, and whatever the strip reveals under the old covering, such as soft battens or rotten timber. Our figure is good and fair for your own roof, and only the survey sets it. The measurements, the covering and the state of the timbers all feed into it. Whoever quotes, see whether VAT and scaffolding sit inside the figure, and remember that two quotes for the same roof can differ widely when they cover different amounts of work, so compare what each one includes, not only the total.

5.3 Paying for the roof once

The lowest figure is not always the sensible one. A cost effective solution is the roof that does not need patching again in three winters, with underlay, fixings and flashings chosen to outlast the covering. We say what we would do on your roof and why, and you decide with the photographs in front of you. A roof that is sound underneath and only tired on top may simply need relaying, while one with soft timbers needs the structure dealt with first. Either way, the answer and the price are written down before any work starts.

VAT is charged at the standard 20 per cent on a re-roof. Where insulation goes in at the same time, whether that part is zero-rated depends on how the job is supplied, and the zero rate runs to 31 March 2027 before the rate reverts to 5 per cent. We explain how it applies to your job on the quote, so the final figure holds no surprises. Ask any roofer the same question, because a quote that leaves VAT out can look thousands lower than one that includes it, and it is not the same price.