A tiled roof is only as good as the details underneath it: battens, underlay, valleys, verges and flashings. We fit it properly the first time, quote it at a fixed price, and hand it over with a photographic record of what was done.
Traditional materials specialists · Photographic report on every inspection · Fixed-price quotes, never a day rate
15+ years
Experience, with 30+ combined years across the team
£2 million
Public liability insurance cover
10-year guarantee
Workmanship guarantee on re-roofs, new roofs and major works
Fixed price
Quoted work only, never a day rate
Photo report
Photographic evidence with every inspection
Recent work
Service overview
Tiled roofing spans new-build coverings, full re-roofs, partial re-tiling and repair work across the three main materials used on Berkshire homes: concrete interlocking tiles, clay plain and pantiles, and hand-made clay tiles on older and listed properties. Each material behaves differently on the roof and needs different battening, gauge and fixing to perform for its full life.
The tiles themselves are the visible part of the job, but the roof's actual weather resistance sits in the layers underneath: breathable underlay correctly lapped and dressed into gutters, battens fixed at the right gauge for the tile being used, and every junction, valley, verge, ridge, abutment, detailed so water is shed rather than trapped. A roof can be tiled with the right material and still leak within a couple of winters if the underlay is lapped the wrong way or the battens are gauged for a different tile profile.
We work across all three tile types on new roofs, re-roofs and repairs, and we specify hand-made clay tile where a period or listed property calls for it rather than defaulting to whatever is quickest to source. Where an existing roof is part-failing rather than finished, we tell you honestly whether a partial re-tile will hold or whether the whole covering needs replacing.
The cost of leaving it
Tiles are the outer skin of the roof. Once enough of them fail, or the layers beneath them fail, water finds its way past the covering and starts affecting timber, insulation and the rooms below. Delay tends to convert a re-tile into a re-roof with carpentry attached.
Once underlay has torn or perished, battens and rafter feet take repeated soakings. Timber that would have lasted decades under a sound covering starts to fail, and a re-tile turns into structural carpentry.
Tiles that have started slipping from nail fatigue are a sign the whole batch of fixings is reaching the same age. Left alone, more tiles follow in the next storm rather than one at a time.
Water getting past failed tiles saturates loft insulation and reaches ceilings before anyone notices from outside. By the time it shows indoors, the roof has usually been letting water in for a while.
On period and listed roofs, hand-made and older clay tiles cannot be bought off a shelf. The longer a roof is left with cracked or missing units, the more the remaining stock is exposed and lost, making a sympathetic repair harder later.
Tiles can often be reset or replaced individually. Underlay that has degraded cannot be repaired from the top; it means stripping and re-covering the whole slope, which is a different job and a different cost.
Our process
We inspect the roof detail by detail: tile condition, batten and underlay state where visible, valleys, ridges, verges and abutments, and check the loft interior where access allows. Free in most cases; jobs needing special access to inspect safely may differ and we tell you before we attend.
You receive a photographic report showing exactly what is failing and why, so you can see the roof's actual condition rather than take our word for it.
One figure for the specified work: tile type, underlay, batten gauge, flashings and any exclusions, agreed before anything starts. No day rates, and staged payments for projects running beyond five days.
Typically two to three of our tradespeople on site, with the property protected and the roof kept weathertight as the job proceeds. Concrete, clay or hand-made tile is fitted at the correct gauge with lead detailing at valleys, abutments and chimneys.
We check every detail, clear the site and walk the finished roof with you, with photographs of the completed work. Full re-roofs and major re-tiling carry our 10-year workmanship guarantee; smaller repair work is confirmed in writing for your specific job.
What you get
Correct batten gauge, properly lapped underlay and lead-detailed junctions mean the tiles are doing the job they were designed for, not fighting a poorly built substructure.
The quote covers materials, underlay and flashings as specified. We work at a fixed price rather than a day rate, so the figure does not move once you have signed it off.
Two to three tradespeople on site rather than one, so the roof is stripped, covered and made weathertight without leaving a property exposed overnight for longer than necessary.
Concrete, clay or hand-made tile specified for the property rather than whatever is quickest to order, so a period roof still looks like a period roof once finished.
Correctly lapped underlay and sound battens keep water off the rafters, protecting the part of the roof that is expensive to replace if it is neglected.
A 10-year workmanship guarantee on full re-roofs and major re-tiling, plus a photographic record of the finished job for your own records or for a future buyer.
The detail
Tile choice is only one part of a tiled roof's performance. Gauge, laps, fixings and the treatment of every junction determine whether it lasts twenty years or fifty.
Concrete interlocking tiles are the most common covering on later twentieth-century housing stock: durable, consistent in size, and quick to lay at the correct gauge, though visually they read differently from a period roof.
Clay plain tiles and pantiles suit Victorian, Edwardian and later period properties, giving a texture and colour range concrete cannot replicate. Hand-made clay tiles, individually formed and fired with natural variation in size and colour, are used on older, listed and conservation-area roofs where matching the existing covering matters as much as the weatherproofing.
Ridge and hip tiles, verge tiles and specials (valley, hip and angle tiles) are selected to match the main covering rather than substituted with a generic profile.
Battens are fixed at the gauge specified for the tile profile being used; get the gauge wrong and tiles either sit too tight, cracking under thermal movement, or too loose, letting wind-driven rain past the headlap.
Breathable underlay is lapped correctly at every course and dressed into the gutter so water reaching the underlay is carried to the rainwater system rather than onto the fascia or into the wall head.
Fixing is nail or clip-and-nail depending on exposure and tile type, with additional mechanical fixing at verges, eaves and exposed elevations where wind uplift is greater.
A new tiled roof on a self-build or extension is specified from the rafters up: underlay, battens, tile and all flashings selected together rather than as separate decisions.
A full re-roof strips the existing covering back to the rafters, replaces underlay and battens, and re-tiles, the right approach where nail fatigue, underlay failure or widespread cracking affects the whole slope.
Partial re-tiling addresses one slope or one section where damage is localised and the rest of the roof has useful life left, provided the underlay in that section is sound. Repairs deal with individual cracked, slipped or missing tiles, re-set or replaced with matched units.
New builds and extensions needing a covering specified and fitted; ageing roofs with nail fatigue or cracking across multiple slopes; storm damage displacing tiles or ridge units; and older roofs previously patched with mismatched materials that now need a coherent, properly detailed covering.
On homes, the priority is matching the tile to the property, protecting the interior during the works, and minimising disruption to a household living on site. On commercial and mixed-use buildings: flats above shops, converted period buildings, larger footprints, the work adds access planning around occupants and trading hours, and often larger continuous areas of roof to sequence and keep weathertight overnight.
Listed buildings and properties in conservation areas often require matching tile type, size, colour and laying pattern rather than a modern equivalent, and hand-made clay tile is specified where the building's history calls for it. Lead detailing at valleys and abutments is typically sand-cast or hand-dressed milled lead rather than a lighter modern alternative, to sit correctly with the surrounding fabric and satisfy planning or conservation requirements where they apply.
Questions
Something not covered here? Call 07711 933023 and ask. We would rather answer it honestly on the phone than have you guess.
It depends on the tile type, the roof size and the condition of the underlying structure, which is why we inspect and quote in writing rather than giving a figure over the phone. Every quote is fixed price, agreed before work starts, with no day rates.
Quotes and inspections are free in most cases. Jobs needing special access to inspect safely may differ, and we tell you that before we attend.
It depends on the roof size and the number of details involved, and we give you an expected duration with the written quote. Projects running beyond five days are paid in staged payments; smaller work is paid on completion.
Inspection with a photographic report, a fixed-price written quote, the works themselves with two to three tradespeople typically on site, verification of every detail, and sign-off with photographs of the finished roof.
Our 10-year workmanship guarantee applies to full re-roofs and major re-tiling. Smaller repairs are not covered by that guarantee unless confirmed otherwise in writing for your specific job.
A correctly specified and fitted tiled roof, with sound underlay and proper batten gauge, should give decades of service, concrete and clay tiles themselves typically outlast the underlay and battens beneath them, which is one reason a full re-roof rather than a repeated repair is often the better value.
Yes, period, listed and conservation-area roofs are a specialism, using clay, hand-made clay and matched concrete tile so a repair or re-tile does not stand out from the original covering.
Emergency repairs are available for storm damage and leaks. We will tell you honestly when we can attend your job rather than promise a response time we cannot guarantee.
Sometimes, if the underlay in the affected area is sound and the damage is localised, a partial re-tile can be the right, lower-cost answer. We inspect first and tell you honestly which situation applies rather than defaulting to the larger job.
We work from Maidenhead across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, including Reading, Windsor, Slough, High Wycombe and Henley-on-Thames. Just outside that? Call and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
Where we work
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Next step
Book an inspection and you will get a photographic report of its real condition and one fixed price for the work needed. Free in most cases, and no obligation to proceed.
151 Larchfield Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2SJ · Mon–Sat, 7am–10pm
