Roof Maintenance Costs

In the following guide, we'll take a look at how much different types of roof repairs cost, how long the work should take, the cost factors of maintaining a roof and other topics such as any building regulations and planning approval that may apply.

To give you some idea, roof repair, will cost you around £650 on average.

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How Much Does Roof Maintenance Cost?

As mentioned, the cost to maintain a roof will probably end up being several hundred pounds. However, it will depend on a range of factors.

The main consideration is the type of maintenance required. Roof cleaning costs about £400 to £600, roof treatment sets you back around £400 to £600 and roof coating lands at roughly £1500 to £2500.

Roof repairs cost about £60 to £1000, gutter cleaning costs between £100 and £450 depending on the type of roof, and a roof leak repair would likely land around £30 to £200.

Other cost-affecting factors for this work are the type of roof, size of the roof, roof area, ease of access and where you are located in the UK. The reason that location matters is because labourers charge different rates in different parts of the country.

Roof Maintenance Prices

Supply Only Costs

Looking just at the supply costs, if you were to undertake this work DIY, you can expect to pay around £100 for the necessary cleaning equipment/materials. The same price estimation applies to roof treatment materials.

It costs about £200 for materials sufficient to clean and coat a roof and anywhere from £20 to £400 for roof repair supplies, depending on the nature of the repair work.

Gutter cleaning may cost you nothing in terms of material costs, although we are assuming that you at least have something to scoop up the debris from the gutter and a ladder to get up there. Leak repair supplies may cost between £10 and £100.

These prices can vary greatly depending on what supplies you choose (e.g. trowel vs pressure hose for roof cleaning) and the quality/brand of the supplies.

Cost of common roof maintenance supplies:

• Trowel - £5 to £15
• Pressure hose - £15 to £100
• Roof coating - £5 to £20 per litre

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Additional Costs

When having your roof maintained or repaired, there may be some extra jobs you'd like to have performed simultaneously. Let's take a closer look at some popular examples.

Removing Asbestos from a Roof

It costs about £2500 to have asbestos removed from an average roof, and the job should last approximately three weeks.

Asbestos was popular until around 1980. It was eventually banned for all UK construction in 1999 due to its adverse health effects. Though, these were not apparent when the material was first used. Since asbestos was frequently mixed with different materials, it can be challenging to spot unless an expert is taking a look.

For this reason and due to how dangerous asbestos is, it's essential that a qualified professional is employed to identify and safely remove asbestos from a roof.

You should seek at least three quotes before choosing a contractor. Regardless of who you choose, ensure that they have the required qualifications and experience necessary to perform this complex work as well as the correct insurance cover.

Replacing Roof Tiles

Though the price of the work can vary significantly, depending on the type and number of roof tiles being replaced, on average, it'll cost about £200 to replace roof tiles. This work should take around three hours altogether, but again it can vary a lot.

Slate roofs are commonplace thanks to their aesthetic value and durability (they can last for one hundred years or more). Nowadays, there are a range of alternative roof tiling materials, and some are not nearly as sturdy as slate.

Regardless of the material, when roof tiles begin to wear and break, there'll come a point when you need to have them replaced, either as DIY work or through the work as a professional.

Roof contractors will charge different rates depending on ease of access and the number of new roof tiles you'd like them to install. Also, whether or not the tiles are being held in place with cement is another important cost factor.

Labour Costs and Timescales

Roofers tend to charge between £18 and £25 per hour in the UK. The labour costs will be included as part of the overall cost alongside the supply costs and any waste removal expenses.

If scaffolding is needed, this will probably take two to four hours from the point you lay the scaffold's base until it is checked for structural soundness.

The work itself will likely take between one and four hours though it could take several days if extensive repairs are needed. The clean up should take less than an hour though it will depend on the extent of the work and the mess created as a result of that work.

The labour cost and duration will depend on ease of access and the state of the work area. Adverse weather could also play a role as this could slow down/halt the work temporarily.

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Cost Factors of Maintaining a Roof

Let's take a closer look at what defines the price of having a roof maintained.

Type of Maintenance

As shown, the type of work undertaken is a significant, if not the largest cost-affecting factor. Some work may cost less than £100 while others can cost several hundred pounds or more.

Type of Roof

Roof type is important to consider as for instance, some roof types will be more challenging to clean than others due to the material used. If you need to replace roof shingles, then the roof type will impact the supply price of the replacement tiles. Different roof types may require different treatments when compared with others.

Sturdier roofs can be pressured washed while some may be unsuitable for a pressure hose clean, meaning that longer and more painstaking manual efforts will be required. Beyond that, specialised roofs will need their own care, such as green roof maintenance.

Size of Roof

Of course, the roof's size will be another important cost factor if the maintenance work is due to cover most of the roof or at least a large section. The larger the roof, the more costly this work will likely prove to be.

Area of Roof

How much of the roof needs to be fixed/maintained? This is another notable consideration. A simple repair of a small one square metre section will cost less than working on a larger several square metre area.

Ease of Access

Accessibility also counts when it comes to the full bill of roof maintenance since the easier it is for a labourer to access your roof, the quicker the work will be, thus the lower the labour cost will end up.

Further, accessibility, as well as the height of the roof can determine whether or not scaffolding will be needed. This may add at least an extra several hundred pounds to the overall cost if it is required.

Location of Property

On average, roofers charge about £150 to £200 per day nationwide. However, the contractor rates vary depending on where you live. For example, in the north of England, you will expect to pay a lot less for roof maintenance than you would in areas of London.

What's involved in Roof Maintenance?

1. Hiring a Contractor

Assuming that you choose to hire a professional to perform this work, you'll want to find someone who is experienced and ideally has the correct insurance and plenty of good references too.

Of course, you could always try asking your friends or family for any recommendations they may have in mind. It is also worth asking for several quotes from different contractors/companies before settling on one.

2. Maintenance

On the day of the work, the contractor will arrive and perform any initial assessments required. For instance, before repairing a roof, they would need to assess the damage.

As for gutter cleaning, they would need to decide on the best method required (unless they already have) whether with a pressure hose, brush, scoop or otherwise. To clean a roof, this may involve the use of a trowel to scrape away dirt and moss or/and a pressure hose to clean the roof tiles.

Prior to pressure washing, it's essential that covers and tarpaulins are placed over any flower beds and patios below to avoid debris accumulating in these spots. To treat moss on a roof entails the most being removed manually, the roof and gutters being cleaned of debris before antifungal moss treatment may be applied.

As for roof coating, this is the process of applying an adhesive membrane. Once a survey is undertaken, any minor repairs that are required must be conducted.

Next, the gutters should be removed before pressure washing can be performed. At this point, a biocide should be applied. Additional treatment may be necessary if you live by the coast.

Then the initial coat of paint should be added once sufficient time has passed. Again, when the timing is right, the second coat may be applied.

Then, it's time to fit the gutters back into place. Roof repairs may simply involve the replacement of roof tiles, or it could consist of other repairs/replacement work such as on the chimney.

Gutter cleaning will likely involve the use of one of the methods mentioned above. In some cases, scaffolding will be erected as part of the work for reasons of accessibility and disassembled once the job is finished.

3. Clean Up

Lastly, any cleanup work should be undertaken. For example, if the gutters were pressure-hosed, then any debris that fell below will need to be cleaned up, and any covers and tarpaulins should be tidied and removed.

Can I Conduct Roof Maintenance Myself?

Though you can generally perform room maintenance DIY, you should only undertake any given job if you're sure of what is involved. Some work, however, must be performed by a qualified professional such as asbestos removal.

Assuming that this is not the case, should you choose to maintain your roof yourself, it will probably not require planning permission or building regulations approval. If building regulations approval is required, then a professional will need to sign off on the work.

As with any DIY work, there are hazards and dangers involved. For one, if you lack the skills or knowledge needed for a given type of roof maintenance, there is always the risk of performing it incorrectly, which will at best, prove to be a waste of time or at worse could create new issues or worsen existing ones (e.g. roof leak).

There are more serious risks involved when it comes to safety, particularly if you are working at a height.

If you use a ladder, you should have a second person hold the ladder beneath to secure it firmly in place. If you are to work more than four feet above a level below, scaffolding is needed for safety purposes or any work that covers the entire roof.

Scaffold should be inspected when it is first assembled and if exposed to conditions that alter its security (e.g. after adverse weather). It should also be checked every seven days, although it is unlikely that any roof maintenance work would last a full week.

Building Regulations & Planning Permission for Roof Maintenance

Roof maintenance alone is usually not covered by building regulations. However, the case will be different if your work involves the replacement or alteration of roofing elements. The regulations can vary depending on whether you intend to have pitched or flat roof maintenance undertaken.

For more information, visit the Planning Portal web page covering work to an existing roof. With the former, planning permission approval is unlikely to prove necessary if you are simply repairing or maintaining a small part of your roof.

Again, assuming that there are no alterations or other significant work taking place. If you were to submit a planning permission application, it may cost between £100 and £450.

Usually, it takes up to eight weeks to receive a response to an application. It should be noted that the rules stated on Planning Portal cover England and Wales and building regulations and planning permission rules can vary for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Types of Roof Maintenance

In this section, we'll take a closer look at the various forms of roof maintenance that we have touched on throughout this article so far.

Roof Cleaning Costs

Roof cleaning can involve one or several forms of cleaning. The process of removing moss or/and debris from roof shingles can be achieved using a trowel. One of the most common forms of roof cleaning involves the use of a pressure hose to rapidly and effectively remove debris from across the roof surface.

A specific power control should be used based on the type of roof you have. Though this form of roof cleaning refers specifically to the general roof area, the same may be undertaken for the guttering. On average, it costs around £400 to £600 to clean a roof.

Pros:

• ✔ Can be quick
• ✔ Effective

Cons:

• ✖ Can be messy

Roof Treatment Cost

After a roof is cleaned and moss has been removed, an antifungal moss treatment may be applied. It will likely cost between £400 and £600, although it could cost £1000 or more for larger houses.

A full roof treatment will probably take one to two days. The purpose of treating a roof is to prevent the growth of moss. It is best to have your roof treated once every several years.

Pros:

• ✔ Effective at preventing the regrowth of moss for some time

Cons:

• ✖ Can be costly
• ✖ May only last for several years
• ✖ Further treatment may be required if you live near the coast

Roof Coating Cost

Roof coating is applied in a fluid form and acts as an adhesive layer of protection to improve the durability and resilience of a roof. In most cases, these materials are made to expand and retract with the roof materials in sync, depending on the weather.

This means that they are generally elastomeric. It is important two coats of an appropriate roof coating product are applied for lasting effects. Roof coating generally costs between £1500 and £2500.

Pros:

• ✔ Improves the long-lasting qualities of a roof
• ✔ Most roof coats are elastomeric

Cons:

• ✖ Expensive

Roof Repair Cost

Though a broad term, roof repairs will generally mean repairing or replacing roof shingles. This usually costs about £60 to £260.

However, to replace lead flashing is generally a cheap and straightforward job at approximately £100 to £200. Sagging roof repairs, on the other hand, can cost around £1000 to £2000.

Fascia repair generally costs roughly £1800 to £2200. All in all, roof repairs generally cost between £300 and £1000.

Pros:

• ✔ Simple repairs can be quick and easy
• ✔ Tend to be very effective at preventing new issues arising
• ✔ May be necessary

Cons:

• ✖ Some repairs can be prohibitively expensive

Gutter Cleaning Cost

A common form of roof maintenance involves clearing out guttering. This may be achieved using a brush or scoop. The debris could be thrown on to the ground below to be cleaned up after or preferably scooped into a bag.

Pressure washing may be employed, although it's important that the power setting chosen will not be too strong for the gutters to prevent damage. This is a fast and effective way of clearing out gutters. If done by a professional, this will likely cost £100 to £450.

Pros:

• ✔ Can prevent gutter damage

Cons:

• ✖ Pressure washing may not be suitable for all gutters
• ✖ Can be messy

Leak Repairs Cost

To fix a roof leak should cost around £30 to £200. There are many potential causes of a leaking roof such as damaged flashing, an accumulation of moss, and damaged fascias or/and soffits.

This may be fixed by repairing the broken element(s) on the roof or by replacing these parts entirely.

Pros:

• ✔ May be required
• ✔ Should fix any leakages
• ✔ Tends not to be too expensive

Cons:

• ✖ Identify the cause may take time and add to the labour costs

Hiring Contractors to Conduct Roof Maintenance Checklist

Here is what you should look, when hiring a roof maintenance contractor:

• You'll want to hire a professional with an extensive background in roof repair/maintenance work. That's why a roofer is probably the best contractor for the job.
• Even if they have plenty of experience, it's important that the work they did before was well received. The best way to ensure that this is the case is by asking for some references.
• Lastly, you could also ask what accreditation and qualifications they have. You should be aware that most labourers do not need qualifications unless they are undertaking very specific work (e.g. asbestos removal).

FAQs

Sources

https://www.roofingassociation.co.uk/how-much-does-a-roof-repair-cost-in-the-uk/
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/47/roof/3
https://www.roofingmegastore.co.uk/blog/find-fix-roof-leak.html
https://www.brownsladders.co.uk/blog/should-you-attempt-your-own-roof-repairs/