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Alto Roofing
Close-up of a weathered clay tile roof with moss growing between the tiles and a few slipped and cracked tiles

Roofing advice from an Oxford roofer

Plain answers on leaks, repair or replace, flat roof systems and listed buildings, written by me from the roofs I work on across Oxford and Oxfordshire.

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This is roofing advice from an Oxford roofer: what to do when a roof leaks, how to tell whether a repair will last, which flat roof system suits, and when a listed house needs consent. The guides are mostly about how roofs work, and each one says where to stop and call someone in. I've been roofing since 2015, and I wrote them from that work.

My guides

  1. Should you repair or replace your roof?

    How to tell whether a repair will hold or the roof has had its time, from a roofer who does both across Oxford and Oxfordshire.

    1. When a roof repair is enough
    2. Signs a roof needs replacing
    3. How long roofs last in the UK
    4. What affects the cost of repairing or replacing a roof
    5. Get the roof looked at before you decide
  2. A weathered clay tile roof with several slipped and displaced tiles and a patch of darker replacement tiles.

    Roof leaking? What to do right now, step by step

    Catch the water, make the electrics safe and stay off the roof. Then call me, 24/7: I'm usually with you in about an hour.

    1. What to do right now, step by step
    2. What the stain can tell you about where the leak is
    3. What to tell me when you call
    4. After the leak: drying out the ceiling and loft
    5. If you call me about a leak
  3. A collapsed brick chimney lying in pieces across the tiled roof of a brick house under a blue sky.

    Does home insurance cover roof damage?

    Usually yes for sudden storm damage, usually no for wear and tear. How insurers decide, and what to do before you claim. Storm damage? Call me 24/7.

    1. What buildings insurance usually covers on a roof
    2. What it usually doesn't cover
    3. How insurers and the Ombudsman decide a storm claim
    4. What to do after storm damage, before you claim
    5. Where a roofer fits into a claim
    6. If your claim is turned down
  4. A grey bitumen felt flat roof laid in overlapping sheets with visible seams.

    EPDM, GRP or felt: which flat roof should you choose?

    I fit all three flat roof systems around Oxford, so here's a straight comparison: where each does well, where it fails, and which suits your roof.

    1. EPDM rubber: where it does well and where it fails
    2. GRP fibreglass: where it does well and where it fails
    3. Felt and torch-on: where it does well and where it fails
    4. Choosing for your roof: four questions
    5. What affects the cost of a new flat roof
    6. Insulation, building control and guarantees
  5. A traditional stone slate roof with two white dormer windows and a stone chimney above a rubble stone wall.

    Roof repairs on listed buildings and in conservation areas

    When a roof repair in Oxford needs listed building consent, planning permission or building control, where to check, and what to sort out before a roofer starts.

    1. Is your house listed, or in a conservation area?
    2. Repairs or alterations: when listed building consent is needed
    3. Conservation areas and Article 4 directions in Oxford
    4. Planning permission and building regulations for a new roof
    5. Storm damage on a listed roof
    6. Getting consent for roof work, step by step

  6. Signs your chimney needs repair

    What to look for from the street and inside, which signs can wait and which can't. Send me a photo of your stack and I'll tell you what I see.

    1. Signs you can see from the street or garden
    2. Signs inside the house and the loft
    3. Why worn mortar matters on a chimney
    4. Which signs are urgent and which can wait
    5. Chimneys you no longer use
    6. What I check when I come to look at a chimney

Get a free look at your roof

Call or WhatsApp me on +447306 077999, and send a photo of the roof if you can. I usually come and look the next day, and the visit and quote are free.

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No call-out charge, day or night