Roofs & cladding
A new door on a garage with a failing roof is money half spent. We strip the old covering, deal with what is underneath, and re-roof in box-profile steel.
Garage roofs fail in three familiar ways. Felt goes brittle, splits and gets patched until the patches are the roof. Corrugated cement sheeting cracks, holds moss and lets water track down the inside of the wall. Timber bearers rot from the top down where the covering has been leaking quietly for years.
The covering we use for almost every job is box-profile steel sheet — a coated steel profile that sheds water fast, carries a long coating life and does not need looking at again. It comes in anthracite, which sits well with a modern door, and in white where the property calls for it.
The part nobody photographs is the bit that matters: the bearers. We take the old covering right off, look at every timber, and replace what has gone. Sheeting a new roof over rotten bearers buys three or four years, and we will not do it.
Where the old covering is asbestos cement, we do not touch it. We hold asbestos awareness training so we can spot it, and a licensed contractor takes it away before we start. You pay them directly and we pick the job up once the roof is clear.
The old up-and-over had lost most of its paint and the flat roof had gone back to bare, rotten boards. Roof, door, fascia and side cladding were all replaced in one visit - a new box-profile roof, anthracite door and white cladding right round.
Detail
The old covering comes off completely so the timbers can be seen. New bearers where they are needed, priced before we start.
We are trained to recognise asbestos cement and to leave it alone. A licensed contractor removes it, you pay them directly, and we re-roof afterwards.
A long-life coated steel sheet, fixed with colour-matched screws and sealing washers, with proper closures at the ends.
Barge, eaves and corner trims in matching colour, so the edge looks finished rather than cut off.
New gutter and downpipe where the old one has had it, run to where the water should actually go.
Before you decide
The part of the conversation most quotes leave out.
What you are actually getting. If something here does not suit your garage, say so and we will price the alternative.
| Covering | Coated box-profile steel sheet |
|---|---|
| Colours | Anthracite, black, white, goosewing grey |
| Structure | Existing bearers checked; rotten timbers replaced |
| Fixings | Colour-matched self-drilling screws with sealing washers |
| Edges | Matching barge, eaves and corner trims |
| Typical duration | One day on a single garage, two where timbers need replacing |
What is covered
Product guarantees are the manufacturer's and are passed to you. The labour guarantee is ours.
Our work
Real jobs, our own photographs.
The old up-and-over had lost most of its paint and the flat roof had gone back to bare, rotten boards. Roof, door, fascia and side cladding were all replaced in one visit - a new box-profile roof, anthracite door and white cladding right round.
Red-stained timber side-hinged doors that had rotted along the bottom rail, replaced with an anthracite up-and-over. The pitched box-profile roof and new fascia went on at the same time.
The blue up-and-over had rusted through at the bottom and the timber surround had gone soft. New anthracite up-and-over, white cladding to the posts and head, and a new roof edge.
Questions
Very possibly. Corrugated cement sheeting on a garage of that age often contains asbestos, and we treat it as though it does until it is tested. We hold asbestos awareness training, so the first thing we do is identify it rather than disturb it. We can also send a sample away to be tested if you want to know for certain.
No, and we would be wary of anyone who says they do it as a sideline. Removal is a specialist job. We put you in touch with a licensed contractor we use regularly, they scaffold or secure the roof, remove the sheets and dispose of them properly with the paperwork to prove it. You pay them directly, so there is no mark-up from us, and you are free to use your own contractor instead. We come back in and re-roof once it is clear.
The coated steel sheet is the long-lived part and should see out decades. The thing that shortens a roof's life is what is under it, which is why we strip back rather than sheet over.
Yes, and it is usually cheaper that way — one set-up, one visit, one bill. Most of the jobs in our gallery were done exactly like that.
Replacing a garage roof like for like on a domestic garage is normally neither. If your garage is listed or in a conservation area, check with the council first, and we will wait for the answer.
Also worth a look
The trim that makes a re-roofed garage look new instead of repaired.
Four types of door, and the right one depends on your garage rather than on what we would like to sell you. Here is what each one does well, and what it does badly.
One leaf that tilts up and back. Simple, robust and the least expensive door we fit.
Send a photograph and a postcode and we will come back with a figure. If it is a repair and the door is stuck, ring instead — we prioritise those.
