About Taunton Prestige Roofing

Every job begins with a survey. A roofer goes up and looks over the tiles or slates, the ridge line, the gable edges (called verges), the valleys, the flashings and the gutters, taking photos as the work goes on.

Those photos are of your roof, and you get to see them. Few people can see their own roof from the ground, so when we say a ridge has loosened or a valley has worn through, you can look for yourself instead of taking it on trust.

The survey also shows what sort of job you have. Sometimes a handful of slates and a new run of lead flashing will do. Sometimes the battens, which are the timber laths carrying the tiles, have gone soft and a patch would only postpone the bill. We tell you which it is, mending included when mending is the sensible buy.

What should you do before the survey?

Very little. Give us the road or village, describe what you have noticed and mention any nearby trees, conservatory or flat extension. If water is coming in, tell us where it shows indoors. Our first move on a leak is to make it safe, and the lasting repair follows.

With the survey done, one total price arrives on paper, covering the job exactly as we have described it. The figure is good and fair. We hold back from naming numbers for roofs we have not seen, since a price offered unseen is a guess.

Four things move the figure on any roof: the size of the area, the type of covering, how awkward the access is and whatever turns up beneath the covering. Re-covering a small rear extension in a single-ply membrane is a very different task from working a slate roof with a lead valley on a tall terrace.

Is VAT in the quote, and is the scaffold?

Put both questions to every roofer. If the answer is no, you need to know before you sign. Our costs page sets out typical UK ranges from named guides, each dated, so you hold a yardstick that is not ours. They are national figures and not Taunton Prestige prices. The quote page lists what to send us.

The roofs in and around Taunton are a mixed bag: slate on older terraces, clay tiles on cottages and farm buildings, concrete tiles on estates from the last century and dry ridge and verge systems on newer ones. They behave differently, and a repair that suits one can harm another.

Where it counts, slate is repaired with slate and clay with clay. A clay roof patched in a mismatched profile looks wrong and sheds water in a different way. If you cannot tell which covering you have, start with our slate roofing page and our guide to identifying your roof covering.

Does a listed or conservation area home change things?

It does, and the consent route weighs as much as the slates. A like-for-like covering swap on a dwelling is normally Class C permitted development. For a listed house, listed building consent is also required once the work reaches its character, and conservation areas add their own rules. We point you to the right route, and suggest checking with Somerset Council's planning team (or Exmoor National Park Authority within the Park) before the work is booked.

A roof job brings access equipment onto your property, noise overhead and waste on the drive. We put the access up properly before anyone climbs, keep materials and rubbish contained and carry the waste away at the end.

You are told what is happening each day. If rotten timber turns up once the slates are lifted, we show you, lay out the choices and wait for your decision. Nothing gets added quietly.

Who deals with a scaffold licence?

Scaffolding set up over the pavement or road is a highway matter, and the Highways Act 1980 section 169 covers the licence. We sort the paperwork out alongside the scaffolder. Whoever you hire, ask who applies and who pays.

We work on homes and on commercial buildings such as shops, industrial units and farm buildings. The list runs from repairs and emergency make-safes through to complete re-roofs:

• Pitched roofs and flat roofs
• Lead work, chimney repairs and gutters, soffits and fascias
• Roof windows and conservatory roofs
• Dry ridge and verge, roof cleaning and roof inspections
• Commercial roofing

The full list, and the towns we travel to, is on our services and areas pages.

Nobody should have to rely on our word alone, and the same questions suit any roofer you consider. Ask for photos of your roof before you agree anything. Ask for the price in writing and for what it covers. Ask who sorts the scaffold and the waste.

Treat with caution anyone who knocks to announce your roof is failing, asks for cash up front for materials or names a figure without looking at the roof. Our guides on spotting a dodgy roofer and finding a reputable roofer lay out the questions in full.

Can you cancel a roofing contract?

A 14-day cancellation right applies where the contract was signed in your own home following a survey. Urgent repair visits you asked for are an exception. For advice on your own case, call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133.

If something on your roof worries you, the quickest route is the enquiry form on this page, or a phone call or WhatsApp message. Tell us the road and what you have seen. We book the survey, show you the photos and put one written price in front of you.

You can also read the answers index first if you would rather understand the job before you talk to anyone, or go straight to the contact page to book a roof survey.