The short answer
Yes, clear the loft, or at least the stretch under the slopes being worked on. Taking off an old covering shakes dust, crumbled mortar and scraps of membrane down into the roof space, and the roofer needs to see and reach the rafters from inside. Move boxes and fragile items out, and sheet over anything that has to stay put.
A loft crammed with boxes slows the job and gets filthy. A clear one protects your belongings and lets the roofer inspect the timbers properly.
Dust and debris from the old covering
An old roof sheds more than people expect. Decades of grit settle on the underlay beneath the tiles, and on top of the ceiling insulation. Crumbling mortar from the ridge and the verge comes down as the covering is lifted, and bent nail ends and chips of tile drop through the gaps between the rafters, the angled beams holding everything up.
Will dust really get into the loft?
Some always does. A roof is rebuilt in stages, so for a spell the old covering is gone while the new membrane has yet to go down. However carefully the outside is worked, the room beneath takes a share of whatever moves. That share lands on cardboard boxes, suitcases, bedding and spare furniture.
Clear a path beside the eaves, where the slope meets the wall, and a strip under each slope being re-covered. Dust then has somewhere harmless to settle. Fragile things also stay out from under boots, because a roofer who needs to examine a rafter from inside may have to cross the ceiling joists to reach it.
Our roof replacement hub shows how the whole job runs, if you want the sequence before you start moving boxes.
Letting the roofer reach the timbers
Standing outside, a roofer sees the covering. Looking up from inside, they see what holds it. Our survey includes the rafters, the purlins (the heavy horizontal beams that prop the rafters partway up a slope) and the underside of the boards or membrane. Stored goods hide every bit of it.
Why does a roofer need to reach rotten timber?
Rot and woodworm show best from the roof space. A rafter foot that is soft where it meets the wall must be replaced before a new covering goes on, because tiles will not hold on timber that crumbles. Our page on rotten roof timbers explains what that repair involves and why it usually surfaces only at stripping.
Water tanks, pipes and cables run through many lofts. If you know where they go, tell us before work begins. A clear floor along the walkways also stops anyone putting a foot through the plasterboard ceiling below, which spans between the joists and was never meant to bear a person's weight.
Loose boards laid across the joists make a walkway, but they also hide wiring. Lift only what you laid yourself, and leave the rest.
Protecting what has to stay
Not everything can leave. A water tank, a boiler flue or a built-in cupboard stays where it is. Ask the roofer how each one will be covered before work starts.
What should I do with the things I can move?
Take paper, clothes, photographs and anything electrical out of the loft and into a dry room. Wrap furniture in dust sheets. If you cannot shift a bulky item, cover it with heavy polythene and tape the edges down, because loose sheeting gets blown about by the draught from an open slope.
Tell us if something is fragile or precious. We lay boards or sheeting where the working path crosses your belongings, and the loft is swept up when each day's work stops, as part of the tidy-up that follows every stage.
If you plan to stay in the house while the work goes on, our answer on staying at home during a re-roof describes what you will hear and see in the rooms below.
Photograph the loft as it stands before you clear it. Those pictures help you remember where things were, and they record the condition of the ceiling.
Checks to make before the start date
HSE says to treat anything built, or last refurbished, ahead of 2000 as likely to contain asbestos. If you spot old lagging, boarding or corrugated sheet in the loft that looks suspect, leave it exactly where it is and tell us. Do not move it or sweep it up yourself; we will have it checked first.
What if I have seen bats or birds in the roof?
Say so before work begins. GOV.UK guidance lists roof repair or replacement as work that can disturb bats, and every bat species, with its breeding and resting places, is fully protected. For birds, section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects active nests, and intentionally taking, damaging or destroying one is an offence.
Telling us early gives time for a sensible plan. Clear the loft in the gap before the start date: our answer on booking a re-roof in advance sets out how far ahead to plan, so you are not clearing boxes in a rush on the morning of the scaffold.
More on preparing the house
Do I have to empty the whole loft or just part of it?
Clear the part beneath the slopes being worked on, plus a walking path along the eaves. If the whole house is being re-roofed, that means the whole loft. If the work covers one side only, mention it when we visit and we will mark which areas matter, so you do not shift more than you need to.
Who moves heavy items such as a water tank?
Fixed items such as a tank stay put, and we plan the work around them. If something heavy does have to move, ask a plumber or electrician to disconnect and reconnect it, since that is their trade. Mention it at the survey so the dates line up with theirs.
The full picture: Roof replacement and new roofs in Taunton ยท More short answers