Leaky Roof Repair Near Me

Having a leaky roof is something you can’t ignore. Even the smallest leaks, if ignored for long enough, can develop into something capable of causing major property damage, affecting the building’s structural integrity.

It’s important to choose the right contractor to remedy your leaky roof. Choosing someone cheap and cheerful may seem like a good idea until you realise their work isn’t up to scratch, and you’re left with a far bigger problem than you started with.

In this guide, we’ll be looking at the best ways to find leaky roof repair services in your area using MyJobQuote’s online directories and how to ensure that the contractors you choose are skilled and reliable.

Let’s go!

Understanding Roof Repair Requirements

While your need for a leaky roof repair company might be glaringly obvious, you can help your roof specialists out by clearly defining your needs.

Leaking roofs can be caused by several factors:

• Damaged or missing shingles - this is common after weather events where there have been high winds or heavy rain, or just general wear and tear after many years with no maintenance. Water can enter via the gaps left where shingles have fallen away, causing leaking. In this scenario, the shingles will need replacing
• Deteriorated flashing - sealing the joints in your roof, cracked or deteriorated flashing can cause leaks. In this scenario, damaged flashing needs to be removed and re-applied to ensure there is a watertight fit
• Clogged gutters - over time, natural debris will build up in your home’s gutters (leaves, branches, dirt). If this isn’t cleared out regularly, it will accumulate and cause improper drainage which can lead to water pooling or heavy flows in one area of your guttering. In this scenario, damaged guttering needs replacing, and gutters will need periodic cleaning to prevent this problem from happening again
• Poor loft ventilation/insulation - if your home’s loft hasn’t been properly insulated or hasn’t got sufficient ventilation, condensation can build up, causing eventual leaks. In this scenario, the insulation or ventilation will need to be improved in the loft space to negate this issue
• General ageing - the older your property, the more likely it is to have some leaking issues due to general wear and tear. In this scenario, you’ll need to undertake routine inspections to keep an eye on any potential issues, replacing any damaged parts to help prevent future leaks from happening

Some roof issues can be emergency cases - such as if you have a branch fall on your property and water is streaming in, or if you have suffered fire damage and need your entire roof replaced - but most will need prompt attention, which you can book in with a local leaky roof repair company.

It’s important not to mark all roof leaks as emergencies, as emergency call-outs will carry flat fees for immediate assistance, which isn’t always necessary and can end up costing you more without proper need. It should be clear if a roof leak is an emergency.

It’s a good idea to be as thorough as possible when contacting specialists as this will help them to give you the best advice and care, and they can help assess the urgency of your situation.

Utilising Online Directories

When a leaky roof strikes, you want to act quickly. Instead of spending hours trawling through search engines to find suitable experts, you can search for a roofing contractor in a much more effective way using MyJobQuote’s online directories.

The platform allows users to find local contractors who are experts in roofing repairs. This means that you’ll never have to waste time again sifting through reams of search results that include companies from the other side of the country who are of no use to you.

MyJobQuote’s directory makes comparing experts a breeze, as specialists’ ratings and customer reviews are shown alongside their profiles. This means you can make an informed decision based on real-life experiences rather than just going off the persuasiveness of a company’s marketing.

You can also view any associated photos of their past work, giving you greater confidence in the trader. If you have a particularly bespoke roof, for example, finding a trader with experience in that roof type is important to ensure you receive sound service.

Verifying Qualifications

Considering a contractor’s qualifications and experience is an essential part of the hiring process. While someone may sound impressive on paper, if they haven’t got the experience or customer reviews to back up their claims, you could end up being disappointed with your roof repair.

Roofers are likely to have NVQs and apprenticeships under their belt - there are no formal qualifications as such, so don’t be deterred if you come across profiles without these. Instead, checking to see if the trader is listed on the NFRC (National Federation of Roofing Contractors) is a good test of character as this ensures that they are operating to the most recent roofing guidelines and are governed by a trade collective.

If you have a specific roof type - such as fibreglass or slate tiles, for example - be sure to check that the trader has specific experience in that roofing type. Even if a company is highly accomplished in fibreglass repairs, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will be as proficient in traditional slate roof repairs, so it’s best to keep looking until you find the best match for you.

If they are not already listed on a contractor’s profile, be sure to ask your contractor for references from past clients to gauge their reliability, craftmanship and professionalism. Doing this background work is important to make sure that your money and time are spent on someone capable.

Engagement and Communication

Another aspect to consider when gathering quotes from contractors is to take note of how they are talking to you. During your project, it’s important to have clear and ongoing communication so that any issues or concerns during the project can be dealt with effectively and efficiently - and with your consent.

If a trader is being cagey with you, unwilling to answer queries, or is taking weeks to respond to simple requests, it’s an early indicator of bad communication. The likelihood of this continuing once the project starts is high, as once they’ve won your trade they will try even less with you.

Make sure you feel comfortable with your chosen company, and ensure you have all your questions answered - from discussing expectations, timelines, and any fee concerns - to help manage the repair process as smoothly as possible.

Utilising MyJobQuote's Quote Form

Using MyJobQuote’s quote form couldn’t be easier. These are the steps you’ll need to take to get matched with a local leaky roof repair service provider:

• Select ‘roofing’ from the first list
• Choose the heading that best fits your needs - for leaky roofs, this is likely to be ‘roof repair’
• Define your roof type - pitched, flat or other
• Describe your home’s height - one, two, three or more storeys
• Pick your roof’s material from the list
• Select the options that best describe your work requirements (you can pick as many as necessary on this page) - this could be both ‘leak fixing’ and ‘tile repair/replacement’
• Use the text box to expand on your needs, including as much information as possible about the current condition of your roof and any suspected issues or past issues that may be of note
• Add photos to help illustrate your problem
• Enter your postcode to allocate local traders
• Select your budget from the options
• Choose your repair timeframe - from ASAP to flexible timing
• Lastly, enter your email address to get quotes from local traders sent to you

Be sure to add in as much detail as possible during this stage as it will help specialists to provide you with accurate quotes. This way, you can receive multiple quotes from local experts and review their offers to choose the best fit for you based on their experience, cost and customer reviews, making an informed decision.

Seeking Recommendations

If you know of anyone who has recently had a leaky roof repaired and lives locally, it’s worth asking them to see if they’d recommend their roof specialist. This works, regardless of their opinion, as it can either lead you to a highly skilled expert or steer you away from a trader who might be liable to give you a bad experience.

Ask around your friends, family and colleagues to get suggestions of contractors they have used in the past and would be happy to work with again. If someone recommends a national roof repair company, bear in mind that you might not have the same team working on your roof if your location is different, which can lead to an alternative experience than recommended to you.

It’s best to still make sure you do your homework on a trader to make sure they are right for you. Personal recommendations are incredibly important when it comes to home repairs as one skilled trader can save you from many rogue traders who will just make your initial issue worse, costing you more money in the long term, and never resolving your roofing problem.

Service Terms and Agreements

It can be tempting to jump straight in with a leaky roof repair as the longer you leave it, the worse the potential outcomes can become. But, this isn’t a reason to skip checking your contractor’s service terms and agreements thoroughly before any work commences.

The number one rule with home improvements is to get a written quote. If a trader is pushing for a verbal agreement and doesn’t want to commit anything to paper, you should take it as an early red flag that they might try to take advantage of you further down the line, as it will simply become a ‘he said, she said’ situation.

Be sure to check your written quote thoroughly, ensuring services are itemised and priced up as expected. If you have queries about any prices that may have changed, be sure to ask your trader about them so that there is no misunderstanding or issues when it comes to settling up.

If your roof contractors take home £85,000 or more in a single year, they will be liable to pay VAT on their earnings, which will mean you need to pay an extra 20% on top of your base fee. Check to see if this is the case for your service provider, and get it added to your quote so that there are no nasty hidden cost surprises come the end of the project.

Lastly, if the leaky roof repair company offers you a guarantee or warranty on their service, check to see if this is for the materials alone or both materials and labour charges. In some cases, you will be guaranteed the cost of new flashing, for example, but not for the labour of having it installed, so just check this out before you sign any contract, as things can sometimes sound better than they actually are.

Finding reputable, respected roof specialists can be hard when faced with pages upon pages of search results - but it doesn’t have to be that way. Using MyJobQuote’s online directories and quote form can help streamline your briefing process, and match you up with local experts off the back of one single search.

Roof leaks need to be dealt with swiftly to ensure no major structural damage occurs as a result of leaving the initial problem too long. You need to act wisely to ensure the repair work helps and doesn’t lead to more repairs further down the line.

Reviewing companies’ customer reviews and testimonials can be a great way of ensuring the contractor you choose is the best fit for you so that you can have a roof repair that is completed efficiently and to your satisfaction.