Roofing FAQs
The questions we get asked most in Blackpool and across the Fylde coast, answered straight.
Quotes and cost
Do you charge for a quote?
No. Quotes are free and there is no obligation. We will come out, look at the roof properly — including in the roof space where that matters — and give you a fixed price in writing.
Why will you not put prices on the website?
Because on this coast the honest answer is that access, height, covering and exposure move the price more than the job type does. Two identical-looking terraces can be a long way apart because one has a rear lane and the other does not. Our cost guide sets out exactly what we are pricing so you can compare quotes properly.
Can you give me a rough idea over the phone?
Usually, yes — particularly if you can send a photo from the pavement. Please do not go up a ladder to take one.
Is the price fixed?
Yes, in writing before we start. Where something genuinely cannot be known until the covering is off — defective battens or timber, for instance — we say so in the quote and tell you how it would be charged, rather than springing it on you on day three.
Repairs versus replacement
Do I need a new roof or just a repair?
Most roofs get repaired for years before they get replaced, and that is usually right. It stops making sense when you are paying for the same visit repeatedly — slates failing across the whole slope rather than in one spot, nail sickness letting slates slide however you re-fix them, battens that will not hold a nail, or a perished underlay. We will tell you which side of that line you are on, and if a repair will see you through, we will do the repair.
How long will my roof last?
We are not going to give you a number, and we would treat anyone who does with caution. There is no reliable published figure for how long any covering lasts on this coast, and the lifespans quoted on roofing websites are guesses. What we can do is look at yours and tell you what condition it is actually in.
The leak shows up in one place — is that where the hole is?
Very often not. Water travels along battens, rafters and ceilings before it appears. We trace the actual source rather than patching where it is showing, which is why we look in the roof space.
Blackpool buildings
My house has a flat roof on the top storey. Is that normal here?
Unfortunately yes, and it has a name. A large proportion of Blackpool’s Victorian boarding houses had their pitched slate roof removed and a flat-roofed extra storey built in its place as the holiday trade declined. Blackpool Council calls them roof lifts and describes them as the most widespread modern change to the town’s historic streetscape. It means your main weathering surface is a flat roof, high up and fully exposed, and it should be specified as the main roof rather than treated as an afterthought.
Can I take the roof lift off and put a pitched roof back?
Yes, and in one situation you have to. Blackpool’s New Homes from Old Places guidance requires that any property being sub-divided or converted into flats must remove a non-original roof lift or inappropriate dormer and replace it with a roof in keeping with the original roofline. Outside conversions, the council encourages removal voluntarily. We do this work.
Should I go back in slate or switch to concrete tile?
It depends on the building, the street and whether you need permission. Welsh slate is the documented original covering across Blackpool’s inner areas, Poulton-le-Fylde and Fleetwood, and the councils are not neutral about replacements — Foxhall’s appraisal refers to heavier concrete tiles, and Poulton’s flags modern slate substitutes that reflect more light and break up a terrace. There is also a structural question, because a covering change alters the load on a roof built for something else. We check before we specify.
Why do my gutters keep filling up when it barely rains?
Sand, most likely, if you are near the coast. Wind-driven sand clogging drainage is a recognised coastal hazard, and Fylde’s own dune management plan records wind-blown sand from the St Anne’s dunes reaching pavements, the highway and inland properties. Sand settles rather than washing through, holds water against the fascia and works into the joints. A fair number of “roof leaks” we attend are gutters that have quietly stopped working.
Permissions
Do I need planning permission to replace my roof?
In a conservation area, yes — replacing a roof covering needs planning permission, and Blackpool has seven conservation areas: the town centre, Stanley Park, Foxhall, Raikes Hall, Marton Moss, North Promenade and Layton. The council asks you to contact its Built Heritage and Conservation Team before starting. Outside those areas a straight like-for-like replacement usually does not need planning permission, but see the next answer.
What is the Raikes Hall Article 4 direction?
It is the one Blackpool Article 4 direction that affects roofs. Since 1 June 2020 it has withdrawn permitted development rights in the Raikes Hall area for any alteration to a roof, for installing rooflights, for changing roofing materials, and for installing, altering or replacing a chimney or flue. If you are in Raikes, assume you need permission and check. Blackpool’s other Article 4 directions cover HMO conversions, locally listed buildings (demolition and exterior painting only), and a 1949 Promenade order about temporary structures on open land — none of those restrict roof work.
Do I need building regulations approval?
Blackpool and Wyre building control both use the same wording: replacing a roof covering needs approval unless it is exactly a like-for-like repair. A re-roof is not a like-for-like repair.
What are the rules on dormers?
Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre adopted joint guidance — Extending Your Home — and the dormer rules are the same in all three. A dormer should not normally take up more than 35% of the roof plane, should sit well within the body of the roof and below the ridge, should have a pitched roof in matching tiles or slates wherever possible, and should not be clad in board or plastic.
Can I take my chimney down instead of repairing it?
In a conservation area you need planning permission to remove a chimney, and Blackpool’s guidance says chimneys often make a major contribution to local character and should be repaired and retained — removal needs strong justification. In practice a leaking chimney is far more often a leadwork job than a demolition job.
What about Lytham St Annes and the rest of Fylde?
Fylde Borough Council has ten conservation areas and three Article 4 directions covering Lytham, Lytham Quays and Lytham Avenues. Unlike Blackpool and Wyre, Fylde does not publish conservation area appraisals with descriptive text or any local policy on roofs or roofing materials, so rather than guess we will tell you to check with Fylde’s planning team — and we will help you do it.
The work itself
Will I need scaffolding?
Often, and it is a real cost. Blackpool’s boarding-house stock is three storeys as standard, four on some streets, and the Promenade hotels run to five. Access is frequently the biggest single variable in a price — the council’s own survey of South Beach describes rear alleys little more than a metre wide, and the earliest Bloomfield terraces have no rear lane at all. We tell you at the quote whether you need a tower, a scaffold or neither.
How is my roof fixed down?
Mechanically. BS 5534 was revised in 2014 so that mortar is no longer acceptable as a sole fixing, and single lap tiles must be mechanically fixed with nails or clips as a minimum. That is a national standard; on a coast with five to ten gale days a year against fewer than five inland, we would fix mechanically regardless.
Is Blackpool a wet place to have a roof?
No — and this is the thing most roofing websites get backwards. Met Office long-term averages for Blackpool Squires Gate give about 886 mm of rain a year against a UK average of about 1,163 mm, with more sunshine than the UK average too. What Blackpool has is wind: about 10.7 knots mean against a UK average of about 9.3. Roofs here fail by uplift, corroded fixings and blocked drainage, not by rainfall volume.
Do you clear up?
Yes. Site cleared and checked before we leave, including a sweep for nails and offcuts.
Guarantees and insurance
What is guaranteed?
All workmanship and all materials, for 20 years, issued as a written document when the job is signed off. Full detail on our guarantee page.
Can you help with an insurance claim?
We photograph storm damage before we touch it, record the temporary works, and set the permanent repair out in writing so you have something to submit. We will not tell you what your policy covers — that is between you and your insurer — but we will make sure you are not arguing your case without evidence.
Where do you cover?
Blackpool and roughly fifteen miles around it, taking in the Fylde coast and the inland Fylde. If you are near the edge, ring and ask — we will give you a straight answer.
Question not answered here?
Ring and ask. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Blackpool Roofing Company 247 — roofers covering Blackpool and the Fylde coast. Service-area business, 15 mile radius.
01253 486037 · info@roofers-blackpool.co.uk
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