Roofing
Re-roofs, new roof structures and repairs — pitched and flat.
40 years in the trade. Domestic and commercial, across the North East.
Why us
Why Tyne and Wear homeowners choose our roofing
The structure, not just the covering
We are builders first. Rafters, purlins and wall plates get checked and repaired, rather than tiled over and left.
Scaffold priced in from the start
Access is in the written quote, not added once the work is underway.
Repair quoted honestly against replacement
If a repair will genuinely see you right for years, we will say so rather than sell you a re-roof.
What it is
Roofing, built to last
Full re-roofs, new roof structures, flat roofing and repairs, on domestic and commercial property across the North East. We build roofs as part of extensions and new builds every week, which means the structure underneath gets the same attention as the covering on top — and that is usually where the real problem is.
- Full re-roofs, stripped back and re-covered
- New roof structures, cut roofs and trussed
- Flat roofing in GRP fibreglass and EPDM rubber
- Slate and tile repairs, ridge and verge work
- Fascias, soffits, guttering and rainwater goods
- Chimney repairs, flashings and leadwork
- Structural repairs to rafters, purlins and wall plates
- Insulation upgrades taken on at the same time
40 years in the trade. Domestic and commercial, across the North East.
Choices
The roofing options we offer
Most roofing work we take on falls into one of these.
Full re-roof
Stripped back to the timbers, checked, re-felted, re-battened and re-covered in slate or tile. The point at which repairs stop being worth it.
New roof structure
Cut roofs and trussed roofs on extensions, new builds and conversions, built and covered as part of the wider job.
Flat roofing
GRP fibreglass and EPDM rubber on extensions, dormers, garages and porches, with the upstands and outlets detailed properly.
Repairs and leadwork
Slipped slates, failed flashings, ridge and verge work, chimney repairs and guttering.
Ready for your free roofing quote?
A free site visit and a written quote, with no obligation and no chasing afterwards.
Why roofs usually fail from underneath
When a roof starts letting water in, the covering gets the blame and the felt underneath is usually the culprit. Bitumen felt hardens and splits with age, and once it has, every wind-driven shower gets past the slates and lands on the timbers instead of running away into the gutter.
That is why a re-roof is a strip back rather than a top-up. Once the covering is off you can see the battens, the wall plates and the rafter ends, fix what has been quietly rotting, and put a modern breathable membrane underneath — which is the part that actually keeps the water out for the next thirty years.
North East weather and Victorian slate
A lot of housing stock round here is slate over bitumen felt laid decades ago, on roofs that face a wet prevailing wind straight off the coast. Nail fatigue on old slate is the classic North East failure — the slate itself is fine, the nail holding it has corroded through — which is why you see the same roofs shedding a few slates every winter until someone strips the lot.
Looking after your roofing
Twice a year, from the ground with binoculars: look for slipped or missing slates, a ridge line that is no longer straight, and staining down the wall below a gutter joint. Clear the gutters once the leaves are down. Catching a slipped slate in November is a ladder job; finding it in March is a rotten rafter.
The GGH Build Standard
Our roofing process at a glance
How your roofing job actually runs, start to finish.
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Free site visit
We get up and look at the roof properly, inside and out, rather than pricing it off the pavement.
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Written quote
An estimated cost with the covering, the membrane and the scaffolding all itemised, so nothing appears later.
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The work
Stripped, checked, repaired and re-covered, and made watertight at the end of every working day.
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Handover
We walk the scaffold down with you, show you the finished detailing, and clear the site of every last slate.
Roofing
Common roofing questions
It depends on why it is failing. If a handful of slates have slipped in a storm, that is a repair and we will tell you so. If the battens or the felt underneath have gone, patching the covering just moves the leak, because the thing keeping water out has already failed. We will get up there, look properly, and tell you which one you have got — including when the answer is the cheaper one.
A typical semi is around a week in reasonable weather; a larger detached or a complicated roof with valleys and dormers can be two to three. Weather is the honest variable — we will not strip a roof we cannot get watertight again, so a wet forecast moves the start date rather than leaving your house open.
A properly laid GRP or EPDM flat roof should give you 20 to 25 years, which is a different world from the felt roofs a lot of North East extensions and garages still have. Most flat roofs that fail early failed at the detailing — the upstands, the edge trims and the outlet — not in the middle of the sheet.
Yes, and it is worth doing while the scaffold is already up. Doing rainwater goods as a separate job later means paying for access twice, and the scaffold is often the biggest single line on a roofing quote.
We arrange it and it is priced into the quote. You should be wary of any roofing price that leaves scaffolding off and mentions it once the work has started.
Where we work
Areas we cover
Across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Teesside. Find your town below — no call-out charge anywhere we go.
Get a Free Quote
Free, no-obligation quote. No pressure, no chasing. We respond during working hours, Monday to Saturday.
40 years in the trade. Domestic and commercial, across the North East.