Roof repair

spuncy

Hi,

Just looking for a second opinion on the cost of roof repair. There was a leak in the roof and when someone had a look at it, he said that there were a few slates (7-9 slates) to be replaced and repointing to be done on the edge slates (don't know what they're called, the line of slates coming from the centre of the roof to the edge). The house is detached. There was also moss to be removed from the slates across the roof.

The quote given to me was €1,400.

Not being in the business, I thought this was excessive, but would be interested to know what people think. I doubt there is even a full day's work involved in this.

Any thoughts?

Thanks..

VERYinterested

You should be able to claim for this repair on your insurance under Storm Damage. Once a Roofer comes out, that seems to be the ball park area you are looking at. Beware of possible extra 'complications' that appear when the job is being done, such as felt that needs to be replaced. I was fleeced a couple of years back, and the work paid for was not even done. Get a few quotes, however inconvenient, and make sure you get someone reputable.

spuncy

Thanks Very..

The story is a little complicated, involving friends of the family and the fact that the guy proceeded with the work without agreement or telling us! He is now expecting to be paid this amount. He completed it several weeks ago while we were at work. We didn't even notice he had done it. I had put an emergency temporary fix in the attic to stem the flow of water when it rained heavily.

The work completed was: a repointing of the edge tiles (from the centre to corner of the house), de-mossing of the roof, replacement of some tiles and sealing of the chimney with waterproof stuff (apparently it was leaking also - something he noticed when he was carrying out the work and did not charge extra for).

There's very little chance of claiming on the insurance now, it seems (the wife was talking to someone in the know). I was originally hoping on getting someone to do it for €500 or thereabouts, as replacing some tiles, scraping out some moss and repointing did not seem to be a big job to me. I thought this would have been a good price, even taking into account overheads like insurance, van etc!

Given the family issues, I just wanted to get an idea on whether the amount was excessive and base my response on that. He obviously had no right to plough ahead with it, but it's done now and if this is the sort of money we're talking about for this type of job in general, then I'll have to go ahead and pay..

VERYinterested

I see, well honestly, you've nothing to lose by contacting the Insurance company. I have claimed retrospectively before. They will send out an Assessor and he/she will decide if your claim is entertained. They may give you a percentage of the claim if they decide the claim is excessive. Worth a shot if you ask me.