A good deal of what you need to know about a roofing firm comes out in conversation, and the survey visit is the natural place for it. You do not need to know the trade to ask good questions. You need to know which ones matter, and what a straight answer sounds like: specific, unhurried, and backed by something written down.
Print this page or keep it open on your phone while the roofer is on site. Not every question applies to every job. A slipped tile does not raise building control, and a flat roof has no ridge. Pick the sections that fit and skip the rest.
If you are still choosing who to invite round, start with how to find a good roofer, which covers the whole hiring journey. This page, from Watertight Worthing Roofing, is the list to carry once someone is standing in your garden looking up.
Questions about the scope of the work
Vague scope is a classic source of arguments over the final bill, so pin it down while the roofer can still point at the roof. Ask for the answers to be written into the quote, not just spoken.
- What exactly is wrong, and where does the water get in? A roofer who has found the cause can show you the place.
- Can I see photographs of my own roof taken today?
- Is this a repair, a re-cover or a full replacement, and why that rather than the smaller option?
- What happens to the old covering, the underlay and the battens (timber strips fixed across the rafters to carry the tiles)?
- Are flashings, valleys, ridge and verge included, or only the main slope?
- What would make the price change once work starts, and who decides?
Why the cause matters
A brown mark on the bedroom ceiling shows where water ended up, which may be several metres from where it got in. It can travel a long way along the underlay, the waterproof sheet beneath the covering, before it drops. If the roofer talks only about the stain, ask about the loft and about what lines up with it outside. If they talk only about replacing everything, ask what they found that a repair would not cure.
Putting limits in writing
Ask what is not included. Gutters, fascias, a chimney stack or a flat-roofed extension beside the main slope are the usual extras that people assume are covered. A good answer is a short list in the quote. A poor one is a shrug and "we'll sort it on the day".
Materials, makers and the fixings that matter on this coast
Ask what is going on the roof, by manufacturer and product name, not just "tiles" or "slate". Two concrete tiles can differ in weight, in pitch range and in the fixing they need. The maker's data sheet sets the minimum pitch, and you are entitled to ask the roofer to check the product against your roof's actual pitch.
- Which tile, slate or membrane is it, and who makes it?
- Is it lighter, heavier or about the same weight as what is there now?
- Will new battens and underlay go on, or only the covering?
- What lead is used for flashings and soakers, and what code?
Fixing to BS 5534
BS 5534 is the British Standard that governs how slates and tiles are put on. Wienerberger, a tile maker, expects each single-lap tile to be fixed mechanically, and ties the exact pattern to how exposed the site is. Marley explains that since the 2014 revision a clip or screw backs up the mortar beneath ridge and hip tiles, and edge tiles are fixed twice. So ask: how is each ridge, hip and verge tile held, and does that follow the tile maker's specification for my address? Dry-fix systems are tested to BS 8612:2018, which is worth asking about if the roofer proposes one.
Lead and the details
Leadworx describes code 4 lead as the usual pick for flashings, with code 3 kept for soakers, the little folded strips that sit beneath the tile courses beside a wall. You do not need to memorise that. Asking "what code, and how is it fixed into the wall" shows the roofer you will be checking, and a prompt, specific reply is what you want to hear.
Building control, planning and your paperwork
Some roof work has to be notified to the council or a private approver, and responsibility is easier to settle before the work starts. Ask the firm directly: does this job need a building control application, and who will make it?
The Planning Portal's test has two parts: less than 25 per cent of the total building envelope (walls, floor, roof, windows and doors counted together) and less than 50 per cent of the roof affected. Go beyond either limit, alter the structure, change the fire performance of the covering significantly, or add 15 per cent or more to its weight, and approval is needed. A larger job can also bring an insulation upgrade, so ask whether the quote allows for one.
Who deals with the council
Building control sits with the Adur and Worthing team or a registered building control approver, the title used since 6 April 2024. Either way, ask who submits the application, and ask for the completion paperwork at the end. A future buyer's solicitor may want to see it.
Listed buildings and special areas
Swapping a covering for the same material is rarely a planning matter, yet a listed building, a conservation area or an Article 4 direction can alter the position. Ask the firm what it knows about your address, then confirm with the council's planning officers, or the South Downs National Park Authority if the house lies within the park. A firm that never asked whether your house is listed has skipped a step.
Scaffolding, start dates and keeping the site tidy
Ask whether scaffolding is needed, who supplies it and whether it is in the price. MyBuilder (updated 21/08/2026) shows a typical UK range of about £850 to £1,200 on a standard two-storey house, so a quote that ignores it deserves a question. For chimney work alone, the same guide shows £400 to £900.
The scaffold licence
Written permission from the highway authority under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 is needed whenever scaffolding would block the pavement or the road. West Sussex County Council holds that role around Worthing and Adur, and asks for at least 10 working days from the application to the scaffold going up. Brighton and Hove's own council issues licences inside the city, restricting them to specialist scaffold companies. The scaffold firm makes the application, not you, so ask who is doing it and when, because a licence delay can push back a start date.
Dates, days and the site
- When is the earliest start, and what happens if the weather stops work?
- How many days on the roof will this job take?
- Who will be on site, and who do I ring if I need to speak to someone?
- Where will skips, materials and vehicles go?
- How will you leave things each evening, and how is the waste removed?
These answers also show how the firm plans. A roofer who has thought about the scaffold, the neighbours' driveways and the skip has usually thought about the flashing too. If a firm cannot say when it can start, ask when it can tell you.
The guarantee: what the wording should say
A guarantee is a document, not a sentence. Ask to see it, or a sample, before you sign, and read it for four things: what is covered, how long it lasts, how the firm responds when something fails, and what would end it. The questions below suit any roofer's wording.
- Does it cover the workmanship, the materials or both?
- What is excluded, for example storm damage, other people's work or lack of maintenance?
- Do I have to claim in a particular way, and who do I contact?
- Is the period stated plainly, and does it start from the completion date?
Warranty is a different thing
A manufacturer's warranty comes from the tile or membrane maker and speaks about the product. Marley itself says its published expectation for concrete tiles is not a guarantee or warranty of longevity. Neither a product warranty nor a quoted lifespan tells you whether the roof was fitted well. Ask the roofer to say which document covers which risk, and keep both together in one folder.
For the full picture, the answer on how a roofing guarantee works sets out the different kinds. If a roofer can show you no wording at all, treat "it's guaranteed" as the start of a conversation, not the end of it. Our page on how to tell a dodgy roofer lists the other signs that tend to go with that, and it is worth reading before you pay a deposit to anyone.
Price, payment and your right to cancel
Ask for the quote as one total price, and ask three things about it. Does it include VAT? Does it include scaffolding? Does it include clearing the site and taking the waste away? Then consider how many quotes are worth gathering, a point covered in how many roofing quotes to get. The lowest total is not always the one that covers the same work.
Payment
Ask when money is due, and what each payment is for. Agree it in writing. A request to pay everything in cash before work begins, with no paperwork, is a reason to stop and think again.
The 14-day cancellation right
A contract signed at your home after a survey is treated as made away from the trader's premises. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 you may cancel without giving a reason until 14 days have passed since the day you entered it. Ask the firm to hand you the cancellation notice at signing. If it never does, your window stretches by up to 12 months beyond the usual end date.
If you want work to begin inside those 14 days, the firm needs your express request, which for this type of contract must be on paper or by email. Should you change your mind after that, the bill is scaled to the work already supplied. One carve-out: when you specifically ring a trader out for an urgent repair, that call-out sits outside the right altogether. So ask: if I cancel on day ten, what happens to the deposit and the materials already ordered?
