A big roof with three front dormers, stripped right back to the rafters and rebuilt with new breathable membrane, treated battens and fresh flashings. Here is how the job came together.
This detached family home in Milton Keynes has a large pitched roof with three front dormers and a full-height gable, which makes it a demanding roof to work on and an easy one to get wrong. The original felt underlay beneath the tiles had reached the end of its life, so rather than keep chasing individual problems, the owners chose a full strip and re-roof.
The whole house was scaffolded front and back, a skip was set on the drive and the Stanley & Son team stripped the roof back to bare rafters before rebuilding it as a complete modern system. Every dormer abutment was re-detailed and re-flashed so the trickiest junctions on the roof are as sound as the main slopes.
After a free survey and a fixed written quote, the property was scaffolded to the full height of the front elevation and along the rear so every slope, dormer and verge could be reached safely. A skip went on the drive for the strip-off waste and the team arrived with everything needed to keep the house weather-tight from day one.
On a three-storey roof the scaffold is not an optional extra. It is what lets the work be done properly and lets the crew get on with it without cutting corners at the eaves and dormer cheeks.
The old tiles came off first, then the battens and the original felt. This photo shows exactly why the owners chose a re-roof over another repair: the underlay was tired and brittle and the details around the dormers had been patched over the years rather than rebuilt.
Once a roof is at this stage there is nothing hidden. We can check the rafters, sort any timber that needs attention and rebuild the dormer junctions from scratch instead of working around old problems.
With the roof clean, Permavent breathable membrane was laid over every slope and dressed around each dormer. The membrane is the real waterproof layer under the tiles, and a breathable one lets moisture from the house escape instead of condensing in the loft.
New treated battens were then fixed to gauge across the whole roof. Fresh, straight battens mean the tiles sit true, the courses run straight and the fixings bite into sound timber for the life of the roof.
Dormers are where most roofs leak. Each of the three front dormers has cheeks, a small pitched roof of its own and abutments where it meets the main slope, and every one of those junctions was re-detailed and flashed as part of the rebuild rather than left as it was.
It is the kind of work you will never see once the tiles go back on, which is exactly why we photograph it. The owners have a record of what sits under their roof, and so do we.
With the membrane, battens and flashings in, the roof is re-covered course by course, the ridge and verges are finished, and the scaffold comes down. The job ends with a walk-round with the owners and their 15-year insurance-backed guarantee.
Every Stanley & Son re-roof is built the same way, whether it is a bungalow in Amersham or a three-storey house in Milton Keynes: strip it properly, rebuild it as a complete system and put our name on the scaffold while we do it.
Thinking about a re-roof in Milton Keynes, Bedford, Northampton or across Buckinghamshire? We work the same way on every job. Book a free survey and we will tell you honestly whether you need a re-roof or just a repair.
New breathable membrane under every tile, not perished felt with patches over the holes.
Treated timber fixed to gauge so tiles sit true and fixings hold for decades.
Every abutment and cheek rebuilt and flashed, which is where most roof leaks start.
An insurance-backed guarantee that stands even if the company did not.
See the real condition of your roof before deciding between a repair and a re-roof.
Learn moreBook a free drone survey and get straight advice on whether it is time to re-roof.