How to Tell You Need Roof Replacement
A full re-roof is the right call when the failure is in the layers you cannot see — the nails and the sarking">underfelt — rather than the tiles on the surface. On Ipswich's ageing stock, these signs point to replacement rather than another patch.
- Tiles slipping repeatedly across a whole slope — the classic nail-sickness pattern on 1960s–70s estates
- Brittle, torn or sagging underfelt visible from inside the loft
- Repeated repairs to the same roof over several years
- Widespread failed ridge and verge mortar
- A roof over 50 years old that has never been stripped and re-covered
When it is not the answer: If the covering is sound and only a small area has failed, a re-roof is oversell — a targeted repair is the honest answer, and we'll tell you so. Read the full guide.
The re-roof you need depends heavily on which Ipswich property type you own. A Victorian terrace off Fonnereau Road comes with shared valleys and parapets that add labour; a 1930s hipped semi has more ridge and hip line to finish; and a post-war concrete-tile estate roof at Chantry or Kesgrave is a large, simple shape that keeps the per-square-metre rate down but is the classic nail-sickness candidate. We match the covering to the property — modern lightweight interlocking tiles suit the estate roofs, while conservation streets near Christchurch Park need materials that satisfy the council's conservation officer. Every re-roof includes new breathable membrane, treated battens and dry ridge and verge systems as standard, because on Ipswich's exposed roofs the mortar-bedded alternatives are exactly what fails first.
