Roofers in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
Flat roofing in Llanelli: no more puddle over the kitchen
The flat roof on a back extension or garage is often the first part of a house to leak. Give its rough size and what covers it now, and a local roofer will ring with a free quote.
- Felt, rubber and fibreglass flat roofs repaired and replaced
- Kitchen extensions, garages, dormers, porches and bay tops
- Ponding, blisters, split seams and failed edges dealt with
- Published UK cost ranges on this page
The roof you only see from the back bedroom
Look out of an upstairs back window after rain. If there is a pool sitting on the extension roof a day later, the roof is telling you something.
Flat roofs fail quietly. A seam opens by a few millimetres. The felt blisters in summer and cracks in a frost. Water creeps into the boards underneath and they go soft. Indoors, the first you know is a stain in the corner of the kitchen ceiling, or paint that will not stay on.
By then the deck below the felt has often been wet for months.
From damp patch to a price, in three moves
Describe what you can see
Write down what you have noticed from the ground or from indoors: a slate in the gutter, a stain on a ceiling, water running down the wall behind a downpipe. Add your name, a phone number and the part of Llanelli you are in.
A roofer from your side of town rings
Your phone goes at the hour you asked for. Expect a few plain questions about the house and the roof, and for most jobs a time to come round and have a proper look.
You get a figure and think it over
Have the price put in writing, with a line on what it covers. Take as long as you like over it. If it does not suit you, say so and that is the end of it.
Patch or re-cover?
A patch makes sense when the covering is fairly young and the damage is in one place, such as a split at an edge or a hole where something fell on it.
A new covering is the better buy when any of these apply.
- The felt is cracked, bald or blistered across the whole roof
- It has been patched several times already
- Water stands on it for days, which points to a sag in the deck
- The boards feel soft or springy underfoot
- There is damp on the ceiling in more than one spot
When a flat roof is stripped, the roofer can see the timber deck. Rotten boards are replaced, and the slope can be corrected so water runs to the gutter. This is also the moment to add insulation. The Welsh Government's guidance says that if a flat roof with insulation built into it is replaced, you may be required to upgrade that insulation.
Flat roof costs from published guides
Two figures, each from a UK cost guide. Your own roof will differ with its size and what is found under the old covering.
Every figure here is a typical UK guide price read from the published guide named with it. Not one is a quote for your roof. What your own job comes to depends on the size and height of the roof, how easy it is to reach, the materials and what turns up once the old covering is lifted. Most of the guides give their prices before VAT.
The whole price list in one table
| Job | UK guide price |
|---|---|
| Re-felting a flat garage roofRe-felting an average flat garage roof. Repairs to the timber underneath, and removing any asbestos sheeting, are extra. | £1,000 to £2,000typical about £1,500 |
| Flat roof replacementReplacing a standard flat roof. Checkatrade's roof replacement guide gives the same range for a flat roof of 32 square metres, so expect less for a small extension. | £2,800 to £7,500 |
Every figure here is a typical UK guide price read from the published guide named with it. Not one is a quote for your roof. What your own job comes to depends on the size and height of the roof, how easy it is to reach, the materials and what turns up once the old covering is lifted. Most of the guides give their prices before VAT.
The published guides these prices were read from
Three coverings and what each costs
Checkatrade's flat roof replacement guide gives an average price for each square metre of the three common coverings, before VAT.
- Torch-on felt, about £65 a square metre. The least costly. The guide gives it a life of 15 to 20 years when it is fitted and looked after properly.
- EPDM rubber, about £90 a square metre. Usually laid as one sheet, so a small roof may have no joins at all.
- GRP fibreglass, about £107.50 a square metre. A hard, seamless shell laid as a liquid. The dearest of the three in that guide.
On a small roof the gap in total cost between the three is modest. The quality of the edges, the upstands against the house wall and the outlet to the gutter matter more than the brand of sheet.
Flat roofs behind Llanelli houses
Many terraces in town have a single-storey kitchen or bathroom built on at the back, often with a flat roof that meets the house wall under a bedroom window. That join is the weak point. Wind-driven rain runs down the wall and straight in if the flashing there has failed.
Garages are the other regular. Some older garage roofs are corrugated cement sheets that may contain asbestos. Do not break or drill them. Checkatrade's roof replacement guide says to budget £950 to £3,750 for asbestos removal and disposal if a garage roof contains it. Mention the sheets in the form so the roofer comes prepared.
If the flat roof joins a slate or tiled slope, both may need looking at together. See roof repairs in Llanelli.
Roofing work in Llanelli
- Roof and leak repairsLeaks traced, slates and ridges re-fixed, lead put right.
- Emergency rooferRain coming in or roof damage after a gale.
- Slate roofingSlates replaced, slopes re-laid, old slate reused where sound.
- Chimneys and leadworkRepointing, lead flashing, pots, rebuilds and removals.
- Guttering, fascias and soffitsGutters cleared and replaced, roofline boards renewed.
- New roofsFull re-roofs in slate or tile, with the Welsh rules explained.
Llanelli and the places round it
Roofing help for the whole town, the villages on its edge and the coast as far as Burry Port.
- Town centre, Bigyn and Tyisha
- New Dock, Morfa and Machynys
- Sandy and Stradey
- Felinfoel
- Swiss Valley
- Dafen
- Pemberton and Trostre
- Llwynhendy and Bynea
- Pwll
- Burry Port and Pembrey
- Llangennech
- Trimsaran
- Kidwelly
- Loughor
Plain facts before you fill it in
- No bill for asking. There is no fee for sending the form and no fee for the call. Turning a price down costs nothing either.
- The form is brief. Your name, a number, your area and what is wrong. The number of your house and your email address are not asked for.
- The prices are not ours. Each figure on these pages was read from a published UK cost guide, and the guide is named and linked next to it. Use them to get your bearings. A real price needs someone to look at your own roof.
- Your details go no further than the job. They are used so a roofer can ring you about your roof. Nobody buys them, and you will not end up on a marketing list.
Common questions
Can you reroof over an existing flat roof?
On some roofs it can be done. A new layer can go over old felt if the deck beneath is dry and firm and the old surface is flat. If the boards are damp or the roof ponds, covering it over just hides the fault. Most roofers prefer to strip a tired roof so they can see the timber.
How do I fix a leaking flat roof for now?
A small split can be sealed for a short while with a flat roof repair compound or patch from a builders' merchant, put on in dry weather. Treat it as a stopgap. Stay off the roof if the boards feel soft, and have it looked at before winter.
How long does a new flat roof take?
A small extension or garage is often done in a day or two once the weather is dry. Replacing rotten deck boards or adding insulation takes longer. Ask for the likely number of days with the price.
Wet boards do not dry out under felt
Once water is under the covering it is trapped there. The deck rots from the top down, and the joists follow. A re-cover that would have reused the old boards turns into a new deck as well, and the kitchen ceiling with it.
Give the rough length and width, say what the roof is over, and name your part of Llanelli. No charge is made for the quote.