Cambridge Roofers installs new roofs across St Ives, matching every material choice to the property, the budget and what will genuinely last.
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A new roof is one of the largest single investments you will make in a home. Getting the material right at the outset means fewer problems, lower maintenance and a roof that suits your property rather than fighting against it. The honest truth is that there is no single best material - each option has real advantages and real drawbacks, and the right choice depends on your roof pitch, your property's age and style, your budget and, where relevant, any planning conditions.
We install new roofs across St Ives and the surrounding area for Cambridge Roofers, working on everything from older terraced houses to modern extensions. Below is a straightforward account of the main roofing materials, what they are genuinely good at, and where they fall short.
Natural slate is the premium choice for pitched roofs. When properly fixed, it can last well over a century - some Victorian slate roofs are still performing today. Slate is dense, hard-wearing and absorbs very little water, which means it copes well with frost and driving rain. It also looks right on older properties and is often required or expected on period homes.
The drawbacks are cost and weight. Natural slate is significantly more expensive per square metre than concrete or clay tile, both for the material itself and for the skilled fixing it demands. It is also heavier, so older roof structures may need assessment before you commit. Spanish and Welsh slates are both widely used; Welsh slate has a distinctive blue-grey colour and is highly regarded, while Spanish slate is generally less expensive but still performs well when correctly sourced and fixed.
Traditional clay tiles have been used on British roofs for centuries. They hold their colour well because the colour runs through the material rather than sitting on the surface, and they weather to a warm, mellow appearance that suits properties of most ages. A well-laid clay tile roof is durable and long-lasting, often performing for 60 to 100 years.
Clay tiles are heavier than concrete alternatives and cost more. They are also less uniform in dimension than machine-made concrete tiles, which means fixing them well requires care and experience. That said, this slight variation in finish is often exactly what gives a clay-tiled roof its character on an older home.
Concrete tiles are the most widely used roofing material on UK homes built since the 1960s. They are produced in a huge range of profiles - plain, interlocking, large format, low pitch - which makes them adaptable to different roof designs. They are considerably cheaper than clay or slate, and their consistent dimensions make installation straightforward.
The main limitation is longevity of appearance. Concrete tiles are coated rather than through-coloured, so the surface finish can fade, moss can take hold more readily than on slate or clay, and after several decades some tiles can become porous and brittle. A concrete tile roof on a modern property can perform well for 40 to 60 years, but it will need periodic cleaning and may show its age before a slate or clay roof would.
Many homes have flat or very low-pitch sections, such as a rear extension, a garage or a bay window flat. These cannot take tiles or slates and need a different system entirely. Torch-on felt and EPDM rubber membrane are the two systems we install.
Torch-on felt uses layers of bitumen-based felt bonded with heat. It is reliable, well understood and cost-effective. A properly installed torch-on flat roof can be expected to last 15 to 25 years depending on specification and exposure. EPDM rubber membrane is a single-ply system made from a synthetic rubber sheet. It is flexible, handles temperature changes well and, when professionally installed with properly bonded seams, is very durable - manufacturer material ratings often exceed 50 years, though actual performance depends on installation quality and the detail work at edges and penetrations.
The honest point about flat roofs is that most failures happen at the edges, upstands, outlets and any penetrations (pipes, rooflights). The membrane itself is rarely the problem - poor detailing is. When asking for quotes, ask specifically how the contractor handles the perimeter and any penetrations, not just the flat field of the roof.
Standing seam zinc and aluminium are increasingly used on contemporary properties and on flat or low-pitch roofs where a longer service life is wanted. These materials are light, very durable and require minimal maintenance. They are significantly more expensive than felt or EPDM, but for the right project they are an excellent long-term investment. We handle metal roofing as part of our new roof service for homes where it is specified or suits the design.
Several factors will genuinely narrow your options before cost becomes the deciding factor.
Whatever material is chosen, a new roof installation is not simply laying new tiles on top of old. The old covering is stripped back to the rafters. Timbers are inspected and any that are rotten, cracked or undersized are replaced. New breathable roofing membrane is laid across the rafters before battens are fixed. Lead or code-quality alternatives are used for all flashings at chimneys, valleys, abutments and verges. Only then are tiles or slates fixed.
Gutters and fascias are often replaced at the same time, since they are most accessible and most likely to be worn when a roof is due for replacement. This is worth discussing at the survey stage so you are not scaffolding a second time a year later.
Ridge and hip tiles are bedded and pointed - or, increasingly, mechanically fixed with a dry ridge system that does not rely on mortar and so is less likely to work loose over time.
When getting quotes for a new roof in St Ives, these are the questions worth putting to any contractor:
A contractor who gives clear, specific answers to these questions is one you can have confidence in. If answers are vague, push for detail - the quality of a new roof is almost entirely about what you cannot see once it is finished.
If you are unsure which material is right for your property, or you want an honest assessment of whether your existing roof needs full replacement or will benefit from repair, call us to arrange a roof survey. We will give you a straight answer and a written breakdown of what the work involves.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
