In October 2024 we crossed the border to Wrexham to replace the roof on a brick semi-detached house. The homeowners' half of the pair still had its old red tiles, and the job was to take the old roof off completely and put a new one on in its place.
The photos tell the story simply. The first is taken from the front lawn as the old roof comes off; the last is taken from the road once the new roof was finished, with dark grey tiles across the slope.
Taking the old roof off
At the start of the job the team were up on the front slope lifting the old red tiles, with a scaffold tower against the front of the house, a ladder up to the eaves and our trailer parked out on the road.
Taking a roof right off, rather than patching it, is what lets a roofer see the condition of the timbers underneath and renew the underlay and battens, instead of laying new tiles over old problems.
The finished roof
The new roof is covered in dark grey tiles, which suit the brickwork and give the house a much crisper outline against the sky. Along the gable end the edge is finished with dry verge units: interlocking plastic caps fixed along the verge that cover the cut ends of the tiles instead of a strip of mortar.
Mortar verges are often among the first things to go on older roofs in exposed spots. Once the mortar cracks and drops out, wind can get under the end tiles and lift them. A dry verge is fixed mechanically, so there is no mortar to lose. The close-up of the gable shows the verge units running neatly up the edge of the roof.
- Old red tiled roof stripped off
- Complete new roof in dark grey tiles
- Dry verge units along the gable end
Roofing in Wrexham and North Wales
Wrexham is an easy run from our base near Chester, and we are happy to look at roofs across the border as well as in Cheshire and the Wirral. Whether it is a tired roof like this one or a smaller roof repair, send us a message with a photo if you can and we will get back to you.
Questions About This Kind of Job
Do you work in Wrexham?
Yes. As this job shows, we cover Wrexham and nearby parts of North Wales as well as Chester, Cheshire and the Wirral.
Can you re-roof one half of a semi-detached house?
Yes. We tile up to the party line and make sure the join with the neighbouring roof is weathertight, whether their tiles are old or new.
What is a dry verge?
A row of plastic caps fixed along the gable edge of a roof. They cover the ends of the tiles and hold them down without mortar, so there is nothing to crack or wash out.
