Concrete and clay tile roofing on the post-war and modern housing across South Shields, Boldon, Washington and the wider North East. Full re-tiles, patch repairs, ridges re-bedded or dry fixed, verges pointed or capped, and the valleys and flashings that go with them. Straightforward work done in the right order.
Interlocking concrete, plain clay and profiled tiles, matched to the profile already on the house so a repair sits in rather than stands out.
Loose ridge tiles taken off, cleaned and re-bedded, or converted to a dry ridge system that does not need repointing every decade.
Mortar verges repointed or replaced with dry verge units, which is usually where the wind gets its first hold on a roof.
Lead and GRP valleys, abutment flashings and soakers dressed in, because that is where tiled roofs actually leak.
Yes, treat it as urgent. A loose ridge tile is a heavy object at the highest point of the house with nothing much holding it on, and the North East gets the wind to move it. Beyond the obvious safety problem, once the mortar bedding has failed, water gets in along the ridge and into the roof space. It is not a big or expensive job to put right, and it is a very expensive one to ignore.
Instead of bedding ridge tiles on mortar, they are mechanically fixed with clamps and a ventilated ridge roll. It costs a little more up front and it removes the repointing job that mortar ridges need every ten to fifteen years, while also ventilating the roof space. On an exposed or coastal roof it is usually worth it. On a sheltered roof with sound bedding there is no urgency, and you will be told that rather than sold an upgrade.
Yes, and it is a common call after a storm or after somebody has been up to a satellite dish. The only real question is matching: tile profiles have come and gone over the decades, so an exact match is not always available, and where it is not, the honest options are a close match on a rear elevation, or swapping tiles around so the odd ones sit somewhere they are not seen. Callum will tell you which is realistic before starting.
Concrete tiles themselves will typically run for decades, and it is rarely the tiles that end a roof. What fails first is the felt underneath, the mortar at the ridges and verges, and the nails and battens. That is why a roof can look fine from the pavement and still be leaking: the covering is doing its job and the layer under it has perished. A look in the loft on a wet day tells you more than a look from the garden.
Generally yes, both in material and in labour, which is why most post-war housing in the region has it. Concrete tiles are larger, so fewer of them cover the same roof, and they are far cheaper per square metre than natural slate. Where it is not a free choice is on period property or in a conservation area, where matching the original covering may be expected. On a 1960s semi in Boldon or Washington, tile is usually the sensible answer.
Roof windows fitted into an existing tiled roof, with the flashing kit dressed in properly, are regular work. Dormer roofs and cheeks are covered and made watertight as part of a wider roofing job. Where a job needs structural alteration or building control involvement, that gets flagged at the quote rather than discovered halfway through.