Here are a few pictures of a roof dome from some different angles

Roof dome from the outside.

Roof dome from the inside

A “Tin hat” is the scaffolder’s name for a temporary roof structure.

It is part of the scaffolding that protects the whole roof when exposed to many weather conditions that your house could face when having a loft conversion done. By laying long corrugated aluminium sheets down across the whole area of the roof it protects the house from all potential problems like rain and snow. It’s made of Aluminium so it’s light and easy to carry around but i still cant imagine this being an easy job for a team of scaffolder’s. The picture above shows just how high the scaffolding has to be built up before the tin hat can be laid.

The costs for a tin hat would usually be around £800 to £1000 extra on top of the standard price of scaffolding which will already be included in your quotation/estimate (This price based on a semi detached house @ 5.5m wide)

For bigger jobs that are having major construction works done on or for jobs that the main roof will be open for a considerably long time on is definitely worth paying the extra for. Even if it is just for the peice of mind.

On a detached house the cost could be as much as £2,500 to £3,500 extra. Only because all four of the scoffolding sides will have to be extended up and reinforced over the entire roof area which is a very big job.

Winter would also be a wise time to pay the extra for a tin hat. Please speak to at least two professionals for advise on this before Deciding to pay for this option.

The majority of fitters/builders who build lofts will always prefer to use a Tin hat. Not only does it speed the job up, it also makes their life so much easier instead of trying to guess the next days weather conditions. At night they also know they wont be receiving a dreaded phone call from you at four in the morning saying there’s water coming through the ceilings because they didn’t waterproof the roof properly.

When a tin hat isn’t being used, tarpaulin is the standard product that is. It is perfect for smaller lofts or for doing lofts in the Spring/Summer months. Normally the builder will be able to use tarpaulin to protect against showers and within a 10 minute down fall have the whole roof watertight.

If any water damage are made to the inside of your house as the work is being done the builder should offer to put right any damages made, in the worst cases it should also be covered by their public liability insurance. Do check all this with your company/builder before the work commences and its too late…

The flat roof of a dormer is designed with a slight tilt so the water will run off the roof instead of sitting on top of the roof and cause long term damage. It is normally layered three times with a good quality green mineral felt. The felt comes in 600mm width rolls and when laid it is overlapped every 300mm over the whole roof then laid the opposite way overlapping 300mm again three times over to prevent any water damage. The underside of the felt is coated with a sticky tar which is heated together by a flame torch to stop any water getting into the loft. As this standard option is using fire (hot deck) to bond the felt together it is very dangerous and must be done by a professional flat roofer and not just done by a (tiler) roofer. Once the felt is laid on the roof a hot bitchaman is then applied over the final surface, completely sealing the area for around 17 to 20 years. This option will then need to be re done and could cost around £1500 to £2000 to have scaffolding erected and a new layer of felt laid by a professional flat roofer.

CHECK WITH YOUR COMPANY/BUILDER WHAT IS BEING USED ON YOUR ROOF AND IS THE ROOFER A PROFESSIONAL FLAT ROOFER.

The other option is to have a GRP ROOFING SYSTEM

Roof Domes are fantastic to give the stair area natural light down the new stair case and to light up the existing staircase too. In some houses the stairs may come up onto the outside wall anyway and a window can be fitted instead but for all those mid terraces where the stairs come up in the middle of the house and there is no way of having a window… A light dome is the answer. the problem with a dome is that it goes into the flat roof so it is hard to clean unless you put a ladder up from the outside which believe me at that height is a scary thing to be doing…! You can buy self cleaning ones that are chemical based glass and are shaped so the wind and rain help keep it clean but even then you will still need to hand clean it once a year or so. It is really worth the hassle of cleaning though because the difference between a loft without stair light and one with is completely different. One without often feels like a walking into a dark cave.

You can also get internal opening domes which i personally don’t like as they are designed to be built into the flat roof, so just remember to close it at night or when you go out otherwise you might be coming home to a very wet house. You don’t really need ventilation on the stairs anyway, its only purpose is for light so really its just another way of getting a little extra cash out of you if you ask me. Also if you go for an opening dome, in 1-2 years the rubber seal may start to deteriorate due to the weather so try and avoid.

Always ask your Architect/Builder about roof domes, some lofts wont need one due to the design of the house and some lofts will be able to have a velux instead…

Roof domes normally come in three different sizes 600 x 600mm, 900 x 900mm and 1100 x 1100mm. The cost normally relates to the size, 600 x 600 @ £600, 900 x 900 @ £900 and 1100 x 1100 @ £1100. Normally these costs would including fitting but are only rough estimates of my previous experience. Make sure the chosen dome comes with a full 10 year guarantee as once installed it will be part of the flat roof.

GPR stands for Glass reinforced plastic and is made from very fine fibres of glass that once bonded results in a composite material properly called FRP. Fibre reinfored polymer “Fibreglass” as it’s more commonly known, is an amazing material and once layed onto your roof it has been said in the industry that it will never leak…

Topseal is one of the countries leading GRP roofers and really worth a quotation. Visit www.topseal.co.uk to find out more.

A typical 25m2 roof can usually be completed within 1 day, and can be finished in many colours. There are two options that are avalible for different uses, for a dormer roof I would recommend the 450gm of glass content as the 600gm even though more expensive, was desinged for heavy foot traffic such as roof terraces/gardens.

A fiberglass roof will last the life of the building and with a standered 20 year guarentee with most suppliers you will never have to worry about leeks again.

The only thing that might happen is that the fibreglasse’s colour pigment may fade but you’re never really going to notice as most flat roofs aren’t visible. Just make sure you speak to your builder about choosing the right colour edging strips as this is the only piece that can be seen from the ground.

A Re roof is when all the tiles are replaced with new tiles that match the exsisting surroundings and adjoining neigbours. (this picture is a great example of a good re roof compared to the adjoining roofs)

When having the loft converted it is usually a good time to consider having a re roof, especially if the old tiles are on their final years. Whilst the scaffolding is up and the tiler is already on site, it is really worth paying the extra even though the loft is costing you alot already, to stretch to pay for something that needs doing will never be something you will live to regret. The last thing you will want is to not go ahead with the re roof and in 1 or 2 years time have to pay 3,4 or 5 times the amount you were quoted when the loft was being done. Especially if water damage has ruined your new bedroom and after ringing the builder or loft company you find out they wont pay out on your guarentee because you were advised to have a re roof at the time of build. This is where the costs may get a bit nasty.

HOWEVER always get at least two opinions about a re roof, and even two quotes would be a good idea…

Your builder however nice he is could be telling a few porkies about the roof so do be careful, and dont waste money on a job that doesn’t need doing.

Cost’s for re roof on a standard mid terrace house at 5m wide, if you deal direct with the roofer could cost you around £1500 to £1700 to tile and battern the front slope. The rear slope is normally included in the price of the conversion but make sure before going ahead.

 This picture just shows what a house will look like if corners are cut. You can see that the builder has just changed the tiles that have shattered when installing the new Velux’s. For the sake of £800 (approx) the front of this house could be looking brand new and possibly the best on the street. Instead it now looks the worst… 

Here are a few roof’s that have had lofts done but didn’t need re roofs so i thought you could compare the quality of your tiles to these pictures, and make you own mind up on needing a re roof. PLEASE SEEK PROFESSIONAL ADVISE ON THIS MATTER.

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