I need some work done on my roof, am about to ask for quotes and so checking with the knowledgeable folk here that I’m going the right way. As a civil/structural engineer who has only ever worked on big structures I’m less confident on domestic stuff.

It’s a 30 year old detached house in urban NW England, 30º pitch hipped roof 10m x 8m in plan. The ridge and hip tiles are losing mortar so need sorting. I can’t see a safe way to work on the roof without scaffolding the perimeter. The fascia boards are scruffy and the uPVC gutters leak; I was going to fix them myself but if I’m getting scaffolding I may as well get them done as part of the job.

I want to go for dry ridge and hips as current practice, with ventilation as I’m planning to convert from cold roof to warm roof (for storage not living space). The tiles are Marley Modern so I intend to specify Marley RidgeFast/HipFast. I’m hoping the existing tiles can be cleaned of mortar and reused.

Planning to remove the gutters and overboard the fascia, which is generally sound. Is overboarding a reputable solution or a bodge? The soffits are OK. The gutters could go back on with new joint seals but with 30 year old uPVC I am thinking it’s better for long term to replace entirely.

I’m expecting scaffold, ridge & hips, facias & gutters to be about £3-4k. Seems a lot of money but I have no plans to move so am prepared to invest in protecting the value of the house and getting a low maintenance solution. Any comments? Thanks.

In the real world you’ll be lucky to remove every ridge cleanly, id suggest you will at least lose a corner on one or two so source some replacements. You may need to strip the roof back to run the battons to affix the dry ridge system to, these cut tiles may have been mortared on in places so may again not come off clean, again source replacements. I have no problem with using capping board over existing fascia if the original is reasonable, worth checking the felt at the bottom of the roof though as it tends to rot so may be worth installing eaves tray, also will an extra 10mm affect run off in to the gutter, shouldn’t do but worth checking you have enough projection on the current roof line. I’d also replace soffit and definitely gutter for a nice new clean finish.

Scaffold will be around £1200 i reckon. I’m in the process of having a new roof put on and it’s all dry fix except for verges.  As for capping Fascia, it’s perfectly normal and not a bodge, if you rip out the whole lot you’ll need to get the thick stuff at a lot more money and you also run the risk of losing all the tiles from the bottom batten, however it does give you a chance to put fascia vents (sit on top of fascia just under neath the run-off tray) on instead so you don’t have to install tile vents or soffit vents.

I think 3-4 k is plenty, I’ve got a 348m2 roof and the materials are around £8K..

Thanks both. Didn’t know about eaves trays, that’s a good shout. Neither had I spotted the extra 10mm on the gutter, but I’m sure’s enough overhang to cope with that; I know it’s hard to get my hand in clear leaves as it is.

I don’t think I need fascia vents, as I have good soffit vents already. I’ll probably replace the soffits when I convert to warm roof as I think I’ll need access through them. so would prefer to leave them for now.