What should a roof contractor's quote include?

What is being removed and who disposes of it, what is being replaced underneath the covering, the underlay, battens and fixings specified by name, how the building stays watertight while the roof is open, what happens if rotten timber is found once stripping starts, and what is excluded. A single line and a number cannot be compared with anything.

Do roof contractors handle commercial and body corporate buildings?

Yes. Warehouses, factories, retail units, office parks, schools and sectional title blocks all need the roof dealt with while the building keeps operating, which means phasing, temporary waterproofing and a plan for rain mid-job. On sectional title work the scope and the record also have to be in a form trustees and managing agents can approve and file.

Leak repairs, re-roofing and waterproofing

Roof Contractors

Q: Why do quotes from different roof contractors differ so much?

Usually because they are quoting different scopes. One has allowed for replacing battens and the other has not. One has priced a named underlay and the other has priced underlay in general. One has allowed for scaffolding and the other expects to work off ladders. Both can be honest, which is why the scopes are worth comparing item by item rather than comparing the totals.

When the rain gets in, we get to work.

Roof contractors are judged on the paperwork as much as on the workmanship, because most of what was done disappears under the covering. What matters is a written scope that says what is coming off, what is being renewed underneath, and what happens when stripping turns up something nobody planned for.

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Scope in writingLeak repairsRe-roofingWaterproofing

What a roof contractor is contracted to do

A roof contractor is not only the person who fixes the covering. The contract normally covers the whole job: getting to the roof safely, stripping what has to come off, disposing of it, renewing whatever the new covering will sit on, installing the covering and its flashings, and leaving the building usable while all of it happens.

Those extras are where two quotes for the same roof stop being comparable. Disposal, access and scaffolding, replacing rotten battens or underlay found once the roof is open, and keeping the building dry overnight are all real costs, and a price that quietly omits them is not a cheaper price, it is an incomplete one.

On a repair rather than a re-roof the contract is smaller, but the same questions apply: what is being opened, what will be replaced if it has failed, and who carries the cost if the cause turns out to be something other than what was assumed.

What a written scope should say

If the scope is one line and a number, there is nothing to compare and nothing to hold anyone to. The written version should be specific enough that you could hand it to a different contractor and get a comparable price back.

Roofing is also one of the trades where nobody can see how much work is needed until the old covering is off, which is exactly why the written scope matters more than the headline number.

What is being removed, and who disposes of it
What is being replaced underneath the covering, and the specification of it
Which underlay, battens and fixings are specified, by name rather than by description
How the building stays watertight while the roof is open, including overnight
What happens if rotten timber or a failed deck is found once stripping starts, and how that is priced
Who is responsible for access, scaffolding and safety
What is excluded, stated plainly rather than left out
What happens if the leak returns after the work

Why two quotes for the same roof differ so much

Two contractors can price the same roof several times apart and both be honest. They are usually quoting different scopes, different specifications, or different assumptions about what is underneath the covering.

One has allowed for replacing the battens and the other has not, because nobody knows until the covering comes off. One has priced a named underlay and the other has priced underlay in general. One has allowed for scaffolding and the other expects to work off ladders. None of that is dishonesty, but it does mean the lowest number is often the one with the most left out.

The way to compare is to put both scopes side by side and see which items appear in one and not the other. That is a far better use of an evening than comparing the two totals.

Commercial, industrial and body corporate work

Roof work on a building that has to keep operating is a different exercise from a house. Warehouses, factories, retail units, office parks, schools and sectional title blocks all need the roof dealt with while the building carries on underneath, which means phasing, temporary waterproofing and a plan for what happens when it rains mid-job.

On sectional title and body corporate work there is a second audience as well: trustees, managing agents and owners who need a scope they can approve and a record of what was done and when. That paperwork is part of the job rather than an afterthought.

Industrial roofs bring their own constraints. Longspan sheeting, penetrations for extraction and services, fragile roof lights and limited access all change how the work has to be done and how it has to be priced.

The work roof contractors take on

✓

Leak Repairs

Fixings, flashings, valleys and failed waterproofing traced to the cause and repaired under a written scope.

✓

Full Re-Roofing

Strip, dispose, renew the structure and install a new covering, with the scope set out before anything comes off.

✓

Roof Structure And Battens

Rafters, purlins and battens checked and replaced before a covering goes back on, because a new roof over rotten timber inherits the problem.

✓

Underlay And Flashings

The layer that catches water when the covering is breached, and the junctions at chimneys, walls and valleys that decide whether it performs.

✓

Waterproofing

Torch-on and liquid rubber systems for flat roofs, parapets and slabs, with the substrate checked before the system goes down.

✓

Commercial And Industrial Roofs

Warehouses, factories, retail and office parks, phased so the building keeps operating through the work.

✓

Body Corporate And Sectional Title

Scopes and records that trustees and managing agents can approve, file and act on.

✓

Storm And Hail Damage

Wind, hail and rain damage assessed, repaired and documented where an insurance claim depends on it.

✓

Roof Repair Cost & Quotes

What actually drives the price of roof work, and how to read two quotes for the same roof.

See all roof repair services

Other roof repair services

Every service below is handled by the same team, so a leak that turns out to be a different problem is not a second appointment.

How urgent is your roof problem?

Choose the rating that best describes the problem. Ratings 7–10 enter the genuine emergency queue. For urgent jobs rated 1–6, Priority Booking can move you ahead by one standard booking when the next non-emergency slot is available.

10My roof has blown off and I can see the moon from my Lazy Boy in the lounge.

9Water is pouring into the house and causing active damage.

8Several rooms are leaking and buckets are everywhere.

7Water is coming through the ceiling whenever it rains.

6The leak is getting noticeably worse.

5New water stains are appearing.

4Damp patches are spreading.

3I have one small damp patch.

2Something does not look right.

1I have noticed a possible early warning sign.

Selected urgency rating: 7/10. Emergency queue

Priority Booking

Need a faster booking?

Genuine 7/10 to 10/10 emergencies always come first. If your job is urgent but does not qualify for emergency dispatch, Priority Booking can move it ahead by one place in the standard queue and secure the next available non-emergency appointment.

Standard BookingNo scheduling fee. Your report stays in the normal repair queue.Priority Booking from R1,000Move ahead by one standard booking and take the next available non-emergency slot.

How it works: this is a scheduling and dispatch fee paid to Leaky Roof Repair, separate from the repair quotation. It never moves a job ahead of genuine emergencies. We only charge it after we confirm that a priority slot is available.

Your name

Phone number

Where is the property?What is happening?

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Areas we cover

Roof contracting for repairs, re-roofing and waterproofing, routed to local teams across South Africa’s major cities.

Cape TownLeaky roof repair in Cape Town → DurbanLeaky roof repair in Durban → JohannesburgLeaky roof repair in Johannesburg → PretoriaLeaky roof repair in Pretoria → East LondonLeaky roof repair in East London → BloemfonteinLeaky roof repair in Bloemfontein → Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)Leaky roof repair in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) →

How people search for roof contractors

The terms property owners and property managers use when they are looking for roof contractors and roofing contractors in South Africa.

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roofing contractor leads

Need a roof contractor?

Call Pete on 081 554 9231 or send a WhatsApp message with your location and photos of the problem.

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