Garage Roofs In Dartford
Is your garage roof leaking, sagging, or made of something you'd rather not touch?
Felt, asbestos cement and sheet garage roofs replaced with EPDM, GRP or new profiled sheeting
Garage roofs in Dartford get less attention than any other roof on the property, right up until the boxes inside start going soft. Most are one of three types: a timber deck under felt, corrugated sheets on a prefab concrete garage, or cement sheets that may contain asbestos because they went up before the 1999 ban. Each fails in its own way. Felt cracks and blisters. Sheets break, slip or get punctured by a ladder. We strip and re-cover all three, usually in EPDM rubber or new profiled sheeting, and we handle old asbestos cement sheets safely and legally. A single garage is often a one or two day job.
Quote For Your Garage Roof
A roofer rings you back to arrange a visit.
Why re-roof the garage properly
A garage roof is a small job. Done cheaply, it's also a job you end up paying for twice.
01
Dry storage again
Most people fill the garage with things that hate damp: bikes, tools, paperwork, the spare freezer. A sound roof keeps all of it dry and stops the slow rot of anything stacked against the walls.
02
Asbestos dealt with, not ignored
If your roof is old cement sheet, we can take it off whole, wrapped and labelled, and leave you with a modern covering. No more wondering about a cracked sheet or what's on the floor beneath it.
03
Less upkeep
Felt on a garage typically needs patching every few years and replacing every ten to fifteen. A single-ply EPDM membrane usually covers the whole roof in one piece, with no seams to open up, and needs little more than an occasional sweep.
04
A stronger deck
On timber garages, the boards under the felt have often failed along with the felt itself. We replace soft or sagging decking with new OSB or ply so the new covering has something solid to bond to.
05
Gutters that work
Garage gutters tend to be an afterthought, which is why so many end up hanging off or draining against the wall. Where the old one isn't up to it, we fit a new gutter and downpipe as part of the roof.
06
Good value on a small roof
Because garage roofs are low and simple, there's rarely any scaffold involved. Most of what you pay for is materials and a day or two of labour, which makes it one of the cheaper ways to fix a real problem on your property.
1,000+
Roofs repaired, renewed and rebuilt
10 yrs
Written guarantee on every re-roof
5★
The only rating anyone has left us
£0
For the survey and the written quote
Garages, blocks and shared roofs around Dartford
In a town where most homes are terraces and semis, garages come in every arrangement. Some sit beside a 1930s semi at the end of the drive. Some are prefab concrete units at the bottom of a garden. Some sit in a block behind a terrace, each one owned or rented by someone different, all under one continuous roof. That last type causes the most trouble, because re-covering your section only works if the joins with the garages either side are dealt with too.
Ownership varies a lot. Garages in a block might belong to the council, a housing association, a management company or individual owners. Before we quote for one garage in a block, we'll ask who's responsible for the roof and whether neighbouring owners want to come in on the job. Sharing the work across several garages usually brings the cost per unit down. It also means your new roof doesn't end at a leaking join with someone else's tired felt.
"Most of the asbestos garage roofs we're asked about are still intact, and the owners are mainly worried about leaving them. Left undamaged, they're usually best left alone until the sheets crack or the roof needs replacing."
How we replace a garage roof
- 1
Survey the roof and the walls
We look at the covering, the deck or purlins underneath, the fascia and the tops of the walls. On a concrete garage we check the roof bearers too. If the sheets might contain asbestos, we say so and explain the options.
- 2
Options priced side by side
Where more than one covering would suit, you'll see EPDM, GRP or new sheeting priced on the same quote. Asbestos removal and disposal, if it applies, is shown as its own line.
- 3
Clear and protect
We ask you to move anything valuable out of the garage, or at least away from the roof edges. The car comes out. Anything that can't be shifted gets sheeted over before work starts.
- 4
Remove the old roof
Felt and rotten boards come off and go in the skip. Asbestos cement sheets are dampened, unbolted rather than broken, lifted off whole and double-wrapped in heavy polythene for proper disposal.
- 5
Rebuild what's underneath
New joists, firrings or purlins go in where needed, followed by a new deck. On a prefab concrete garage, that often means a timber frame fixed to the existing bearers to carry the deck or sheets.
- 6
Lay the new covering
EPDM is bonded to the deck in one sheet with trims at the edges. GRP is laid wet and finished with a topcoat. New profiled sheets are fixed with the correct overlaps and sealed fixings.
- 7
Gutter, check and tidy
We fit or refit the gutter and downpipe, run water over the roof to check it drains and clear the site. You get a photo record and the paperwork for any asbestos we've taken away.
10
Years' cover on a new roof
1,000+
Roofing jobs finished
Paperwork in your hand on the last day. Not posted out "in due course".
What the 10 year guarantee on a re-roof actually covers
Re-roof a house in Dartford with us and you get 10 years of cover on the workmanship. It's a written document. It has your address on it, lists what was done, and is dated the day the roof is signed off. If water gets in because something was fitted wrong - a batten, a fixing, a lap, a flashing - a roofer comes back and puts it right. You don't pay for that.
Why are we happy to promise ten years? Because of how the roof goes on. Every tile or slate is mechanically fixed to BS 5534, the current British Standard. Ridges and hips are fixed too, not just sat in mortar. A breathable membrane goes down first. Where a roof meets a wall, a chimney or the house next door, it gets proper lead or a tested dry system. Shortcuts there are what make a guarantee expensive, so we don't take them.
Tiles, slates and membranes also carry the maker's own warranty. Those vary by product, and your paperwork tells you which ones apply. If a job is too unusual to guarantee in the normal way, you'll hear that at quote stage.
Picking the right roofer for a garage roof in Dartford
A straight answer on asbestos
Any roofer quoting for an old sheet garage roof should raise asbestos without being asked. They should explain whether the sheets are likely to contain it, how they'd remove them and where they'll go. Taking off asbestos cement sheets doesn't usually need a licensed contractor, but it does need the right method: damp sheets, no breaking, no power tools, sealed wrapping and an approved disposal site. If the plan is to smash the sheets into a skip, find someone else.
They look at the structure, not just the surface
Garage roofs often fail at the timbers before the covering goes. Joists sag, purlins rot where they sit on the walls, and the deck turns spongy near the edges. A good roofer will press, prod and look from inside. A quote that only mentions the covering, with no word about what it's going onto, deserves a few questions before you sign it.
Small jobs taken seriously
Some firms squeeze a garage roof in between bigger jobs, and that can mean rushing it. Ask how long they'll spend, how the edges will be finished and whether the gutter is included. The detail at the edges, where the membrane wraps the fascia and meets the wall, decides whether a garage roof lasts five years or twenty. Ask to see one they've finished.
What to put on a garage roof
Four coverings we fit on Dartford garages. Each one works. What changes is the cost, the look and how long it lasts.
| Comparison point | EPDM rubber | Torch-on felt | GRP fibreglass | Profiled sheet (non-asbestos) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical lifespan | Often 20 years plus | Around 15-20 years | Often 20 years plus | Varies by material; coated steel lasts well |
| How it's laid | One sheet bonded to a timber deck | Layers torched onto a timber deck | Resin and matting over a timber deck | Fixed to purlins, no deck needed |
| Naked flame | None, cold-applied | Yes, uses a gas torch | None, though resin smells while curing | None |
| Look | Plain matt black | Mineral finish, often green or grey | Smooth, topcoat in a choice of colours | Ribbed metal or fibre-cement |
| Repairs | Patched easily with the same membrane | Patched with felt; joins can be weak | Patchable, though colour matching is harder | Single sheets swapped out |
| Best for | Most single and double timber garages | Tight budgets on a sound deck | Detailed edges or walk-on use | Prefab concrete garages and blocks |
Asbestos sheet garage roofs
Corrugated cement sheets went onto a lot of garages and sheds before asbestos was banned in 1999. If yours is intact, leave it alone. Don't drill it, sand it, saw it or pressure-wash it. Damage is what releases fibres, not the sheet sitting quietly on the roof.
If you're doing it yourself, Kent's household waste recycling centres take bonded asbestos at every site except Sheerness, up to five sacks a month for free. It has to be double-wrapped and kept damp, no sheet can be bigger than 3m by 1.5m, and staff unlock the container for you. Most garage roofs come to more than five sacks, which is one reason people ask us to do it. For extensions and larger flat roofs, see our flat roofing page.
Flat roofing in Dartford
Garage roof prices in Dartford
Re-covering a single garage in EPDM rubber is typically £1,300 to £2,400, depending on size, how much of the deck needs replacing and whether a new gutter is included. Removing asbestos cement sheets and re-covering the roof usually runs £1,800 to £3,500. Double garages and blocks are priced individually after a survey.
Garage roof questions
Do I need planning permission to replace my garage roof in Dartford?
Not if you're re-covering it with a similar roof at the same height and shape. Putting a pitched roof on where there was a flat one, or raising the height, can need permission from Dartford Borough Council, especially close to a boundary. Listed buildings and conservation areas have tighter rules. A detached garage under 30 square metres with no sleeping space is usually exempt from building regulations as well.
How do I know if my garage roof contains asbestos?
You can't tell for certain by looking. Grey corrugated cement sheets fitted before 2000 are the usual suspects. A small sample can be tested by a lab, and a specialist can take it for you; please don't snap a piece off yourself. Until you know, treat the roof as though it does contain asbestos and leave it undisturbed.
Can you put a new roof over the old asbestos sheets?
Sometimes, if the sheets are sound and the structure can carry the extra weight. Overcladding leaves the asbestos where it is, so it'll still need dealing with one day, and anyone working on the garage later needs to know it's there. In most cases we'd rather remove the old sheets and build the new roof on a clean structure, but we'll price both if you ask.
Is EPDM better than felt for a garage?
For most garages, yes. EPDM goes on in one piece, cold, with no flame anywhere near a timber building, and it copes well with sun and frost. Torch-on felt is cheaper and perfectly decent on a sound deck, but it has seams and tends to need attention sooner. We'll quote both if you'd like to compare.
My garage is in a block with others. Can you just do mine?
We can, but the edges matter. Where your roof joins the next garage, we have to seal to the neighbouring covering, and if that's failing, water can track along into yours. Ask the owners either side whether they'd like a price at the same time. Doing a run of garages together usually costs each owner less.
How long does a garage roof take?
A single garage with a felt or EPDM roof is often one day, two if the deck needs replacing. Asbestos sheet removal plus re-covering is typically two days. The local weather helps. EPDM adhesive and GRP resin both need a dry deck, and Dartford's low rainfall means fewer days lost waiting for one than in most of the country.
Related: Flat roofing · Guttering, fascias & soffits · Roofing costs
Reviews from Dartford homeowners
Every review left for us so far has been five stars. We're adding them here as they come in.
Reviews only tell you so much anyway. When a roofer comes out to Dartford, ask to see photos of a recent job on a house like yours. A good roofer will have plenty and won't mind you asking.
Get the garage dry again
Send us a photo of the roof and tell us roughly how big the garage is. We'll book a free survey and give you a written price, with asbestos removal included where it's needed.