Will the roofer you hire do the work themselves?

A roof is several trades wearing one hat. Reaching it safely needs scaffold, which is the work of people who put it up and take it down for a living. Stripping and re-laying a pitched covering is the core task. Around it sit the details: lead at the chimney, a low-slope patch above a back extension, a rebuilt stack, new gutters and fascias. Each has its own tools and habits.

It is common, and often sensible, for a roofing firm to book a scaffolder for the days they are needed instead of keeping one on the payroll. The same applies to lead on a tricky bay roof. Somebody who bends lead all week will usually dress it better than a general roofer who meets it now and then. MyBuilder's 2026 new roof cost guide puts scaffold at about £1,125 on a typical re-roof, which shows how big that part of the job is.

Roughly in the order they appear on site, the usual candidates are these.

• Scaffold. Erected before work starts and struck at the end, often by a separate crew on a separate day.
• Leadwork. Flashings are lead strips that seal the junction at a wall or stack; a valley is the channel between two slopes. Both are skilled bending jobs.
• Flat coverings. EPDM is a rubber membrane, GRP is fibreglass set in resin. Each suits a specialist.
• Stone slating. Laying Cotswold stone in graded courses is a craft within the craft.
• Chimney work. Rebuilding a stack is bricklayer's work as much as roofer's.
• Waste. A skip or grab lorry is booked and collected by someone else.

None of those hand-offs is unusual. Trouble starts only when you are not told, or when nobody can say who is accountable afterwards.

You do not need to cross-examine anyone. A few plain questions, asked before you sign, show you most of what matters.

• Who will be on the roof, and will any part be done by people outside your firm?
• If so, which parts, and who supervises them day to day?
• Is scaffold included, and who puts it up?
• Whose name is on the guarantee, and does it cover subcontracted work?
• If something fails in two years, who do I ring?

Listen to how quickly the answers come. A firm that plans its jobs will have them ready. One that has to think may not yet have decided who does what.

Our quote after a survey covers every stage, from the scaffold through to tidying up. That makes it easy to see which items are separate trades, what each costs and where you can ask for detail.

This is the point that matters most, and it is simpler than it sounds. You contract with one firm. That firm takes your money, signs the quote and is the one you go back to if a slate slips or a flashing weeps. Who physically did the task does not alter that, and it should never leave you chasing a tradesperson you have never met.

Get it written down. The quote or contract should say the firm is responsible for all work on the roof, whoever carries it out. If a roofer later says a fault belongs to the scaffolder or the leadworker, the arrangement was not clear from the start.

Our 10-year guarantee on workmanship is issued in writing for the whole job. It is a promise from us about how the job is done, with no insurer behind it, so the document spells out what it covers rather than leaving you to assume. For the different types, see roofer guarantees explained, and for passing one to a buyer, whether a roof guarantee transfers when you sell.

A different arrangement can look similar from your front door: a general builder who takes the roof as one part of a bigger project and brings in a roofer. That is subcontracting on a larger scale. It can work well on a big extension or renovation, where one person coordinates the trades. Our page on roofer or builder: who should do your roof job covers when that route makes sense and when a dedicated roofer is the better first call.

If a builder is in charge, ask the same questions plus one more: who is the roofer, and will they stand behind their own work directly or only through the builder? When the roof is the main job and the covering matters, asking who will be on it is perfectly reasonable.

Time on site also depends on how many crews are involved and how they follow each other, which our page on how long common roof jobs take goes through.

Once work starts, several things are visible without technical knowledge. The scaffold should look sound and boarded at working height, with ladders and lifts in place before anybody climbs. The people on site should know the plan, and whoever quoted should have told you who would be there.

If a face appears that you were not told about, ask. A friendly question settles it: who are you working for? A competent crew answers without fuss. Survey photographs of your own roof give you a baseline for comparison with the finished work.

At the end, the site should be left clear and the waste carted off, whoever does the clearing. Keep the quote, the guarantee and any completion papers together, since they record who did what. You will want them if you ever sell. Our home page lists everything else we cover.