Choosing a listed building roofing company

Listed buildings do not have to be hundreds of years old, in fact under normal circumstances any building over 30 years old could be listed if it met the criteria. However that is not to say that many of the listed buildings throughout the UK are this age. Buildings which were built before the 1700s and which have managed to survive in anything like original condition are listed. The criterion that has to be met for a building to become listed does tighten and therefore any building post 1945 would have to be exceptional to be listed. There are also different levels of listing, grade 1 and grade 2. All listed buildings have to be taken into consideration when they need restoring and repairing and of course as they are open to the elements one of the many parts of any building that needs repairing or restoring are the roofs. As they are listed if you need restoration then you need to find a listed building roofing company to ensure the roof remains in good order and that it matches the materials of the listed building.

Here are some tips on what to look when choosing a listed building roofing company. The importance of choosing a company to take on work on any listed building cannot be stressed enough as it is of the utmost importance that the materials match and the building looks the same as it did when it was in its original condition.

• The roofs of listed buildings make use of many different materials and therefore an ideal listed building roofing company should be able to match any material perfectly and be confident in the use of the materials. Roofs could be in many shapes and sizes and again your chosen company should be confident in being able to take on repairs to any type of roof.
  
• You should always ask any contractor you are considering taking on to show you examples of similar projects they have worked on in the past. Any contractor that cannot show you previous work should be taken on with care as restoration work could cost a great deal of money.
  
• Check to find out if the company you are considering is a member of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors which is also known as the NFRC. Any member of the NFRC will be backed by them and you would have the assurance that they have full insurance behind them. You would also have the assurance of them offering high standards of workmanship and have a strict code of practise and have undergone a vetting procedure.
  
• They should be able to give you an estimate as to how long they expect to take to complete the project; however some leeway should be given to take into account weather conditions.
  
• They should also be expected to keep the site they are working on safe at all times.
  

When looking for your listed building roofing company then you could also check with the National Heritage as often they may be able to make recommendations on how to choose your roofing contractor.