From the owner's notebook
How long does a roof replacement actually take?
The quick answer: most homes in Peterborough take one to two days, start to finish. A bigger roof or a steep pitch can add a day. Here is where that time actually goes, and what can stretch it.
How long does the average roof replacement take?
One to two days for most of the houses we roof in Peterborough and the villages around it. A typical bungalow is a one-day job. A two-storey with hips and valleys usually needs the second day. When we quote your roof, the schedule goes in the written quote and we hold to it.
That number assumes a normal asphalt shingle replacement with a full tear-off, which is the only kind we do. If someone quotes you a half-day roof, ask what they are skipping.
What happens on day one?
Tear-off, and everything that protects your house while the roof is open. The crew strips the old shingles in the morning, and that is when we get our first honest look at the decking. Soft boards get replaced on the spot and photographed before anything covers them. By the end of day one the roof is dried in with new underlayment, so the house is sealed even if the shingles are not on yet.
What can add a day?
A steep pitch slows every footstep. A large or cut-up roof simply has more surface. And rotten decking, which we find on roughly one roof in five, adds sheeting work that we photograph and show you before it goes on the bill. None of these are surprises by the time you sign, because the inspection catches most of them ahead of the quote.
Do you have to be home while the crew works?
No. Most homeowners go to work and come back to a new roof. What helps: move the cars off the driveway before 7:30, keep pets inside and take anything fragile off shelves on the top floor, because tear-off shakes the house more than people expect. We do not leave until the yard is clean and the magnet sweep for nails is done.
What about rain?
We watch the forecast and will move a start date rather than open your roof in front of a storm. If a surprise cell rolls in mid-job, the dried-in underlayment keeps the house sealed until it passes. A rain delay costs a day. A rushed roof costs you for the next 20 years, so we take the day.
How far ahead should you book?
Four to eight weeks in the busy season, and our replacement slots for late summer are usually gone by June. The inspection itself books within days, and you get the written quote within 48 hours of it. The quote holds for 30 days, so getting the inspection early costs you nothing and locks in your number while you decide.
One booking note: replacement slots for late summer book out by June, so if your roof is due, get the inspection done early. We work across the county, including Lakefield and Bridgenorth, and the full service list is on the services section of the site.