Can You Stay at Home During a Roof Replacement?

What the days are really like

A roof strip is loud. Tiles are lifted and thrown down a chute into a skip, battens are ripped off, and there is a steady thump of hammers and nail guns from the first day. The first day or two, when the old covering comes off, is the noisiest. After that the work settles into laying battens and tiles, which is quieter but still audible in the rooms under the roof. Crews usually start early, so a late riser or a night-shift worker will hear it.

Inside, the house feels every footstep on the roof. Light fittings may shake, and a little grit can fall through ceiling gaps and hatch edges. This is normal and does not mean the ceilings are failing. It does mean you should expect to dust afterwards.

Protecting the loft and the rooms below

The loft needs the most attention. Stored boxes, suitcases and Christmas decorations should be moved or covered with dust sheets before work starts, because the roof void is open to disturbance when the old covering is removed. If the loft is used as a bedroom or study, the fittings and furniture need clearing for the duration. Insulation lying between the joists is usually left in place, but we ask you to keep the hatch closed during work so dust stays out of the living space.

Wall hangings on the top-floor walls and fragile shelves are worth taking down, since vibration can shift them. Dust sheets over beds and furniture on the top floor are sensible. None of this is dramatic, but ten minutes of covering saves an hour of cleaning. Our page on how disruptive a roof replacement is goes into the mess in detail.

Access, parking and the garden

The scaffold will go round the house or along the elevation being worked on, and that can block a side gate, a path or a window that opens outwards. A skip or a delivery of materials often takes up the drive for the length of the job. If you rely on your car or have a disabled badge holder in the household, tell us at the survey so the skip and the scaffold go where they do the least harm. Our page on whether you need a skip explains how waste is handled.

In the garden, things below the work are at risk of falling debris. Move washing lines, children's toys, furniture and plants away from the walls. Pets are best kept indoors or elsewhere on the noisiest days, since a skip and a falling tile are not friendly to a curious dog.

Who might want to go out

If anyone at home works from home, takes video calls or sleeps in the day, the first couple of days will be hard. If you have a baby, a very elderly relative or a pet that panics at noise, you might arrange to be out for the strip. People often go to family or a friend for those days only.

Water and power are not normally cut off. Occasionally a loft tank or a cable run through the roof void needs working around, and where a roof strip touches those we agree it with you first. Satellite dishes and aerials sit on the roof and are taken down and refitted, and for a few hours the television signal may drop.

Children, pets and quiet rooms

Children at home can be curious about scaffolding, so the rule is simple: the scaffold is for the crew, not for exploring. Keep gates to the working side shut. A quiet room at the back or on the lowest floor makes a good refuge for a baby's nap or a bit of homework, because the noise is worst directly beneath the slope being worked on. If the house has a roof room, think about where everyone sleeps for the first nights.

What we agree beforehand

At the survey we talk through who lives at the house, what the loft is used for, where the car goes and when the quietest days will be. The result is a plan you can tell family and neighbours about. For the stages of the work, see our page on the roof replacement process.

The roof is sheeted at the end of each working day, and when we finish the site is cleared and the waste is taken away. The quote is a fixed figure on paper, and the workmanship is covered by a written ten-year guarantee. The whole service is on our roof replacement page.