On an estate laid out in groups, the roof you want repaired is rarely alone. It shares a party wall with a neighbour, or it sits above a garage that touches the next house, or its chimney stack straddles the boundary. That does not make the work difficult, but it does shape how it is done, and a few minutes spent on the layout at survey stage saves delay on the day.
Q2.1How do roofers get up there safely?
A ladder is fine for a single tile or a quick look. For anything involving the ridge, a chimney or a stretch of roofline, a tower or full scaffold is safer and quicker, and on a two-storey house it is often the largest single item on the quote. We explain what access the job needs and why before it starts.
Q2.2How does sharing a scaffold work?
Where several houses in a close need roof work, one scaffold can often be erected along a terrace and used by each household in turn. Each household pays a share of one setup instead of a full one each, which can bring the cost per house down noticeably on a short terrace. The arrangement works best when the dates are agreed early, so the access is in place only once. We are happy to quote jointly if neighbours want to coordinate, though each house gets its own survey photographs and written quote.
Q2.3What about party walls and flashings?
Where a roof meets a neighbour's across a party wall, lead flashings and soakers keep the junction watertight. Repairing them may mean working along a boundary, so a word with the neighbour is courteous and sometimes necessary. A party wall notice is needed only for certain works, such as cutting into the wall or removing a chimney from it.
The chart shows national typical scaffold figures from MyBuilder, updated on 21 August 2026. For your own house, rely instead on the figure we write down after surveying it.
