The short answer
Yes, most people stay in the house while the roof is replaced. The roof is covered section by section so rain does not get in, and the rooms below stay usable. Expect noise from stripping, scaffold boards at the windows, dust drifting from the loft hatch and no loft access for the duration. Households with babies, shift workers or anyone ill may prefer to be elsewhere for the loudest days.
How the noise will actually feel
Stripping is the loudest part. Tiles are pulled off and thrown or lowered into a skip, battens are pulled with a bar, and a chute rattles as debris runs down it. Roofers use nail guns, which are sharp and repeated. The noise travels through the rafters, so the rooms directly under the work feel it most, particularly bedrooms in the roof space and top-floor landings.
Fixing new battens and tiles is quieter, a steady tapping, and lead work is quieter again. If you work from home, plan to be in a room at the back or on the ground floor on the noisiest days, or to be out. People with young children, anyone who sleeps in the day and pets that are easily frightened may want arrangements made for the stripping days. Ask for the sequence at the start, so you know which slope goes first and which rooms sit below it, and whether the noisiest stripping will fall on a day you are home. Neighbours hear it too, so a quick word or a note through their door the week before is a courtesy that pays back. Most people find the first day the hardest and then get used to the rhythm.
Dust, the loft and what falls through
Old roofs are dusty. When the covering and felt come off, soot, mortar crumbs and decades of grit shake loose, and some of it finds a way into the loft and through gaps in the ceiling. The loft is not a clean space once work starts, and it cannot be used for the duration. Stored boxes, suitcases and old furniture are best moved out beforehand, and our page on emptying the loft before a new roof explains why.
Inside the rooms below, cover wardrobes and beds with dust sheets, and lift pictures from walls that share a partition with the loft. Fine dust can drift down around hatches and light fittings, so a sheet over the landing carpet helps. A tent of tarpaulin or protective sheeting is fitted under the roof where it is needed. If anyone in the house has asthma, tell the roofer at the survey so extra care is taken with sweeping and with the hatch. Keep bedroom doors shut on stripping days, and wipe surfaces afterwards with a damp cloth rather than a dry brush, which only lifts the dust again.
Safety, security and the garden
A scaffold is a solid ladder to the upper windows, so close them when the scaffolders have left, and ask which windows can stay open. Our page on scaffolding for a re-roof explains what is put up and why. Gates and side passages are used for deliveries and falling debris, so keep the children and the dog well clear of the working area and do not let them play in the garden under the roof edge.
Cars should be moved away from the walls, as a falling tile can dent a bonnet, and the skip lorry needs room to reach the drive on the day it arrives. Cover garden furniture, barbecues and anything fragile, and trim plants near the walls so that a skip and boards can get in. Lock up whenever you go out, because a scaffold is a climbing frame to anyone passing, and ask the scaffolders about alarmed or boarded access if the house is empty in the day. The old roof is covered at the end of every day so nothing drips in overnight.
Rooms, routines and special cases
If you are in a bungalow, the ceiling and the loft are close to every room, and noise and dust are felt everywhere. A two-storey house with a large landing or a flat above a shop needs a different plan, and a terrace shares the roof with its neighbour, so tell them the dates. A partial job such as re-covering one slope is less disruptive, and our guide to replacing one side of a roof covers when that works.
When the work includes the chimney, expect extra noise and dust from the stack, and see chimney work during a re-roof. Hot water, heating and power stay on, though a roof can have a cold water tank in the loft, which is checked first. If anyone relies on a bedroom in the roof, plan where else they sleep for the worst days.
Before the start date
Check the programme with the roofer in writing, including the days when the roof is open, who to call and what time the crew arrive. Provide a working toilet and access to power or water if the crew needs it, and agree where tea breaks happen, where materials can be stacked and which door the crew should use, so family life carries on around them. Planning permission rarely comes into a roof renewed in matching materials. A listed house, or one in an Article 4 area, is the exception, so ask Swindon Borough Council's planning team when in doubt. Our page on planning permission for a re-roof sets out the rules, and the main roof replacement page covers the process.
First comes the survey, then a written quote. Our 10-year workmanship guarantee is in writing, and when the last day ends the site is cleared of debris and the waste leaves with us.