Roofing playbook.

A UK independent roofing contractor running pitched-roof re-roofs, slate + tile repairs, flat-roof (EPDM / GRP / felt) replacements, lead-work, chimney rebuilds, gutter renewals and storm-damage insurance call-outs. The 2026 win is the solar PV + integrated roof tile stack — re-roof + Tesla / GB-Sol integrated PV is a £18k–£42k single-visit ticket.

Roofing reference interior
Reference fit-out · Roofing
Overview

A UK indie roofing contractor in 2026 runs five engines: pitched-roof repair + retile (£280–£2,400 ticket, 48–58% margin, 3–5/week per crew — slipped slates, ridge re-bedding, valley repairs), full re-roof (£6,400–£18,000 ticket, 32–42% margin, 1/week — strip + felt + batten + retile a 3-bed semi), flat-roof EPDM / GRP / felt (£1,800–£8,400 ticket, 38–48% margin, 2–3/week), lead-work + chimney + heritage (£640–£4,800 ticket, 48–62% margin, 2–4/week, premium hand-skill), and storm + insurance call-outs (£480–£3,400 ticket, 42–52% margin, surge-driven). Maths for 2-crew firm (4 roofers + apprentice): £8k repair + £12k re-roof + £14k flat + £8k lead/heritage + £6k insurance = £48k/month gross. The 2026 stack play is solar-integrated retile — a £14k re-roof becomes a £32k re-roof-with-Tesla-Solar-Roof or GB-Sol tiles, with one scaffold visit instead of two.

2.4
Jobs/week/crew
£3,800
Avg ticket
28%
Insurance share
№ 01 / What you'll need

Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.

Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.

01

Crew kit (per 2-roofer crew)

Tipper van (Ford Transit / Iveco Daily)
£18,000–£32,000 used
Aluminium tower scaffold (3.5m) + boards
£1,400–£3,400
Roof ladder hooks + crawl boards
£280–£640
Slate ripper, slate hammer, lead dresser kit
£420–£900
Cordless nailer + impact driver kit (DeWalt 18V)
£900–£1,800
Gas torch + felt-welding kit (flat-roof crew)
£640–£1,400
EPDM / GRP install kit + rollers
£420–£900
Fall-arrest harness + edge protection × crew
£640–£1,400
DJI Mavic 3 drone (survey + insurance evidence)
£1,800–£2,800
02

Yard + materials

Yard / storage compound (≥120 m²)
£900–£2,800/month
Opening stock: slates, tiles, felt, battens, lead
£8,400–£18,000
Scaffold-hire account (or in-house tube + fitting)
£900–£3,400/month hire OR £24k own kit
Powered Now / Commusoft job mgmt
£90–£280/month
Skip + waste account
£480–£1,400/month
03

Compliance + accreditation

CompetentRoofer (Building Regs self-cert)
£480 + £480/year audit
NFRC (National Federation of Roofing Contractors)
£640–£1,400/year
TrustMark
£280/year (bundled with NFRC)
CSCS / CISRS scaffold cards × crew
£60 per card per 5 years
Working at Height + asbestos awareness training
£280–£640 per roofer
Public + product + £5m liability + tools-in-transit
£1,400–£3,400/year per crew
№ 02 / Where to set up

Location is half the business.

Service area
25-mile radius from yard

Travel + scaffold transit cost. 45-min cap.

Yard + parking
≥3 van/tipper bays + 120 m² compound

Slates, tiles, lead, scaffold tube.

Catchment
≥40,000 pitched-roof households + 2,400 commercial flat-roofs

Repair + re-roof + flat mix.

Builders merchant proximity
Within 15 min of SIG Roofing / Burton Roofing / JJ Roofing

Daily slate + lead runs.

Industrial unit Class B8
Light industrial / yard zoning

Tipper noise + skip movements.

Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
London + SE
£2,400–£8,400 yard
Premium ticket. Heritage + Conservation Area lead-work commands +35%.
Regional city + suburbs
£900–£2,400
Sweet spot. Mixed repair + re-roof + insurance.
Market town + county base
£480–£1,400
Rural farm + barn + heritage estate work.
№ 03 / Licences & registrations

Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.

UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.

Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCompanies House Ltd
Companies House
£12
Same day
ReqCompetentRoofer (Building Regs self-certification)
NFRC via CompetentRoofer scheme
£480 + £480/year + assessment
12 weeks
OptNFRC membership
NFRC
£640–£1,400/year
6 weeks
OptTrustMark
TrustMark via NFRC
£280/year (bundled)
4 weeks
ReqCSCS card per roofer
CITB
£60 per 5 years
2 weeks
ReqWorking at Height + asbestos awareness training
Logic / IPAF / NFRC training
£280–£640 per roofer
4 weeks
ReqPublic + product + £5m liability
Tradesman Saver / Hiscox
£1,400–£3,400/year
1 week
ReqEmployer's liability + tools-in-transit
Broker
£420–£900/year
1 day
ReqVehicle (tipper + commercial)
AXA / NIG
£900–£2,400 per vehicle
1 day
ReqWaste carrier registration (upper tier)
Environment Agency
£154/3 years
2 weeks
ReqICO data protection
ICO
£40–£60/year
1 day
№ 04 / Build-out timeline

From decision to open in 12 weeks.

01

Phase 0 — Setup + CompetentRoofer

Weeks 1–12
  • Companies House + CompetentRoofer application + assessment
  • Tipper + scaffold tower purchase
  • CSCS + Working at Height training
02

Phase 1 — Yard + tooling

Weeks 8–14
  • Yard lease + skip account
  • Trade accounts (SIG / Burton / JJ Roofing)
  • Powered Now job mgmt go-live
03

Phase 2 — Accreditation + insurance

Weeks 12–16
  • NFRC + TrustMark + drone CAA registration
  • Loss adjuster panel applications (Aviva / Direct Line)
  • MCS solar partner agreement
04

Phase 3 — Soft launch

Weeks 15–18
  • Checkatrade / MyBuilder / Which? Trusted Trader profiles
  • First repair jobs + drone surveys
  • Estate agent + property manager outreach
05

Phase 4 — Open

Week 18+
  • 24/7 storm-damage line live
  • Solar-integrated re-roof bundle launched
  • Insurance panel contracts active
№ 05 / Budget

Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.

One-off · Startup

Setting up the shop

Yard lease + deposit
£2,400 £8,400
Tipper + sign-writing (×2)
£28,000 £56,000
Scaffold tower + roof ladders + lead kit + nailers
£4,400 £12,000
Opening materials stock
£8,400 £18,000
Drone + survey kit
£1,800 £3,400
Software + IT + phones
£900 £2,400
Branding + CompetentRoofer + NFRC + insurance + licences
£3,400 £8,400
Training (Working at Height + asbestos + CSCS × crew)
£1,400 £3,400
Pre-launch marketing + Checkatrade
£1,400 £3,400
Working capital (3 months)
£14,000 £32,000
Typical total
£66.1k–£147.4k
Recurring · Monthly

Keeping the lights on

Yard rent
£900 £2,800
Vehicles (tipper × 2 lease + fuel + insurance)
£1,800 £3,800
Scaffold hire
£900 £3,400
Skip + waste
£480 £1,400
Materials COGS (38–48% revenue)
£12,000 £32,000
Wages (4 roofers + apprentice + office)
£14,000 £28,000
Software + accreditation + insurance
£480 £1,400
Marketing + Checkatrade + leads
£640 £2,400
Typical total
£31.2k–£75.6k
№ 06 / Numbers that compound

How a roofing actually looks on a chart.

Interactive projections rebuilt from real UK operating data — toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.

12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low

Source · NAVIZIX 2026 UK CompetentRoofer / NFRC cohort (n=22 firms, 1–4 crews)

07 / First 90 days

Dates that actually matter after opening.

01Day 1

Soft open: 2 slate repairs + 1 ridge re-bed + 1 drone survey = £1.8k revenue.

02Day 7

First week: 8 repairs, 1 flat-roof renewal, 4 drone surveys → 2 re-roof quotes accepted. £12k revenue.

03Day 30

Steady: 28 repairs, 3 re-roofs, 6 flat-roofs, 2 lead chimney jobs. £42k revenue. CompetentRoofer audit passed.

04Day 90

Full ramp: £58k/month, 2 loss-adjuster panel contracts, first solar-integrated re-roof delivered.

05Day 180

Mature: £74k/month, insurance share at 28%, first heritage Grade-II listed lead-work commission.

08 / What's inside

DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a roofing.

01Move
DNA dimensions

Jobs/week per crew, avg ticket (£280–£18,000), CompetentRoofer / NFRC membership, insurance-work share, lead-work + heritage premium, solar-integrated roof share, storm callout SLA.

02Move
Suggested route

Join CompetentRoofer + NFRC, register with TrustMark, sign panel-contractor agreements with 3–5 loss adjusters (Aviva, Direct Line, Zurich) for insurance work, launch a solar-integrated re-roof bundle with MCS solar partner, build a heritage / listed-building specialism for English Heritage + listed-property owners.

03Move
Automations

Drone survey report auto-PDF to homeowner + insurer, scaffold-up SMS + photo updates, weather-delay rescheduling, warranty registration to NFRC, insurance claim pack auto-build.

04Move
Integrations

Powered Now / Commusoft, Stripe, Klaviyo, GBP, NFRC online warranty portal, DroneDeploy, Xero.

05Move
Benchmarks

Jobs/week, insurance vs retail mix and solar share vs CompetentRoofer cohort.

06Move
Advisors

Encore advisors from National Federation of Roofing Contractors, ex-CompetentRoofer assessors, Marley + Redland technical reps and Tesla Solar Roof install partners.

09 / Stack

Modules used in this playbook.

01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
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