Tile Roofs · Leaks · Roof Timbers · Gutters · Roof Terraces
Dragon Reforms repairs and renews roofs on villas, fincas, village houses and apartment blocks across the north Costa Blanca. We inspect first, explain what has failed in plain language, and put the work in writing before anyone climbs a ladder.
A roof on this coast has a hard life. Summer sun bakes the tiles for months, autumn brings storms that deliver a season's rain in a few days, and near the sea the salt in the air works away at metal and mortar. Roofs that were sound for decades can start to leak quite suddenly.
Our roofing work covers the pitched clay tile roofs that most houses here wear, the ridges and hips that finish them, the felt or underlay beneath, and the gutters and downpipes that carry the water away. On older houses and fincas it also includes the timber structure under the tiles.
Many owners are not here when a roof fails. You may live in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands or Scandinavia and discover a stain on the ceiling on your next visit. We climb up, photograph the problem and send you the pictures with an honest recommendation.
The work is carried out by Dragon Reforms, which has renovated homes in this area since 1999. We speak English and Spanish, our work is guaranteed, and the quotation sets out what that covers, and the quotation itself is free.
What is included
Every roofing quotation covers the same careful steps, from the first inspection to the tidy-up at the end.
Tile roofs
Most roofs here are clay tile, and most problems come from what is under the tiles as much as from the tiles themselves.
Clay tiles are tough, but individual tiles crack, slip and shift, especially on roofs that have been walked on or hit by wind. Replacing broken tiles and rebedding loose ones is the commonest roofing repair and often all that is needed.
The felt or underlay beneath the tiles is the part that ages. Sun and heat dry it out, and once it tears, water gets through even though the tiles look fine. Renewal involves taking the tiles up, putting down fresh underlay and laying them again, with matching replacements for any that break.
You see the proof, and we lay out the options candidly. A roof with a few faults is repaired; one that has failed throughout is renewed, sometimes in stages. We do not recommend coating over a roof that has passed the point where coatings help.
Ridges and leaks
Leaks rarely come from where the stain appears, so tracing them takes patience.
Where a roof ends in a ridge or hip, the capping tiles sit on mortar, and that mortar cracks with age and heat. When it fails, the tiles can loosen and water gets in at the highest and most exposed point of the roof. Repointing and rebedding them is a routine part of our work.
Other common leak points are the junctions where a roof meets a wall, a chimney, a skylight frame or a terrace parapet. Flashings and sealing there move and wear at a different rate from the roof around them, so they need checking on every survey.
We trace a leak from the stain upwards, often with a look from inside the roof space, and fix the source rather than the symptom. If the leak turns out to be damp in a wall rather than water from the roof, we say so and point you to the right service.
Old roofs
Beneath an older house's tiles lies a timber structure that deserves as much attention as the tiles above it.
Traditional houses, village properties and fincas often have roofs of heavy beams, joists and boards or cane beneath clay tile. Years of small leaks, damp or insect activity can soften those timbers, particularly where they meet a wall.
Wherever the beams can be reached, we examine them, photograph what we find and tell you whether they are sound, need treatment, or have a section that should be repaired or replaced. A sagging roof line or cracking at the wall head may call for a technical architect's opinion before any work, and we will say so.
If old tiles are still good we sort and reuse them, which keeps the character of the house and the street. Where too many are broken, we discuss the closest match available before anything is ordered.
Drainage
A good roof can still cause damp if the rainwater has nowhere sensible to go.
On this coast it can go from dry for weeks to heavy rain in an afternoon. Gutters that sag, are blocked with needles and leaves, or sit on corroded brackets overflow quickly, and the water runs down walls or collects against foundations.
We repair, replace and refix gutters and downpipes, check their fall and capacity, and make sure they discharge away from the walls and terraces. Near the sea, materials and fixings are picked for salt exposure, since plain steel rusts quickly.
Sometimes the cure for a damp wall is not at the wall at all but in the guttering above it. We check the rainwater route as part of every roofing survey for exactly that reason.
Terraces
Pitched roofs and flat terraces meet in many Costa Blanca homes, and the join is where leaks often begin.
Penthouses, villas with rooftop terraces and houses with flat sections all have junctions between pitched tile and flat surface. We repair upstands, parapets, coping, drain outlets and the sealing at wall edges, which is roofing work in the strict sense.
Waterproofing an entire flat roof or terrace surface is a different job, covered on our Damp Proofing page. If your inspection shows the whole covering has failed, we tell you so and can carry out that work too, quoted as a separate item.
Where a terrace surface needs renewal once the roof beneath is sound, our Terrace Renovations team can take it over, so each trade works in the right order. Anything structural is handled by our Builders team.
Before you hire
These checks apply to any contractor, including us, and a good one will welcome them.
You should never feel hurried into a roof job. A reputable roofer will inspect, explain and write it down, and will tell you when the answer is a small repair rather than an expensive renewal. That is how we work, and you are welcome to hold us to it.
Areas
We work from the seafront to the valleys inland.
Roofs differ with their setting. Coastal flats face salt and shared responsibility, hillside villas face wind and run-off, and village houses and fincas bring old timbers and tight access. The town pages below show what roofing involves in each place.
Roofing Services Benidorm: top-floor leaks, penthouse roof terraces, tiled roofs and drainage on apartment blocks, quoted in writing. Free quotation.
View Benidorm →Roofing Services Altea: clay tile roofs, old timbers, gutters and repairs on steep sites and in narrow old town streets, quoted in writing. Free quotation.
View Altea →Roofing Services La Nucía: ageing villa roofs, tile relaying, underlay renewal and gutters on hillside urbanisations, quoted in writing. Free quotation.
View La Nucía →Roofing Services Finestrat: wind-lifted tiles, ridge repointing, terraces and roof edges on hillside villas below Puig Campana. Free quotation.
View Finestrat →Roofing Services Calpe: salt-exposed tile roofs, ridge repointing, gutters and rooftop terraces on apartments and villas near the Peñón. Free quotation.
View Calpe →Roofing Services Alfaz del Pi & Albir: assessing decades-old tiled roofs, repair or staged renewal, gutters and terrace edges. Free quotation.
View Alfaz del Pi & Albir →Roofing Services Polop: old tiled roofs, beams and boards on village houses, heavy-rain damp, gutters and hillside villa repairs. Free quotation.
View Polop →Roofing Services Benissa: finca and old town roofs, stone walls, timber beams, reused tiles and coastal villa roofs, surveyed first. Free quotation.
View Benissa →Roofing Services Villajoyosa: tiled roofs on old town houses, shared party walls, seafront salt, gutters and inland urbanisation villas, quoted in writing. Free quotation.
View Villajoyosa →Roofing Services Callosa d'en Sarrià: valley house and finca roofs, hillside run-off, gutters and tiles, from our home-town office. Free quotation.
View Callosa d'en Sarrià →Roofing Services Albir: roof checks for holiday and second homes, hillside villa tiles, promenade-side flats and storm damage. Free quotation.
View Albir →Questions
You cannot always tell from the ground. We inspect the tiles, ridges, underlay and timbers, show you photographs, and explain both options. A roof with a few faults is repaired; one that has failed throughout is renewed, sometimes in stages.
The felt or underlay beneath the tiles may have dried out and torn. Junctions with walls, chimneys and terraces can also let water in. We trace the leak from the stain to its true source before recommending any repair.
Yes. We visit, go up on the roof, photograph what we find and send a report with a recommendation. Decisions are taken over the phone or a video call, and you receive final photographs when the work is complete.
Yes. We examine the beams and boards under the tiles, reuse sound old tiles where we can, and explain any structural concern before work begins. Serious movement may need a technical architect's opinion first.
No. Some roofs are reached by ladder or roof hatch, and small repairs may need nothing more. Taller or awkward buildings do need scaffolding. That is settled at the survey, and we flag whether the town hall may need to agree it.
Usually the community of owners, while a private terrace or penthouse roof may belong to one owner. Your deeds and community statutes decide. We look, record the cause in writing and repair whatever falls to you.
We repair the edges, upstands, parapets and drains where a terrace meets the roof. Waterproofing a whole flat surface falls under Damp Proofing, and we can carry that out as a separately quoted job.
Related services
Get in touch
Request a free quotation and a member of our team will visit, inspect the roof and say honestly what is wrong, what matters now and what can be left. The findings are written down and you are under no obligation.
Whether it is a handful of slipped tiles, a stubborn leak or an old timber roof, we will explain the options in plain English or Spanish, with photographs, before anything begins.
Customer reviews
Genuine Google reviews from Dragon Reforms customers.
Professional Collaboration & Complete House Renovation – Calpe
“We have been collaborating for many years on projects both large and small, with excellent results. Our latest collaboration was the complete renovation of a house in Calpe. Thanks to their professionalism and reliability, they were able to handle all phases of the project. We hope to continue working together for many years to come.”
Complete Apartment Renovation – Benidorm
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Dragonreforms. Nico and his team did an excellent job renovating our 2 bedroom apartment in Benidorm. This included a beautiful new bathroom, kitchen, flooring, interior doors, plumbing and complete electrical works. Truly amazing workmanship. You have made our dreams come true.”
Get a quote
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