Written by the Compton Roofs team — a family-owned and managed concrete garage specialist. Our owner has 35 years’ hands-on experience of concrete garages, and our site work is carried out by time-served approved contractors who do this work all week, every week. Last updated: 1 September 2026
TL;DR: On most concrete sectional garages the concrete is still square, solid and doing its job — it is the roof that has given up. A replacement roof is a single-skin box-profile steel system, fixed at close centres, with anti-drip lining bonded to the underside and a plastisol finish in your choice of colours, with ridge and eaves properly capped and filled. Typical life is up to 40 years with a five-year warranty, and most jobs are done in a day. Replacing the whole building means demolition, disposal, a new base and starting again — for most owners the roof is the whole problem, so a new roof is the whole answer. Everything is supply and fit, prices are fixed before we start, and we are happy to work with your insurer.
Usually, yes. Concrete sectional garages were built to last, and most of them have. Walk down almost any street of 1960s- to 1990s-era housing and the concrete is still square, still solid, and still doing its job. What has usually given up is the roof.
That is good news, because the roof is the part we can replace in a day.
From 35 years in the trade: the buildings that get condemned are rarely the ones that deserve it. When someone tells us their garage is “past it”, nine times in ten they are describing a failed roof, water staining down the inside of sound panels, and rusted door gear — three replaceable items bolted to a structure that has decades left. Before you accept a demolition quote, get someone to tell you specifically what is wrong with the concrete.
Because the roof is the only part of the building taking direct weather, standing water and thermal movement year after year, and on garages of this age it is usually the original felt, corrugated sheeting or asbestos-cement covering. Concrete panels sit vertically and shed water; a roof holds it.
Two failures follow from that. Water gets in through splits, failed laps and perished fixings — and once it is in, patching chases it around rather than stopping it, which is exactly why patching a leaking flat garage roof doesn’t fix it. And condensation forms on the underside of a cold, uninsulated sheet and drips onto everything below, which owners very often mistake for a leak. Our guides to maintaining your concrete garage and how long roofing felt lasts cover the life expectancy of the older coverings.
If your existing roof is asbestos cement — common on garages of this era — do not break, drill or pressure-wash it. Start with our guide to spotting asbestos on UK garage roofs. Work with asbestos is governed by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, with HSE guidance in its asbestos essentials series; we remove that material to a licensed disposal depot and provide full paperwork.
A replacement Compton Roofs roof is a single-skin box-profile steel system, fixed at close centres so it sits tight and rigid across the span, with anti-drip lining bonded to the underside to deal with condensation and a plastisol finish in your choice of colours. Ridge and eaves are properly capped and filled, so the wind stops blowing under the roof line.
| Element | What we fit | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Sheet | Single-skin box-profile steel | Spans the building and stiffens the structure; sheds water fast |
| Fixing centres | Fixed at close centres | Sits tight and rigid across the span — no drumming or working loose |
| Lining | Anti-drip lining bonded to the underside | Absorbs and releases condensation instead of dripping on your car |
| Finish | Plastisol, your choice of colours | Low-maintenance coated finish, no annual re-coating |
| Ridge and eaves | Properly capped and filled | Stops wind driving under the roof line and lifting sheets |
| Typical life | Up to 40 years | Whole-life cost, not just today’s price |
| Warranty | Five years | Written cover on the installation |
| Time on site | Usually a single day | One day’s disruption, garage back in use |
From our fitters: the two details that separate a roof that lasts from one that annoys you are the fixing centres and the eaves filler. Sheets fixed at generous centres flex in the wind, drum in rain and eventually work their fixings; unfilled eaves let wind, driven rain, leaves and birds straight under the sheet line. Both are invisible on a quote and obvious within a winter. Ask any contractor what centres they fix at and whether eaves filler is included. Our note on 0.7mm garage roofing explains why sheet gauge is worth asking about too, and replacement garage roof lifespan sets out what governs the 40-year figure.
Compare a new roof with the cost and disruption of demolishing a perfectly sound building, disposing of the material, laying a new base and starting again. For most owners, the roof is the whole problem, and a new roof is the whole answer.
| Replacement roof | Full replacement building | |
|---|---|---|
| Work involved | Strip old covering, fit new system to existing structure | Demolition, disposal of material, new base, new building erected |
| Existing sound concrete | Kept and used | Broken up and thrown away |
| Time on site | Usually one day | Several visits, plus curing time for a new base |
| Waste and disposal | The old roof covering only | The entire building |
| Right when | Concrete panels are sound and square | Structure or base has genuinely failed |
| Read more | Replacement roof lifespan · What a re-roof day looks like | New garages · Foundations and replacement |
The cheapest-looking option is a third one we would steer you away from: another patch, or a thin budget covering that needs doing again in a few years. We set out the arithmetic in the true cost of cheap garage roofs.
Sometimes it is, and we will tell you when that is the case. Where a garage genuinely is beyond saving, we demolish it and can supply a replacement building instead — see garage removal and new garages.
The honest indicators are structural rather than cosmetic: a base that has broken up, sunk or is no longer level; panels that are cracked through, badly spalled or have lost their reinforcement rather than simply stained; a building visibly out of square or leaning; or a footprint that no longer suits you, because a modern car will not fit a garage designed for a 1965 saloon. What we cover in garage foundations and replacement and the buyer’s guide to concrete sectional garages and workshops is the right reading before you commit either way. Note also that replacing a like-for-like outbuilding is usually simpler than changing its size or position — check the current rules on GOV.UK’s planning permission guidance before you change the footprint.
While we are there, other things are easy to put right. Replacement steel up-and-over doors, new fascias, replacement windows, panel repairs and battery garage revamps all transform how a building looks and how secure it is.
| Improvement | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Replacement steel up-and-over door | Security and daily usability — the most common single upgrade |
| New fascias | Tidies the roof line and finishes the new roof properly |
| Replacement windows | Light, weather-tightness and appearance |
| Panel repairs | Deals with impact damage and cracked sections |
| Battery garage revamps | Brings a whole block back to a consistent, maintained condition |
Doors, locks, springs, wires, wheels, roofing bolts, guttering and lining clips are all stocked in our spares shop, and the results of full makeovers are on our garage revamps and gallery pages. Doing them on the same visit avoids a second set-up, a second scaffold or tower, and a second day of disruption.
Yes. Battery garages — the terraced blocks behind older housing, often owned by a landlord, council or management company — are re-roofed and revamped in the same way, with the advantage that doing a whole run at once brings the per-garage cost of setting up down and leaves the block looking consistent rather than patched.
Everything we do is supply and fit. Site work is carried out by time-served approved contractors who do this work all week, every week, and our prices are fixed before we start.
That means the figure you accept is the figure you pay, not a day rate that grows on site. To quote you accurately we need either a copy of your original paperwork or the building’s width and length, plus a few photographs of each elevation, the roof and the doors. WhatsApp on 07902 465165 is the quickest way to send them, or call Freephone 0800 318359, 10am to 4pm. There is more on what a fitting day involves in our roof replacement timing guide, and you can reach us any time through the contact page.
We are also happy to work with your insurer. Storm damage, impact damage and similar events are the usual routes, and having a fixed, itemised quotation from a specialist contractor — with photographs of the failure — is what an insurer needs in order to assess it. Send us the photographs first and we will quote in a form you can pass straight on.
From 35 years in the trade: photograph the damage before anything is moved or made safe, and photograph the whole roof, not just the hole. Claims stall far more often on missing evidence than on disputed cost.
For most owners re-roofing is the sensible route, because the concrete panels are usually still sound and the roof is the only failed component. Replacing the building means demolition, disposing of the material, laying a new base and erecting a new garage — far more cost and disruption for a structure that is doing its job.
Most jobs are completed in a single day, so the garage is back in use quickly.
The system we fit has a typical life of up to 40 years and carries a five-year warranty. It is a single-skin box-profile steel roof with a plastisol finish, which needs no annual re-coating.
An anti-drip lining bonded to the underside of the sheet. It absorbs condensation as it forms and releases it as the air warms, instead of letting it drip onto the car and anything stored below.
Sheets fixed at close centres sit tight and rigid across the span rather than flexing, drumming and working their fixings loose. Properly capped and filled ridge and eaves stop wind blowing under the roof line and lifting the sheets. Both are easy to leave out of a cheap quote and obvious within a winter.
Replacement steel up-and-over doors, new fascias, replacement windows, panel repairs and full battery garage revamps. Doing them on the same visit avoids a second set-up and a second day of disruption.
Yes. Everything is supply and fit, and prices are fixed before we start. Site work is carried out by time-served approved contractors who do this work all week, every week.
Yes, we are happy to work with your insurer. Photograph the damage before anything is moved, send us the photographs, and we will provide a fixed, itemised quotation you can pass to them.
Then we will say so. Where a garage genuinely is beyond saving we demolish it and can supply a replacement building instead. The indicators are structural — a broken or sunken base, panels cracked through rather than stained, or a building out of square.
Written by the Compton Roofs team — a family-owned and managed concrete garage specialist. Our owner has 35 years’ hands-on
Written by the Compton Roofs team — a family-owned and managed concrete garage specialist. Our owner has 35 years’ hands-on
