Hi my friend lives in Normandy and is looking for an English roofer to carry out urgent repairs to her roof.
She is getting extortionate quotes from French roofers so if snyobe knows an Englisg roofer in the Normandy area they ciuld personally reccomend could you please forward their cobtact details to me.
Thank you
Ian Charlton
Hi @ian_charlton and welcome to the forum.
Sorry I donât have the info you seek.
If your friendâs need is urgent⊠perhaps she could ask at her Mairie⊠many do carry info about local businesses⊠
and/or checkout the local press⊠or possibly even her Home Insurance company
Why should an English artisan be that much cheaper ?
Historically because they were working in France irregularly, possibly not registered for tax and social charges and relying on Brits and word of mouth for their business.
Thereâs rather less of that now, I expect.
While youâre not wrong it can also be that some builders, roofers etc, regardless of nationality, see incomers as easy meat. Thereâs good and bad on both sides.
Which is an understandable reason why Brits might prefer British artisans working in France.
It doesnât provide any explanation as to why theyâd be cheaper, assuming their business is fully integrated into the French system.
My theory is that theyâre less likely to see fellow brits as alien.
Roofing done well is expensive, so is she sure it is extortionate? Many artisans will explain their devis and consider options to reduce costs, so often worth negotiating.
Might be better than an unregistered, unqualified and uninsured roofer who doesnât give a 10 year guarantee.
The devil is always in the detail, because of the 10y decinal insurance roofers would want to strip back further than some so they know they are roofing on firm foundations. Others may not.
A clue as to the locality might help, Normandy is a big place.
French registered roofers are expensive in France . One of the main reasons is the high cost of insurance they are required to pay to be âlegalâ. Roofers, of all nationalities working on the black should be avoided at all costs. Why ? Simple, roofing is a risky business and if you employ a âblackâ roofer who consequently has an accident the person employing that worker can face very serious problems. I would therefore avoid these illegals at all costs.
OH was insured to carry out roofing works and nine times out of ten, there were underlying problems that made it uneconomic to do the work without replacing and doing more than the client wanted because it would need doing again in a few years. Its not just a case of replacing roof tiles/slates etc but what is underneath to support them and if that charpente is in good shape, needs completely replacing or part replacement and also chimneys can be a big factor too. So many factors for what is one of the most expensive parts of renovation. A proper registered artisan with itemise the materials and labour charge, be insured and know his stuff. If you donât follow the rules, then you canât complain when Mr.Bodget and Scarper effs up!
@ian_charlton if you (or your friend) want to see how much work goes into fully replacing a roof you might find this video worth a watch - itâs quite involved and time-consuming to do it thoroughly!
Of course we donât know if your friendâs place requires a complete rebuild, but it might explain the size of the quotes she has received.
Off you go then⊠
I bet it was a saga.
Also different regions have different roofing methods. In Bretagne it was spanish black oblong slates fixed by crochet hooks onto volige boarding underneath or as on my old house, very thick heavy locally cut slate which when needed replacing could be cut back and re-used but 9/10 our clients opted for a complete new reslate as it was actually cheaper than re-cutting and re-using the original ones. Here in this region, they are tubular tiles laid one up and one down so a different method and length of time to lay.
Whereas British cowboy tradesmen working on the black in France see resident Brits here as easy marks a lot of the time, doing 4-5 shoddy jobs in an area and legging it before the finacs get hold of them.
Different issue.
Ouch! Where to start?
Might be a french roof but certainly not french roofing company. With scaffolding like that hope accident insurance is up to date, one step backwards to admire the work and gone.
No handrails and trestles extended to the limit, definitely need sea legs to walk that plank.
Hi Ian.
Firstly welcome to SF. I hope youâre not put off by the responses so far.
I canât offer any advice about English roofers because a) Iâm miles away in 33, and 2) we donât own our place, we just rent.
However, just to echo othersâ comments, if the French roofers are all consistently much more expensive than your friend is expecting then perhaps sheâs being unrealistic.
What sort of price range are we talking? Were the quotes roughly all in the same ballpark?
By the way, if your friend thinks the cost is high to employ a French roofer, the fine if thereâs a contrĂŽle will be much higherâŠ
Les sanctions encourues en cas de contrĂŽle ou de dĂ©nonciation lorsquâon fait faire ses travaux au noir
Il peut, Ă tout moment, y avoir un contrĂŽle sur votre chantier. Le travail au noir dans le bĂ Âątiment est une pratique bien connue, et câest la raison pour laquelle les contrĂŽles sont pris trĂšs au sĂ©rieux par le gouvernement. Un voisin peut Ă©galement vous dĂ©noncer.
Quoi quâil en soit, vous risquez de lourdes sanctions qui peuvent aller jusquâĂ 3 ans de prison et 45 000âÂŹ dâamende. Si lâartisan qui travaille au noir est mineur, ces condamnations peuvent aller jusquâĂ 5 ans dâemprisonnement et 75 000âÂŹ dâamende.
En cas de contrĂŽle, le chantier sera immĂ©diatement mis Ă lâarrĂȘt. Que vous soyez lâemployeur direct ou non des ouvriers qui travaillent au noir, votre responsabilitĂ© sera autant engagĂ©e que celle du patron qui se trouve dans lâillĂ©galitĂ©.
Enfin, si vous employez de façon rĂ©guliĂšre un ouvrier au noir, celui-ci peut se retourner contre vous dans les 5 ans aprĂšs la fin de son contrat. Sâil apporte la preuve aux prudâhommes quâil a travaillĂ© pour vous, vous pourriez avoir de lourds frais Ă couvrir:
- Indemnités de licenciement
- Remboursement des allocations chĂŽmage sâil y a lieu
- Remboursement des charges sociales Ă lâUrssaf avec majoration
- Versement dâindemnitĂ©s compensatrices (congĂ©s payĂ©sâŠ)
