Scaffold booked, slate still not approved
A re-roof on a listed cottage. The customer's architect is dealing with consent. The conservation officer wants to see a sample of the replacement slate and the ridge detail. You have been looking for a reclaimed slate that matches, and the yard that had some has sold half of it. The scaffold is booked for next week.
Nobody is quite sure whether consent has been granted, whether the sample was approved or only discussed, and which conditions apply to the lead details.
Why these jobs stall
Heritage roofing has more parties and more approvals than an ordinary re-roof, and the steps depend on each other. They are handled by email across the customer, their agent or architect, the council and your suppliers, and nobody has the whole picture in one place.
- Consent status is known only by the customer's agent.
- Sample approvals are verbal or buried in email.
- Reclaimed material sourcing is tracked in someone's phone.
- Conditions are not passed on to the roofers.
- Scaffold and gangs are booked before approvals are confirmed.
The cost of a stalled heritage job
Scaffold standing idle while approvals are chased, gangs rescheduled, and specialist materials bought before they are approved all cost money. The customer is often anxious already, because heritage work is expensive and they have their own obligations. Working on something before approval is confirmed is a risk nobody wants, and it is the kind of mistake that happens when records are scattered.
Heritage work is often some of the most rewarding and best-paid roofing there is. But firms that have been burned by a stalled job sometimes stop quoting for it altogether, which means turning away the kind of work that builds a reputation.
The heritage job tracker we build
- Each heritage job has a list of pre-start steps you define, such as consent confirmed by the customer or their agent, materials specified, samples approved, conditions noted.
- Each step has an owner, which may be the customer, their architect or your office, and a status with the date and evidence.
- Correspondence is linked to the job by forwarding emails to it, so the thread is kept in one place.
- Material sourcing is tracked: supplier, quantity, sample photos, reservation status and delivery date.
- Conditions and specification notes are copied onto the roofers' job sheet, with photos of approved samples.
- The job cannot be put on the gang planner, and scaffold cannot be confirmed, until the steps your team marks as required are complete.
- Completion photos and records are filed against the job and address for the customer's own records.
| Pre-start step | Usually owned by | Evidence held |
|---|---|---|
| Consent status | Customer or their agent | Confirmation they provide |
| Material specification | Your office | Specification and supplier details |
| Samples approved | Customer or their agent | Written approval and photos |
| Conditions noted | Your office | Notes on the job sheet |
| Materials reserved | Your office | Supplier confirmation |
Whether consent is needed and what it requires is for the customer and their advisers. We track the steps your business has agreed to check.
How heritage work runs afterwards
Everyone can see what is outstanding and who is waiting for whom. Scaffold is booked when the job can actually start. Roofers have the approved details in their hand. And the record of what was approved and done is complete, which the customer will want for their own files.
Does this describe your heritage jobs?
- You chase approvals by email with no single view.
- Scaffold has stood waiting for an approval.
- Reclaimed materials are tracked informally.
- Roofers do not always see the conditions.
- You have been unsure whether a sample was formally approved.