Roofing, paving and painting
Dean Verbouw & Renovatie takes on home improvements in Rotterdam from the top of the roof down to the front path. Paving, driveways and patios, roof work and gutters, jet washing and painting are all handled by the same firm, so a slipped tile, a sunken drive and a window frame that needs repainting can go on the same quote, with one person to deal with. We look at the job first and tell you plainly what needs doing and what can wait. The price goes in writing before any work starts, and you can talk to us in English or Dutch.
Call us, or email a few lines on what needs doing and where you live. Photos of the roof, gutter or paving help.
What we do
Eight trades, nearly all of them outdoors. Pick the one you need, or put a few together and get them done in one go.
Clinker bricks, concrete tiles or natural stone, laid on a compacted sand bed with a fall away from the house. On the soft clay and peat under Rotterdam, paving without a proper base starts to ripple within a few years.
Read more about paving →
A driveway carries the weight of a car every single day. We dig out, build a firm base and set kerb edging (opsluitbanden) along the sides so the bricks can't slowly creep outwards.
Read more about driveways →
A patio that stays level and sheds the rain. We'll help you choose the tile size and colour, and work out how it meets your back door, the lawn and any paving that's already down.
Read more about patios →
Tiled pitched roofs and flat roofs in bitumen or EPDM rubber, ridges and roof edges included. A whole roof or part of one, on terraced houses, upstairs flats and detached homes.
Read more about roofing →
A leak after a storm, a cracked tile, a ridge that has worked loose. We trace where the water is really getting in, which is often a fair distance from the damp patch on your ceiling.
Read more about roof repairs →
Zinc and plastic gutters and downpipes, cleared, repaired or replaced. A gutter packed with leaves, or one sloping the wrong way, sends water down your walls and into your window frames.
Read more about gutters →
Moss, green algae and grime lifted off patios, drives and garden paths. Afterwards we check the joints, because a jet washer can blast out some of the jointing sand and it then needs topping up.
Read more about jet washing →
Window frames, doors, fascias and walls outside, plus walls and ceilings indoors. Sanding and priming come first. In weather as damp as ours, paint only lasts on a surface that's been properly prepared.
Read more about painting →One firm, top to bottom
Your house doesn't stop at the eaves or at the front step. Whatever goes on up on the roof ends up at ground level sooner or later, usually as water, so it helps when the same people look after both ends.
If we're round to look at your driveway, we'll glance up too. A sagging gutter or a loose ridge tile can often be spotted from the pavement, and you'd rather hear about it now than after the next autumn storm.
Gutters and downpipes carry the rain off your roof. If the paving where the downpipe comes out slopes the wrong way, that water runs straight back towards your wall. We deal with the top and the bottom of that route.
Roof and painting first, new paving last. That way no paint drips, old tiles or scaffold feet end up on stones that were laid the week before.
Gutter needs replacing and the fascia needs painting? Both get done from the same setup. Less putting up and taking down, and one round of disruption for you and the neighbours instead of two.
No comparing three quotes and juggling three diaries. You've got a single number to call and one clear picture of what's being done, what it costs and when.
Damp where the roof meets the wall, or a puddle where the downpipe meets the patio? You don't have to work out which trade it belongs to. It's ours to sort.
How we work
We'd rather not tell you how good we are. Here's how a job runs instead, so you know what you're agreeing to.
After the visit you get a written quote. It says what we'll do and with which materials, and it also says what isn't included, so nothing shows up at the end that you weren't expecting.
Sometimes a roof has years left in it, or a sunken row of bricks just needs an afternoon of relaying. If that's the case, we'll tell you. You pay for what the house needs.
Sand, rubble and old roof tiles get cleared away. At the end of the day you can still walk up the path to your own front door.
New to the Netherlands, or just happier talking about building work in English? That's fine. The visit, the quote, the scheduling and every question in between can be in either language.
Rain and wind push roofing and paving work around, and this close to the North Sea they do it often. If a day has to move, we'll let you know rather than leave you waiting in for someone who isn't coming.
Step by step
Whether it's one gutter or a whole new drive, the route is the same.
Give us a call or send an email. A few photos of the roof, gutter or paving help a lot, because they show us roughly what we're dealing with before we come round.
We look at the job in person. We measure up, check the ground underneath or the state of the roof, and talk through what you have in mind.
You receive a quote listing the work, the materials and the price. Ask questions or change things before you agree to anything.
We book the job in and work from the top down, so nothing above damages what's new below. If we need to get onto a neighbour's roof or garden, that's arranged with them beforehand.
When it's done we walk round the work with you. Anything you want a closer look at, we look at there and then, and the last of our gear goes with us.
What next?
Send us a message about what needs doing. A quote costs you nothing.
Ask for a quote →Questions
Yes. A few slipped roof tiles, a blocked gutter or a patch of paving that has sunk are all worth getting in touch about. If you've got several small things, list them together in your message. We can often deal with them on a single visit, which saves you booking a second one.
That's really what we're for. A new gutter, repainted window frames and a relaid drive can all sit on one quote and one schedule. We work from the roof down, so new paving doesn't get damaged by work going on above it.
Yes. Rotterdam has a large international population, and plenty of people here would rather talk about a leaking roof in English than in Dutch. That's no problem. The site visit, the quote and everything after it can be in English or Dutch, whichever you prefer.
All of Rotterdam, south of the river and out to Hoogvliet and Pernis included. Beyond that we cover Schiedam, Vlaardingen, Maassluis, Capelle aan den IJssel, Krimpen aan den IJssel, Berkel en Rodenrijs, Bergschenhoek, Barendrecht, Ridderkerk, Rhoon, Poortugaal, Spijkenisse and Zwijndrecht. Not sure whether your address is in range? Give us a call or drop us an email.
Sometimes. On a terraced house the gutter often runs straight on to next door, and paving along a boundary can't always be laid from one side. We'll tell you at the site visit if it's likely. A quick word with your neighbours beforehand helps, and we then arrange the timing with them.
We price the job after the visit, once we know what it really involves. The written quote spells out what's included and what isn't. BTW is Dutch VAT: painting a home more than two years old is charged at the reduced 9% rate, paint and prep included, while paving and roofing work go at the standard 21%.
Where we work
Our address is on the Spaanse Polder business park in north-west Rotterdam, right by Overschie. From there we work all over the city, from Delfshaven and Blijdorp to Kralingen, Hillegersberg, Prins Alexander and south of the river. The centre was largely rebuilt after the bombing of 14 May 1940, but Blijdorp still has its brick blocks of flats from the 1930s. South of the river there are 1950s garden suburbs such as Zuidwijk and Pendrecht, and Ommoord is full of terraced houses from around 1970.
Outside the city we cover Schiedam, which borders Spaanse Polder, plus Vlaardingen, Maassluis, Capelle aan den IJssel, Krimpen aan den IJssel, Lansingerland, Barendrecht, Ridderkerk, Albrandswaard, Spijkenisse and Zwijndrecht. Much of this ground lies below sea level, on clay and peat. The house itself usually sits on piles and stays put. The garden and the drive don't, and they slowly sink. Add the wind and rain off the North Sea and you can see why roofs and gutters here need looking after.
Send us a few photos and a short description. We'll come and take a look, and you'll get a quote in writing.