Roofers in Spain
 

Hi

My partner and I are looking at moving to Spain and he would like to continue his current trade which is a roofer. Does anyone know of any large roofing companies or if there are certain areas of Spain where flat/felted roofs are used?
I have a CELTA teaching qualification and would like to look at teaching but we need info on the roofing side

Many thanks

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Hi, welcome to BE.

I've moved your thread to the main Spain forum, I think it's more likely to get responses there. You may also want to mention if you have an EU passport, or just a British one, so that those in the know can advise on visa requirements if needed.

Good luck with it.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Thank you :) we only have British passports so the visa info would be appreciated

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Roofing in Spain is very different to the UK, for one almost all rooves are tile over concrete, there is little in the way of joists, felt , then tile used. Flat rooves are common, but are usually sun terraces, so not felted.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Working in Spain

If you were legally resident in Spain before 1 January 2021, you have the right to work, as long as you remain legally resident.

If you are planning to come to Spain to work, you may need a visa or permit. You should check with the Spanish Embassy in the UK.

To apply for a job, you may need to provide a:

• UK criminal records certificate
• Spanish criminal records certificate (Certificado de Antecedentes Penales)
• certificate from the Spanish sex offenders registry (Certificado de Delitos de Naturaleza Sexual) to work with children
• record of your employment history in Spain from Seguridad Social (a Vida Laboral certificate)

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-i...rking-in-spain

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

As mikelincs has suggested your partners experience would not be relevant and he is unlikely to find employment. As UK nationals(?) you will both have difficulty in obtaining work post Brexit.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Problem now is, you would need a job offer before you could come over as that would be part of the visa application.
And the building industry local to us (we are 10k from Benidorm inland) is slow, very slow.

As others have said roofing here in Spain is different as well, so even if you set up a business and went down that route its going to be hard.

Also now the Uk is a 3rd country you wont find it easy to come here and teach either.

Sorry about that but you may need to rethink your plans.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

That might depend where you live.
Here in the Basque country they are invariably tiled with joists, tiles being mostly "arab" design (curved). We had our house re-roofed 5 years ago with flat tiles as the roofer (an experienced, quality local chap) said the French ones were of better quality clay. The approx 120m² cost us €30,000. Our son's farmhouse was done 3 years ago, 400m² which cost €80,000. Both with joists.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Very true but flat/felted roofs would be very rare in Spain, especially due to the climate and would be far too hot in summer.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

I`m afraid you are a year or two too late .

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Have any of you people with no helpful responses ever thought of not replying to a question or thread if you have nothing useful to say....are you all that bored in life you find a new comment on here and take the time and effort to respond and post. Surely there must be a more productive way to soend your time as an individual rather than post negative comments on Internet forums

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Everyone has told you the truth , what do you want lies then to rock up in Malaga only to get turned around and sent home ?

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

:confused: Every response has been helpful from what I can see.

People have just pointed out that unfortunately you’ve left it too late as now you’ll need a visa to move due to Brexit, and that’ll be very tricky from what you’ve said. It may not have been what you wanted to hear but it’s still good advice nonetheless.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

You asked a question and members answered with relevant information to aid your research. They always endeavour to provide honest feedback whether that is of a negative or positive nature. As you point out they give their time and effort to respond and post which they do to be helpful and no other reason.

So sorry to see that you did not receive the answers that you were hoping for and that this has made you angry but unfortunately life for Brits hoping to move and work in any EU country is being affected by the fact that the UK has left. Even prior to Brexit occurring anyone in the construction industry were being advised to think carefully before moving here for work as there are so many builders in Spain finding it very difficult to survive.

Rosemary

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Hola

Can I offer a piece of advice? Why not come here for a holiday and watch a roof being done? It is nothing like a UK roof and if you go to the Alpujarras, they build flat slate roofs the like of which I have never seen before nor anywhere else in Spain - and I have travelled extensively all over Spain.

Davexf

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

That sounds like a fun holiday :rofl: .

Roofing isnt rocket science so any UK builder / roofer would soon pick it up , however I think theres virtually no chance of a Brit walking into a construction job in Spain , even if you were fluent Spanish , Spanish roofers/builders will always be at the front of the queue and theres plenty of them unemployed at the moment , thats the reality of it.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Careful Rotor, that was a bit negative, the OP might hit the roof again :rofl:
(Sorry couldn't resisit it)
Actually I thought Dxf's suggestion was sensible and helpful. Spending a "holiday" where in fact you spend time finding out more about the country you're thinking of moving to, seems pretty essential to me?
To the OP - yes I freely admit I am locked down and bored and right now I am a bit short of productive ways to spend my time as an individual.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Thank you Sir, you are a Gentleman.

Davexf

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

I think one could say that about any trade. Unfortunately, there are many shoddy / careless tradesmen about, or maybe that is just in my experience(?) <LOL>.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

There are businesses which do maintenance and handyman type stuff for comunidades de vecinos and urbanizaciones. Perhaps not the dream job but it's a job.

The only thing is the areas which have lots of English speaking customers (i.e. you could scrape by with worse Spanish) aren't the areas in the north of Spain which have lots of tiled roofs (where you could use your skills).

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Being x construction the one thing I thought I could cope with was working in the heat, Well I soon found that out dripping wet just pushing a wheelbarrow. In the present climate my advice is to wait a while until things settle down. Also as said come for a long holiday in the summer and see if you can find some work and gain some experience of working and materials used and methods. With work done on the house I have learnt a lot but I am no longer capable strenuous or fiscal work. Good luck. OH yeah don't forget construction shuts down for a month in august.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

As a teacher I am afraid that it will be hard to find a teaching position in Spain now due to Brexit. Employers will need to complete more paperwork to employ UK nationals and given that many initial jobs are just a few hours a week it simply isn't worth it. Larger contracts might be available but that would probably mean having to move to bigger places and again its unlikely that an employer would go to all that work if you have no real experience and have to wait for paperwork to be approved etc. I feel that if you have just completed a CELTA the organizers should have pointed out the effects of Brexit on the job market. The only other possible avenue is automino and online teaching but I am not sure you can get a visa that way. If you really want to teach you will either need to take a position in somewhere like China which has a large market or remain in UK teaching online.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

According to this site https://www.spainvisa.eu/visa-types/work-visa/ (which hasn't been updated since brexit) there is a visa for self employed but it might not be easy to get.

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

Firstly, welcome to the forum!
You may have already left though, and closed the door behind you, which is saddening as you've been given excellent advise - without any word of thanks in return.
It was obviously not the news you wished to hear, which doesn't distract from the fact that most members here like to show the true picture, which is as it should be.

Had to smile at the quote from DXF, "Thank you Sir, you are a Gentleman." ;)

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

I am a lot more gentlemanly than many who were schooled at Eton.;)

Re: Roofers in Spain
 

If that's so, I'll tip my top-hat to you!;)