The oldest trick in home improvement, and why it still works

The pattern is old enough that most people would recognise it written down, and new enough that it still works on someone every week: a van pulls up, someone knocks, and they mention they were "just working on a roof nearby" and noticed something on yours — a loose tile, a bit of moss, something that "really should be sorted before it gets worse." The price is good, but only if you decide today.

Every part of that script is doing a job. "Nearby" makes it sound coincidental rather than a cold approach. The specific-but-vague problem is hard to verify from the ground and easy to feel anxious about. And the same-day-only price removes the one thing that protects anyone from a bad deal: time to get a second opinion.

None of this means every unsolicited knock is a scam — some are genuinely just people looking for work. The difference is in what happens next. A legitimate tradesperson is fine with you taking a day to think about it, getting another quote, or asking a neighbour who's used them before. Pressure to decide immediately isn't a sign of a good deal; it's a sign the deal doesn't survive being thought about.

The simplest response costs nothing: thank them, say you'll get back to them, and don't. If the work is genuinely needed, it'll still need doing next week, at a price that doesn't depend on deciding in the next five minutes.