Flat roofing in Boldre

Rear additions, outbuildings and the bit that links them. Out along these lanes the flat roofs are rarely the main roof. They are a kitchen across the back, a boot room, a garage set off the house with a covered link between the two, or a porch. Coverings run from torch on felt and three layer built up felt under a mineral surfaced cap sheet to GRP fibreglass put on by the last owner. Once a bay is stripped you can see what matters, which is the deck. Plywood and OSB that has stayed dry will take a new membrane. Chipboard decking that has been damp goes, and new boards are fixed to the joists first. EPDM rubber, fibreglass or a new torch on system all work here, and single ply earns its place on anything long and simple.

Falls, outlets and standing water. Ponding tells you the roof was laid flat rather than nearly flat. Water sitting there finds every lap and seam, and a frost opens them. The cause is usually firrings cut shy, tapered insulation squashed, or an outlet that has silted up under leaf litter, which is a real problem on a lane with trees over it. We correct the falls, run them to a proper rainwater outlet, and check the gutter, hopper and downpipe below take it away. BS 6229:2025 on flat roofs sets the minimum fall a roof should be built to.

Trims, upstands and the seams. The middle of a flat roof is the easy part. The edge trim, the drip, the apron against a wall and the kerb around an opening are where it opens up. Felt blisters, bubbles and splits. Single ply lifts at a failed seam. Fibreglass cracks at a hard internal angle where the deck has moved. Anything soft is cut out first. The upstand is then formed to a decent height behind the covering, and each lap is welded or bonded, so the roof reads as one skin.

Openings, abutments and how it is built up. A rooflight, a lantern, a Velux, an access hatch or a soil and vent pipe wants a kerb and a collar rather than a bead of mastic. Where the roof runs into brick or stone we chase in a cover flashing in lead, and on a parapet we look at the coping and whether there is a cavity tray behind it. Older roofs around here are cold roofs, with the insulation between the joists and a stale void above, and that void is where condensation and interstitial damp quietly rot the deck. Building it back warm puts the PIR on top of the boards, with the vapour control layer under it, and the deck stops being the coldest thing in the roof.

No rate per square metre, because the square metres are the easy part and what is under the covering is what decides the job.

Getting to it. A garage down a shared track, a kitchen roof tight against an old brick wall, and a flat section tucked between two pitched roofs are three different jobs before a sheet is lifted. A garage or a single storey extension will often come off a tower, anything above a two storey wall wants a scaffold, and the platform has to stand while the deck is open rather than for an afternoon. The work at height rules are why it is a priced line rather than something folded into a rate.

The deck under the covering. A sound deck can be re-covered. Chipboard that has been wet for years, or ply that gives underfoot, has to come off and be replaced, and you cannot tell which you have from the ground or from a photograph. We lift a corner before quoting, because the deck is the single biggest swing in the price.

The falls, and where the water is meant to go. Most flat roofs that fail were never laid to a fall, or the fall runs at an outlet that has since been blocked or built over. Correcting it with firrings is more work than laying a membrane and it is the difference between a roof that lasts and one that ponds. Upstands, edge trims and each outlet are priced one at a time, because that is where the hours and the leaks both are.

Comparing quotes? Ask which system is being quoted and how many layers, whether the deck is being renewed or covered over, whether the falls are being corrected with firrings, how the upstands, outlets and edge trims are detailed, and whether the scaffold and the skip are in the price. Two quotes for the same job are usually two different jobs.

Boldre sits inside the New Forest National Park, and the Park is its own planning authority. For a flat roof that matters less than people fear, but it is not nothing. Putting the same sort of covering back on a kitchen roof is maintenance and nobody has to be told. Anything that changes what is seen from a lane or a green is looked at more carefully than it would be in a town: a run of new rooflights, a lantern, a raised parapet, or a bright trim where there was a dark one.

There are listed entries scattered around the parish as well, and a flat roof on or attached to one of those needs listed building consent even if the work is a like for like repair. If you are not sure which category your house falls into, the National Park Authority's interactive property map will tell you in a minute, and National Park heritage and conservation guidance explains what the Park expects. It is worth checking before materials are ordered, because a lantern that has to come back out is an expensive way to learn.

We cover Boldre, Pilley, Portmore and the lanes around them, along with the rest of SO41, and the site visit and written quote both cost you nothing. You are dealing with Bournemouth Roofing & Building, the trading name of Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719, which you can look up in a minute. Thomas Hannen's business, and he is the one who comes out to price the job, not a salesman. A verified customer's 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. The visit and the written quote are both free.