Roofers and builders in Canford Cliffs
Roofing, flat roofs, brickwork and repointing, render and plastering, insulation, driveways, patios and exterior cleaning across Canford Cliffs, from the shops on Haven Road down to Cliff Drive and the chines. Blocks of flats, big detached houses and a lot of pine trees.
The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote. Thomas Hannen prices every job himself.
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Canford Cliffs
In a Canford Cliffs block, the first question is who owns the roof
Most building work in Canford Cliffs means a block of flats or a large detached house set back among pines. Every trade is covered on both, from the roof and the gutters down to the render, the brickwork and the drive. The difference is who signs off the job, what the trees are doing to the building, and whether the street sits in one of the two conservation areas that reach into the suburb.
A Canford Cliffs roof usually comes up through a leaking block, a gutter full of pine needles or a change of owner. Water showing on a top-floor ceiling in a block, and nobody sure whose problem it is. Gutters and valleys full of pine needles, overflowing down a rendered wall. Or a house bought or inherited that needs its roof, render and drive looked at together before anything is spent.
If water is coming in right now, ring 07435 839745 and tell us where it is showing and which floor you are on. For everything else, Thomas comes out, gets onto the roof or looks from a scaffold tower where he needs to, goes into the loft if there is one, and photographs what he finds. You get a written itemised quote, and on a block it is written so a managing agent can act on it.
The housing
Mostly flats, then detached houses, and almost nothing in between
The housing in Canford Cliffs is unlike most of Poole. Flats make up the majority of homes, detached houses most of the rest, and semis and terraces barely feature. A good share of the flats were built since 2000, often on the plot of one large house, alongside older post-war blocks and a thinner layer of villas from before the Second World War.
That mix decides the job more than the postcode does. A block has one large roof shared by every flat under it, long runs of fascia and gutter, and usually a flat roof or a parapet gutter somewhere that nobody sees from the ground. A detached house in Canford Cliffs is typically hipped, with several slopes, valleys and more than one chimney, sitting behind a gravel drive and a stand of trees. The two need different access, different paperwork and a different conversation.
- If you own a flat, you probably do not own the roof. The freeholder does, whether that is a landlord, a residents' management company or the flat owners jointly. The walls, render, gutters and drive usually go the same way. You can ring us and we will look, but the repair is normally instructed by whoever manages the block.
- Bigger jobs on a block need consultation first. Where each leaseholder's share of the cost passes the threshold in the service charge consultation regulations, the landlord has to consult under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 before the work starts. We write the quote itemised so it can go straight into that process, and we would rather you knew about the timetable before the scaffold is booked.
- A detached house is often a sequence, not one job. Roof, roofline, render and drive are frequently due around the same time. Sharing one scaffold between the roof, the fascias and the render is the single biggest saving on a house this size, so we price them together and separately and let you choose.
Planning
Two conservation areas reach into Canford Cliffs
Part of Canford Cliffs is inside a conservation area, and it is worth knowing which part before you choose a material. The Canford Cliffs Village conservation area lies wholly within the suburb, around the shops and restaurants on Haven Road and the streets behind them.
The Branksome Park and Chine Gardens conservation area, designated in 1981, is much bigger, and the wooded roads on the Canford Cliffs side towards the chines make up a large part of it. BCP Council publishes the boundaries of both, and they do not always follow the roads you would expect, so we check the address rather than the street name.
What that changes, for an ordinary house that is not listed:
- Re-roofing like for like is fine. Renewing a roof in matching tiles or slate is repair. The Planning Portal guidance on roofs sets out where permitted development stops, and inside a conservation area a change of material that alters the look of the roof is where the question starts.
- Render and cladding are not permitted development here. In a conservation area, cladding any part of a house in render, stone, timber, tiles or plastic needs planning permission under Part 1 of the permitted development order. That matters on the older brick villas, and it is the first thing we raise if someone wants to render over brick.
- Dormers need an application. Roof extensions such as dormers are taken out of permitted development on conservation area land, so a loft conversion with a dormer is a planning job, not a builder's decision.
- The trees count. In a conservation area you have to give the council six weeks' written notice before cutting back or felling most trees, and a tree under a Tree Preservation Order needs a formal application. If a branch has to come back to get a scaffold up, we tell you at the first visit so the notice runs before the start date, not after it.
A handful of buildings in Canford Cliffs are listed, among them St Ann’s Hospital on Haven Road at Grade II* and All Saints’ Church, and anything listed needs listed building consent for work that affects its character. Compton Acres is a Grade II* registered park and garden. Neither the hospital nor the gardens is a private house, but both are why the council looks closely at this corner of Poole.
The one local thing
Pines, needles and a wall that never quite dries
Pine needles are finer than leaves. They mat into gutters, hopper heads and roof valleys, hold water against the lead and the tile edge, and in a downpour the valley overflows sideways under the tiles instead of down into the gutter. On a block, the first sign is often a stain in a top-floor flat a long way from where the water actually got in.
The shade does the rest. North-facing slopes and the render under the trees stay damp, so they grow moss, algae and lichen faster than an open elevation would. That lifts the tails of concrete tiles, blocks the gutter again as it washes down, and turns pale render green within a few seasons of a clean.
So on a Canford Cliffs quote we check the valleys, the outlets and the downpipes before we blame the tiles, and we would rather clear, flush and fit a guard than sell a roof that does not need replacing. When render is being cleaned, it is a soft wash and a biocide, never a jet aimed up under the laps. And this close to the sea the fixings matter too: we fix to the exposure BS 5534 sets out, with stainless nails and clips.
What we do in Canford Cliffs
Every trade, read through this housing
Each trade has its own page for Canford Cliffs. These are the short versions, with the thing that matters most on a block or a large house under trees.
Roofs and flat roofs
Repairs, re-covers, leadwork, dry fix ridges and verges on the pitched roofs, and GRP, EPDM or torch-on felt on the flat roofs and parapet gutters of the blocks. A detached re-roof is usually a couple of weeks of good weather. A valley choked with needles is a morning.
Roofing in Canford Cliffs Flat roofing in Canford CliffsFascias, soffits and gutters
Long roofline runs on the blocks and deep eaves on the houses. We replace rotten timber fascias with uPVC, size the gutters and outlets for the roof, and clear them by hand where the pines fill them every autumn.
Fascias and guttering Gutter cleaningBrickwork and repointing
Garden walls, piers, chimneys and the brick plinths under render. On the pre-war villas the original mortar may be lime, so we check before raking out, and we match the joint profile rather than filling it proud.
Bricklaying in Canford Cliffs Repointing in Canford CliffsRender and plastering
Patch repairs, re-rendering and silicone through-coloured render outside, which sheds water and resists algae better under trees. Skimming, patching and dry lining inside, including ceilings brought down by a roof leak in a flat.
Rendering in Canford Cliffs Plastering in Canford CliffsDriveways and patios
Resin bound, block paving, gravel and porcelain. Long drives under pines need a proper sub-base, edge restraint and drainage, and roots near the surface change where a drive can be dug. A new front drive over five square metres has to be permeable or drain to a border, or it needs planning permission.
Driveways in Canford Cliffs Patios in Canford CliffsCleaning and insulation
Soft washing of render, roofs and paving with a biocide finish. Loft insulation on the houses, and wall insulation where the wall suits it, which on solid-walled older villas means an honest conversation before any quote.
Exterior cleaning Insulation in Canford Cliffs Loft insulation Wall insulationHow we work
What happens between the call and the finished job
Thomas visits, looks at the building properly and puts an itemised quote in writing, with the scaffold as its own line so you can compare it. On a block we send it to whoever manages the building as well as to you if you ask, and we can meet the agent or a director of the management company on site.
Once work starts, one person is your contact throughout. Where scaffold is needed we say so at the quote stage, and on a plot with trees we note any branch that has to be dealt with first. A roof is only opened as far as it can be covered again the same day, the site is swept at the end of each day, and the waste leaves with us. If something extra turns up once the tiles or the render are off, we photograph it and price it before doing it, so nothing is added without you seeing why.
Shared drives and car parks need planning on a block. We agree where the skip and the materials go, and when, with the residents or the agent, so nobody finds their space taken on the morning.
Reviews
What customers said
A driveway in BH13 and a new roof, both written by the customer after the job. The driveway was a complex one with plenty of updates along the way, and the roof customer valued having each stage explained.
…The job was quite complex and far from straightforward, but they handled everything with professionalism and skill. They were quick, efficient, friendly, and kept us updated throughout the whole process with excellent communication…
…From the first visit to the finished job, the whole experience was excellent. The team were friendly, professional, and always turned up when they said they would. They took the time to explain everything, so I knew exactly what was happening throughout…
Free quote
How do you get a free quote in Canford Cliffs?
Send the form or ring 07435 839745. Thomas Hannen comes out to Canford Cliffs, looks at the job and puts an itemised price in writing, and neither the visit nor the written quote costs anything.
Our base is at 80a Wolverton Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth BH7 6HX. Scheduled work runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Planning at a glance
Do you need planning permission in Canford Cliffs?
Most repairs in Canford Cliffs need no application at all. What decides whether a change to the outside of your house does is who the council is, whether a conservation area or a listing applies, and whether the place sits in a protected landscape.
| Question | In Canford Cliffs |
|---|---|
| Who decides | BCP Council is the planning authority for Canford Cliffs. BCP Council's heritage pages set out what it controls. |
| Conservation area | Yes: Branksome Park and Chine Gardens Conservation Area and Canford Cliffs Village Conservation Area. They cover parts of Canford Cliffs, so check whether your street is inside one. |
| Listed buildings | Yes, there are listed buildings in and around Canford Cliffs. If yours is one, work can need listed building consent. |
| Protected landscape | No National Park or National Landscape covers Canford Cliffs. |
Questions
Questions about building work in Canford Cliffs
Is Canford Cliffs in a conservation area?
Parts of it are. The Canford Cliffs Village conservation area lies entirely within the suburb, around Haven Road, and the Branksome Park and Chine Gardens conservation area covers a large wooded part of it towards the chines. Plenty of streets sit outside both.
Inside either one, rendering or cladding a house and adding a dormer need planning permission, and most tree work needs six weeks' notice to the council. We check your address against BCP Council's map before anything is priced.
The roof above my flat is leaking. Can I book you myself?
You can ring us and we will come and look, but the roof of a block normally belongs to the freeholder, so the managing agent or the management company instructs the repair. We write the quote so they can act on it, and if the cost per flat is large enough they will need to consult the leaseholders first. Tell the agent straight away and photograph the ceiling each time it rains.
Why do my gutters overflow even though they were cleared last year?
Pine needles fill gutters, outlets and valleys faster than leaves do, and they drop through most of the year rather than only in autumn. A gutter under pines may need clearing more than once a year, and the valleys and downpipes need checking at the same time. A mesh or brush guard helps, but it needs clearing too, so we tell you what to expect before fitting one.
Can you do the roof, fascias and render off one scaffold?
Yes, and on a large house it is usually the biggest saving available. We price each trade as its own line and the scaffold once, so you can see what doing them together saves and decide what to do now and what can wait.
Will the scaffold damage the trees or the drive?
Scaffold goes on boards to spread the load on gravel, resin or block paving, and we plan where it stands around roots and branches at the survey. If a protected tree is in the way, the council has to be notified before it is touched, and we build that into the start date.
Canford Cliffs is part of Poole, in BH13, and comes under BCP Council for planning and building control. Our Poole page covers the wider town, from the Old Town and the quay to Parkstone and Sandbanks.
Trade by trade
Each trade, written for Canford Cliffs
Every trade has its own page for this suburb, covering the blocks, the detached houses and what the trees and the conservation areas change for that particular job.
- Roofing in Canford Cliffs
- Flat roofing in Canford Cliffs
- Fascias, soffits and guttering in Canford Cliffs
- Gutter cleaning in Canford Cliffs
- Bricklaying in Canford Cliffs
- Repointing in Canford Cliffs
- Rendering in Canford Cliffs
- Plastering in Canford Cliffs
- Driveways in Canford Cliffs
- Patios in Canford Cliffs
- Exterior cleaning in Canford Cliffs
- Insulation in Canford Cliffs
- Loft insulation in Canford Cliffs
- Wall insulation in Canford Cliffs
Who you are dealing with
A local firm you can check
Canford Cliffs is about four miles west of our base in Boscombe. We cover the whole suburb, from the village on Haven Road and Canford Cliffs Road down to Cliff Drive, Flaghead Chine and Canford Cliffs Chine, and across BH13 into Branksome Park. BCP Council handles planning and building control.
You are dealing with Bournemouth Roofing & Building, the trading name of Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719. That takes a minute to check. Thomas Hannen owns the firm and he prices every Canford Cliffs job himself, so the person who quotes it is the person answerable for it. One company covers every trade on the job.
There is a verified customer's 10 out of 10 on our Checkatrade profile. The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote. Scheduled work runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. For anything urgent in Canford Cliffs, ring rather than use the form, and if we cannot pick up we ring you back as soon as we can.
Free quote
Get a price for your Canford Cliffs property
Tell us the address, whether it is a house or a flat, and who manages the block if it is one. We will look at the valleys, gutters and render as well as whatever you called about, and put an itemised price in writing.