Builders in Wareham
Extensions, structural openings, new brickwork and garden walls, plastering and rendering, drives and drainage, then roofing, across Wareham, Northport, Stoborough and Sandford. Free site visit and a written itemised quote.
The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote. Thomas Hannen prices every job himself.
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Building work in Wareham
Extensions and alterations around Wareham
Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd builds single storey extensions, forms openings with a steel beam, lays new brickwork and garden walls, and plasters, renders and roofs the work, in Wareham, Northport, Stoborough and Sandford. The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote.
Just over half of Wareham's homes, 52.0%, went up between 1945 and 1982, and a post-war semi, terrace or bungalow is a good house to extend. The walls are usually cavity blockwork, the back garden has room, and a single storey rear extension often falls within permitted development. The order is the same every time: foundations inspected, blockwork to plate height, the steel over the opening, roof framed and weathered, first fix, plaster, finish. You can see those stages in our recent projects.
We also build brick garden walls and garages, plaster and render new and old walls, lay drives and fit kitchens. Round the Frome and the Piddle a soakaway gets a percolation test before anyone designs round it, and Approved Document H sets out where roof water from a new extension may go.
Which side of the river you are on
North of the Frome, the walled town is in the Wareham Conservation Area. South of South Bridge, Stoborough has its own conservation area and sits inside the Dorset National Landscape. Both designations are article 2(3) land, so a side extension, a two storey rear extension, a dormer or new cladding needs planning permission there. Northport, Sandford and the post-war streets outside both keep ordinary permitted development. The town's Article 4 direction covers satellite dishes only, so it does not change any of this.
Then the paperwork: a building notice or full plans, a party wall notice on a semi or terrace, and a completion certificate from building control at the end. For roof work alone, see the page for roofers in Wareham.
Wareham, Dorset
Building near the Frome, the Piddle and the harbour
Wareham has rivers on two sides and Poole Harbour on the third, and the flood risk from each one changes how an extension is built. The Frome and the Piddle flood after heavy rain upstream. The harbour floods with a high tide and a storm surge. Low ground by both rivers is mapped as flood zone, so check your address before anything is drawn.
Floor levels and materials
If the extension needs planning permission and the house is in flood zone 2 or 3, the application needs a flood risk assessment. For a householder extension the Environment Agency's standing advice keeps it short: the new floor no lower than the existing one, or raised above the likely flood level, and flood resistant construction below that line. In practice that means a concrete floor in place of timber, sockets and services kept high, and the damp-proof membrane lapped carefully into the old wall.
Where the roof water goes
Roof water from a new extension goes to a soakaway if the ground passes a percolation test, and to a drain if it fails, as Approved Document H sets out. Near the rivers the ground can stay wet for long spells, so the test result decides the design, not a guess. A drain that runs towards the river may also need a non-return valve so floodwater cannot back up the pipe.
Salt on the harbour side
Salt and driven rain on the harbour side are hard on fixings, render and metal rainwater goods, so new work there gets stainless or non-ferrous fixings. River water lasts longer and soaks walls, so anything below the damp course is built from materials that can get wet and dry out again.
Planning, stated correctly
Conservation areas, listing and what they change
The walled town is in the Wareham Conservation Area, and Stoborough across the river has its own. A conservation area is article 2(3) land under the 2015 Order, which withdraws Class B roof enlargements such as dormers, and cladding under Class A.2, with or without an Article 4. Side extensions and rear extensions of more than one storey need planning permission there too.
Stoborough is also inside the Dorset National Landscape, which is article 2(3) land in its own right. Northport, Sandford and the post-war streets outside both keep the ordinary householder permitted development rules.
Wareham's Article 4 direction is narrower than people expect. It covers satellite dishes and nothing else, so it does not stop you re-roofing or extending, and it does not make a dormer any easier either.
There are many listed buildings in and around the walled town, among them Streche's Almshouses and the Church of Lady St Mary inside the walls, and North Bridge and West Mill on the Piddle just outside. Work that affects the character of a listed building needs listed building consent, repairs included, and on that stock the job is lime mortar and matching materials. We put the specification in writing so you have something to submit, and we do not start until consent is in place. Dorset Council's guidance on listed buildings is the place to start.
What we do in Wareham
The trades a Wareham house needs, building work first
Walls and extensions come first on a Wareham house, whether that is new brick on a post-war house or lime work on an older front. The finishes and the ground follow, and the roof over it all comes last.
Bricklaying and repointing
Garden walls, garages and extension brickwork matched to the house. In the walled town and the two conservation areas it is lime mortar, hand raking and matched joint profiles, so a repair does not look newer than the wall around it.
Brickwork in WarehamPlastering and rendering
Plastering depends on the age of the wall. Older solid walls in the walled town need to breathe, so a gypsum skim over a wall that has not dried will blow again. Post-war cavity walls take a modern skim or render without fuss.
Plastering and rendering in WarehamDriveways, patios and drainage
Drainage decides the design. Some ground round Wareham takes a soakaway and some does not, so we test before we design, and where a percolation test fails the drive needs a positive outfall to a drain.
Driveways and patios in WarehamRoofing
Post-war roofs reaching the age where underlay, flashings and rainwater goods need attention, salt and driven rain on the harbour side, and matching and consent work on listed roofs in the walled town.
Roof repairs in WarehamWe fit kitchens once an extension is dry, top up loft and cavity wall insulation, and clean roofs, render and paving by soft washing, not pressure washing.
Reviews
What customers said
A new roof and a patio, in the customers' own words. The roof review covers the whole job from the first visit, and the patio customer names Tom and Lloyd and the updates along the way.
I couldn't be happier with the new roof. From the first visit to the finished job, the whole experience was excellent… The workmanship is outstanding, and they left the property clean and tidy every day, which I really appreciated…
Really happy with our new patio from Bournemouth Roofing & Building. It looks beautiful and we couldn't be more pleased with how it's turned out. Tom and Lloyd were both lovely, really knowledgeable and kept us updated throughout, which was reassuring…
Free quote
How do you get a free quote in Wareham?
Send the form or ring 07435 839745. Thomas Hannen comes out to Wareham, 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 Wareham?
Most repairs in Wareham 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 Wareham |
|---|---|
| Who decides | Dorset Council is the planning authority for Wareham. Dorset Council's heritage pages set out what it controls. |
| Conservation area | Yes: Wareham Conservation Area and Stoborough Conservation Area. Check whether your street is inside the boundary before changing anything visible. |
| Listed buildings | Yes, there are listed buildings in and around Wareham. If yours is one, work can need listed building consent. |
| Protected landscape | The walled town is outside it, but the Dorset National Landscape starts just south: South Bridge and Stoborough are inside it, so the stricter article 2(3) rules apply there. |
Questions
Questions about building work in Wareham
How do I find a good builder in Wareham?
Get the price written and itemised, and get two so you can compare. Check the firm on Companies House: ours is Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, company number 15471719. Read reviews that trace to a real customer, like the verified one on our Checkatrade profile. Keep any deposit modest; Citizens Advice says not to agree to more than 25 percent. Agree how extras are priced before work starts, and ask whether the builder has checked if your street is in the conservation area or the National Landscape.
What is the difference between a builder and a building contractor?
On a house, mostly the paperwork. The builder does the work. The building contractor signs to deliver the whole job and runs the site, and on a domestic extension that is normally the same firm. Under regulation 7 of the CDM Regulations 2015, a homeowner's client duties pass to the contractor, so the firm you hire is responsible for planning the job safely.
Can I extend a house in Wareham's flood zone?
Usually, yes, with a flood risk assessment if the extension needs planning permission. The Environment Agency runs three flood warning areas over the town, two for the rivers and one for the harbour, so check your address against all of them. For a householder extension the assessment mainly shows that the new floor is no lower than the existing one and that flood resistant construction is used below the likely flood level.
Does Wareham's Article 4 direction mean I need permission to re-roof?
No. The Article 4 direction over Wareham Conservation Area covers satellite dishes and nothing else. Roof permitted development is restricted inside the conservation area, but that comes from the standard rules on article 2(3) land: a dormer or other roof enlargement needs planning permission, and a like-for-like re-roof does not.
Do I need building regulations approval to knock two rooms together?
Yes, if the wall is load-bearing. An engineer sizes the steel beam, the wall is propped while it comes out, and the beam sits on padstones. Building control is notified by a building notice or full plans and inspects the work. A non-load-bearing stud wall can come out without approval, but we check which it is before anyone picks up a hammer.
Do I need planning permission for a garden wall in Wareham?
Not usually. You can build a wall up to about a metre next to a road and up to two metres elsewhere without planning permission, as the Planning Portal guide to garden walls explains. In the conservation area, taking down an existing wall over those heights needs permission, and a listed wall needs listed building consent.
Trade by trade
Each trade, written for Wareham
The same local evidence, read through each trade in turn. Ground conditions decide a driveway, exposure decides a roof, and the age of the housing decides insulation.
- Roofing in Wareham
- Flat roofing in Wareham
- Bricklaying and repointing in Wareham
- Repointing in Wareham
- Driveways and patios in Wareham
- Patios in Wareham
- Plastering and rendering in Wareham
- Rendering in Wareham
- Insulation in Wareham
- Loft insulation in Wareham
- Wall insulation in Wareham
- Exterior cleaning in Wareham
- Gutter cleaning in Wareham
- Fascias, soffits and guttering in Wareham
Who you are dealing with
A local firm you can check
Wareham, Northport, Bestwall, Stoborough, Ridge, Worgret, Sandford, Arne, Furzebrook, Norden, Corfe Castle, Wool and Bere Regis are all on our list. That is BH20, all of it under Dorset Council.
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 job himself, so the person who quotes it is the person answerable for it. One visit and one written itemised quote covers the building work, the roof and the finishing trades.
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. Something urgent? Ring, and if we miss you we call back.
Free quote
Get a price for your Wareham property
Tell us the street and which side of the water you are on. If the property is listed, in a conservation area, or south of the river in Stoborough, say so, and we will price the job that address actually needs.