Roofers and builders in Westbourne
Roofs, flat roofs, gutters, brickwork, render, plastering, insulation, paving and exterior cleaning across Westbourne, BH4, from Poole Road and Seamoor Road down to Alum Chine and out to County Gates. Quotes written so a managing agent can use them.
The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote. Thomas Hannen prices every job himself.
Last updated
Westbourne
A suburb of flats, so the first question is who looks after the outside
In Westbourne much of the housing is flats, so we also work for the people who look after them: freeholders, residents' companies, managing agents and the owners who report the fault. The work is ordinary roofing and building. The paperwork around it is what needs care, and we set our quotes out so it goes smoothly.
About nine in ten homes in Westbourne are flats. Some are the large late Victorian villas that were divided up long ago, some are purpose built blocks from the 1960s and 1970s, and some sit over the shops on Poole Road and Seamoor Road. Houses in single ownership are the exception here, not the rule.
That shapes nearly every job in Westbourne. The person who notices the problem, a stain on the top floor ceiling or water running down the stairwell wall, is rarely the person who instructs the repair. It is usually a managing agent, a landlord, or a residents' company that owns the freehold between the flats. So we write things down: what we found, with photographs, and an itemised price that can be passed round.
If water is coming through now, ring 07435 839745 and tell us the building and the flat number. We will tell you what we can safely do to stop it and who needs to agree anything more.
Before anyone climbs a ladder
How a repair on a block of flats actually gets agreed
Check who owns the roof. On nearly every lease the roof, the main walls, the gutters and the render stay with the freeholder and are paid for through the service charge. Your lease will say, and so will your managing agent. If you own the freehold jointly through a residents' company, the directors instruct the work.
Expect a consultation on the bigger jobs. Where any one leaseholder's share of the cost passes a threshold set in regulations, the freeholder must consult every leaseholder before the work goes ahead, under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. A re-roof, a new flat roof over a whole block or a full re-render usually crosses that line. The notices take time, so the sooner a proper written specification exists, the sooner the clock starts. We write the specification and price so it can go straight into the notice.
Make the small repair now. Consultation is about the big job. A slipped slate, a blocked outlet or a split in a flat roof can normally be repaired straight away to stop the damage spreading, while the larger decision is made properly.
Access is part of the price. The villas in Westbourne are tall and the blocks are taller still. A scaffold that stands on the pavement needs a licence from the council under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980, and a skip on the road needs a permit under section 139. On Poole Road and Seamoor Road the scaffold also needs a covered walkway so the shops can stay open. Where a tower or a cherry picker does the job instead, we say so and price it that way.
What we do here
The trades a Westbourne building actually needs
One company, one visit and one written quote, whether it is a single flat, a whole villa or a block.
Pitched roofs and chimneys
Westbourne's Victorian villas mostly carry natural slate, with large chimney stacks serving several flats. Slates slip when the nails rust through, lead flashings round the stacks split, and ridge mortar washes out. We repair, or strip and re-slate on new membrane and battens when the fixings have gone across the whole roof.
Roofers in WestbourneFlat roofs on blocks and extensions
The post-war blocks in Westbourne often have a large flat roof over the top floor, with outlets, upstands and plant to work round. Felt that has blistered or ponds is re-covered in GRP, EPDM or a torch-on system, and the outlets are sized and cleared so the water leaves the roof. Rear extensions and bays on the villas get the same care.
Flat roofing in WestbourneGutters, fascias and downpipes
Mature trees around Westbourne's chines and older roads drop leaves and needles into gutters every autumn. A blocked hopper high on a villa runs water down the render for months before anyone sees it inside. We clear, rehang and replace, and renew rotten fascia and soffit boards.
Fascias, soffits and guttering Gutter cleaningBrickwork and repointing
Boundary walls, piers, steps and chimney stacks on the Victorian houses, laid in lime mortar. We repoint in lime where the brick needs it, rebuild leaning front walls, and repair the brickwork where water collects at the foot of a wall.
Bricklaying RepointingRender and plastering
Painted render on the villas cracks at the corners and around windows, then holds water behind it. We cut out and patch hollow areas or re-render whole elevations. Inside, we repair ceilings and stairwell walls once the leak above has been fixed.
Rendering PlasteringInsulation
A top floor flat under a cold roof, or a flat under a flat roof, can lose a lot of heat through the ceiling. Loft insulation where there is a roof void, and insulation built into the new roof when a flat roof is re-covered, are usually the sensible places to start.
Insulation Loft insulation Wall insulationPaving, paths and parking
Shared front areas, bin stores, paths and parking bays in front of blocks. Block paving or resin laid on a proper sub-base, falls that take water away from the building, and a permeable surface where the rules on front gardens call for one.
Driveways PatiosExterior cleaning
Green algae on the north walls, moss on slate and shaded paving on the communal paths. We soft wash with a biocide, which is kinder to painted render and old slate than a pressure lance.
Exterior cleaningConservation
Most of old Westbourne sits inside its own conservation area
Bournemouth Borough Council designated the Westbourne conservation area in 1993. It now sits with BCP Council, and the council publishes the list and the maps. Almost all of it lies within Westbourne itself, taking in the historic shopping streets and a good share of the Victorian roads. The edges of two more, West Cliff and Poole Hill and West Overcliff Drive, reach in on the Bournemouth side, but those belong mainly to the West Cliff.
Westbourne Arcade, the Victorian shopping arcade between Poole Road and Seamoor Road, is listed at grade II, as are Westbourne Library and the former Grand Cinema. The Church of St Ambrose is listed at grade II*. If your building is listed, any work that affects its character needs listed building consent, and that includes some repairs.
For everyone else inside the Westbourne conservation area, the practical rule is simple. Repairing in the same slate, the same brick and a matching render is normally fine. Changing the look is where permission comes in, and because a building of flats has no householder permitted development rights under the way the Order defines a dwellinghouse, a block needs an application for changes a house might make without one. We price the like for like option first and tell you where the line is.
How a job runs
From the first call to the building being handed back
You ring or send the form, and tell us whether you own the flat, the freehold or both. Thomas Hannen, who owns the firm, comes out, looks at the problem from inside and out, and prices it himself.
You get a written, itemised quote with the access, whether scaffold, tower or platform, as its own line. If it is going to a managing agent or a residents' company, tell us and we address it to them and include the photographs.
You have one point of contact from the quote to the finish. Where residents live underneath, we agree the working hours, keep stairwells and entrances clear, and make the roof watertight at the end of each day. The site is swept daily and the waste leaves with us.
If opening up shows more than the quote allowed for, we stop, photograph it and price it in writing. Nothing extra is done until whoever is paying has agreed it. Scheduled work runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. For anything urgent in Westbourne, ring rather than use the form.
Reviews
What customers said
Two roofing jobs, both written by the customer afterwards. Each review is about how the job was run: one mentions a clean site at the end, and the other good communication through the week.
…The team were professional, friendly and kept me informed throughout the whole job. The workmanship was excellent, everything was completed to a high standard, and they left the site clean and tidy afterwards…
…The team were friendly and professional and kept up good communication with us through the week. We had no issues and I'd definitely recommend to anyone…
Free quote
How do you get a free quote in Westbourne?
Send the form or ring 07435 839745. Thomas Hannen comes out to Westbourne, 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 Westbourne?
Most repairs in Westbourne 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 Westbourne |
|---|---|
| Who decides | BCP Council is the planning authority for Westbourne. BCP Council's heritage pages set out what it controls. |
| Conservation area | Yes: Westbourne Conservation Area. Check whether your street is inside the boundary before changing anything visible. |
| Listed buildings | Yes, there are listed buildings in and around Westbourne. If yours is one, work can need listed building consent. |
| Protected landscape | No National Park or National Landscape covers Westbourne. |
Questions
Westbourne questions
I own a flat in Westbourne and the roof is leaking. Who do I call?
Tell your managing agent or freeholder straight away, because the roof is almost certainly theirs under the lease. You can ring us as well. We will look, stop the water where it is safe to, and send a written report and price the agent can act on.
Does a re-roof on our block need a section 20 consultation?
Usually, yes: if any leaseholder's share of the cost is over the threshold in the regulations, the freeholder has to consult everyone first. We provide the specification and itemised price that the notices need.
Is my building in the Westbourne conservation area?
If it is on the shopping streets or one of the older Victorian roads, quite possibly. Check the BCP Council map for your address. Like for like repairs are normally fine inside it, but changing the look of a building of flats needs an application.
Can you work on a tall villa without a full scaffold?
Sometimes. A small repair high up can often be reached with a tower or a powered platform, which is quicker and cheaper. A re-roof or a render job normally needs scaffold. The quote says which and why.
Do you deal with the managing agent directly?
Yes, if you would like us to. We address the quote to whoever instructs the work, include photographs of what we found, and keep the residents told about access and working days.
Who you are dealing with
A local firm you can check
We cover all of Westbourne, from Poole Road, Seamoor Road and the Arcade down to Alum Chine and across to County Gates, where Bournemouth meets Poole. That is broadly BH4, with BCP Council for 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 Westbourne job himself, so the person who quotes it is the person answerable for it.
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.
Free quote
Get a price for your Westbourne building
Tell us the address, which flat reported the problem and who looks after the building. Send a couple of photos or book a visit, and we will put a clear written quote in front of whoever needs it.