Roofing in Canford Heath

Ridges and hips. Estate roofs of this age were finished with ridge and hip tiles bedded in sand and cement and nothing else. Fifty years of heat and frost breaks that bond. We lift the run, clean the tiles and refit them on a dry fix system with screws and clips, as BS 5534 now expects. On a semi or a terrace block that is usually a day or two.

Verges on the gable ends. A lot of the houses in Canford Heath are gabled rather than hipped, so each has two mortar verges that take the wind side on. When the mortar drops out, the last tile in each course is held by a nail or a clip only. Dry verge caps replace the mortar for good and are a tidy job from the scaffold.

Tile repairs. The big concrete interlocking tiles on these roofs, in Marley and Redland type profiles, are tough, but their surface has worn and they have grown moss on the north slopes, with algae on the shaded side. A cracked or slipped one, or a missing tile after storm damage, can be swapped for a matching profile. Older clay tiles and slate are rare in Canford Heath, so we rarely have to source reclaimed stock.

Shallow pitches. Some of the later houses on the estate have low pitched roofs. Water runs off them slowly, so a tile lapped or laid badly lets rain blow back under it in a storm. We check the pitch against what the tile maker allows before we patch anything.

Valleys and extensions. Many homes in Canford Heath have been extended, and the join between old and new roofs is where leaks start: a valley lined in cheap felt, or a lead soaker that was never dressed properly. We relay the valley in lead or a dry valley trough.

Re-roofing. The original felt under the tiles is often brittle and torn at the eaves now. When enough tiles are loose and the felt has gone, a new roof is better value than more patching. We strip to the rafters, check the timbers, and lay breathable membrane, new treated battens and new tiles, and while the scaffold is up we look along the gutter, fascia and downpipes and clear the debris out of them. A house on the estate takes about a week once the scaffold is up, depending on the weather.

When we would say no. Moss on a sound roof is not a reason to replace it, and neither is one slipped tile. If the battens are sound and the felt is holding, we fix what is wrong and tell you what to watch. A single cracked tile, a lifted ridge or a drip through a ceiling is covered on our page for roof repairs in Canford Heath.

No rate per square metre, because the square metres are the easiest thing to measure and the least useful thing to know.

Getting to it. A detached house on a quiet close with its own drive, a mid terrace with no side access, and a bungalow with a conservatory under the eaves each need a different scaffold. Some roofs come off a tower, most want a scaffold, and how long it stands matters as much as its size. This is work at height and the work at height rules are why the platform is a priced line rather than an optional extra.

Junctions and substrate. Chimneys, valleys and abutments are priced one at a time, because that is where the leadwork hours go. Battens, membrane and fixings are the part nobody sees and the part that decides what a re-cover costs.

Comparing quotes? Ask whether the scaffold is in the price, whether battens and membrane are renewed or covered over, what grade of lead is going on the chimney, and who pays for the skip.

We cover Canford Heath and the streets around it, from Gravel Hill across to Tower Park, and out to Oakdale, Creekmoor and Broadstone. BCP Council is the planning and building control authority, and our base in Boscombe is about six miles away.

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. Before you book a visit in Canford Heath, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Canford Heath 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.