Roofers in Christchurch, Dorset

Roof work in Christchurch covers every kind of covering, from natural Welsh slate and handmade clay tile around the Priory to concrete interlocking tile on the newer estates and felt, GRP or EPDM on flat roofs. Below is each job in plain terms: what it involves, roughly how long it takes, and when we would talk you out of it.

Leaks, and slipped, cracked or missing tiles

A roof repair starts with finding the entry point from the loft and from outside. A slipped slate usually means the nail has rusted through, so it goes back on a copper tingle or a new fixing; a cracked tile is swapped for a matched one. Most of these are a day or less once the access is up, and any storm damage is photographed so you have a record.

Ridges, hips and verges

Mortar bedding is the part that goes first. On the concrete tile roofs of the late 1980s estates, a cracked ridge bed lets water in and the next gale lifts the tile. We either rebed in mortar or convert to a dry ridge on a ventilated roll, with a dry verge at the gable. Neither needs the tiles off the slopes.

Chimneys, lead flashings and valleys

Around a chimney stack the flashings, soakers and back gutter are in code rated lead, and that is where a stubborn damp patch upstairs very often starts. We renew the lead, repoint the chimney stack where the joints have opened, and reline valleys in lead or GRP. On the High Street many roofs sit behind parapets, and the parapet gutter behind them needs the same care because nobody sees it until it overflows.

Flat roofs: felt, GRP or EPDM

Garages, porches, dormers and back extensions take a flat roof, and most leaks start at the abutment where it meets the wall. Torch-on felt goes down in three layers. GRP fibreglass is laid as one seamless skin with formed upstands. EPDM rubber is a single sheet, which suits a simple square roof. A soft deck has to come up first, because an overlay on rotten boards only hides it.

Re-roofs in slate, clay or concrete tile

A re-roof means stripping to the rafters, checking any sarking boards, then new battens, a breathable membrane and the covering, fixed to BS 5534 for the exposure. Near the harbour and the sea, fixings and clips go back in stainless. On an older house the covering is matched, natural slate for slate and handmade clay plain tile for clay, and sound tiles are saved to face the front. While the roof is open, loft insulation, eaves ventilation and condensation are cheap to deal with, and Approved Document L sets what a renovated roof should reach.

Fascias, soffits and guttering

Rotten timber fascias, sagging gutters and downpipes that spill down the wall are all rainwater problems. We replace fascias, soffits and guttering together, since the gutter brackets fix to the fascia.

Moss, cleared by hand

Moss and algae hold water against the covering, and the debris blocks gutters and valley outlets. Clearing it is done by scraper and brush. A pressure washer strips the surface of old clay and slate and drives water under the laps, so we will not use one.

Repair or replace?

Signs a roof is due: slates slipping in different places every winter, nail fatigue across a whole slope, a slope sagging between the rafters, or old bitumen underlay gone brittle and torn. One slipped tile on a sound roof is a repair, not a new roof, and we will tell you so. For one slipped slate, a split in the lead or a leak you want traced, see roof repairs in Christchurch.

Flats and shared roofs. Flats and maisonettes make up 39.5 per cent of homes in central Christchurch. On a flat the roof usually belongs to the freeholder, who instructs the work through a managing agent, and over the statutory threshold Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires leaseholders to be consulted. The quote is written so an agent can compare tenders.

Roof prices in Christchurch depend on access, the covering and what is under it, not on a rate per square metre. A pavement-fronted terrace near the High Street and a semi with a drive in Somerford can differ by days of work at the same size.

Scaffold and access. A terrace with no side access needs scaffold on the pavement, under a BCP licence, sometimes with a covered walkway. A semi with a drive needs none of that. Edge protection is on the quote because HSE roof work guidance requires it.

Size, pitch and shape. A steep roof with hips, valleys and dormers takes far longer than a plain gable of the same area.

The covering. Matched natural slate or handmade clay costs more to buy and to lay than concrete interlocking tile, and in a conservation area it is usually the right answer.

Under the covering. Two quotes most often differ on whether new battens and membrane go in or the old ones stay.

Leadwork, fixings and waste. Chimney lead, stainless fixings near the coast, and whether the skip needs a permit all show on the price. How we price a job sets out the rest.

Put these to any roofer who quotes you: are the battens and membrane new, are the fixings stainless, are scaffold and licence both included, who puts up the edge protection, and will you photograph any hidden damage and price it before doing it?

Christchurch Central conservation area, designated in 1969, covers the old town around the Priory, the High Street, Church Street and Castle Street. Purewell, Stanpit and Fisherman's Bank, and Mudeford Quay are conservation areas too. Inside any of them the look of a roof is protected.

The council's appraisal for the old town records natural Welsh slate, handmade clay tiles and, on some buildings, Purbeck stone slates at the eaves. Its plan for Purewell notes that concrete interlocking tiles and artificial slates have replaced original slate on some houses, and that chimneys have been lost. So in these areas, put back natural slate or matched clay, keep the stack, and do not be talked into concrete tile to save money. Like-for-like re-covering is maintenance. Changing the material, adding a rooflight or a dormer, or taking a chimney down needs a check with BCP Council's conservation area pages first. A listed building needs consent even for work that looks like maintenance, and BCP Council's listed building guidance explains how to check.

Bournemouth Roofing & Building works from Boscombe, 2.7 miles from Christchurch, and covers the town centre and the Quay, Purewell, Stanpit, Fairmile, Jumpers, Somerford, Mudeford, Friars Cliff, Burton, Winkton and Highcliffe, broadly BH23, all under BCP Council for planning, building control and pavement licences.

Look the firm up before you let anyone on your roof: Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719 on Companies House. Thomas Hannen owns it and prices every job. Checkatrade carries one verified review, and it scores us 10 out of 10. The site visit is free, and so is the written itemised quote.

Most repairs in Christchurch 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.