Roofing in East Boldre

Ridge, hip and verge are the weak point on plots this exposed. Wind rarely takes a roof out of the middle; it works at the edges, so mortar bedding cracks and a verge loses its bedding while the field of the roof is still sound.

We strip that off and convert to dry ridge and dry verge screwed onto a ventilated roll, the mechanical fixing BS 5534 expects, which vents the roof space along the ridge at the same time. Older cottages along the lanes carry plain clay tile and natural slate on battens; later houses are concrete interlocking tile, and there is no stone slate out in East Boldre.

Thatch, and what we do instead. Some roofs in East Boldre are thatched and some are half thatched with a tiled rear addition. We are not thatchers and will not pretend otherwise. What we take on is the tiled or slated part and the junction between the two, which is a leadwork detail and where those roofs usually leak.

When the nails have rusted through and the old felt underlay comes apart in your hand, everything comes off, rotten rafter feet are renewed, and the slope is relaid over breathable membrane on treated battens with the fixings specified for how exposed the plot is. Oak and holly over the lane means leaf litter every autumn, so clearing the debris out of the gutter runs is annual work, and a fair share of apparent roof leaks turn out to be a gutter running over. What matters more here than in a town is the bottom of the downpipe: the ground holds water and moves with it, so a downpipe emptying beside a wall is a structural question rather than a damp one, and Approved Document H is the standard for getting that water away. While the slope is stripped, insulation and eaves ventilation cost a good deal less, and Approved Document L is the standard a renovated roof is expected to meet.

No two roofs on this side of the forest are close enough to share a rate per square metre. The covering. Clay plain tile, natural slate and concrete interlocking tile each come off and go back in their own way. On an older clay roof, sound tiles can often be saved and mixed with matched ones, which takes longer but keeps the look the Authority expects.

Wind. Open ground lets gusts get under verges and ridges. Clips on the edge tiles, a mechanically fixed ridge and a dry verge system cost more than mortar alone, and on an exposed roof they are worth it.

Getting materials in. Narrow lanes can mean a smaller lorry and more deliveries. The scaffold platform is charged for the weeks it stands as well as for its size, and under the work at height rules it is priced separately.

Chimneys, valleys and abutments. Each one carries its own lead and its own price.

Grazing stock. Keeping the skip and tile stacks fenced inside your boundary can add a little.

What is underneath. Old battens, no membrane and soft rafter ends only show when the coverings are off.

Put three points to any other roofer: is the scaffold included, are the battens and membrane new or is the old left under the new tiles, and what lead is going round the chimney.

East Boldre sits inside the New Forest National Park, and the National Park Authority is the local planning authority for it. People ring the district council, get told it is not theirs, and lose a fortnight. The whole village also falls inside the Forest South East Conservation Area, and eight entries in the parish are listed.

None of that stops a roof being repaired. What a conservation area controls is appearance, so putting the same covering back is maintenance, while changing a slate or clay tile roof to concrete tile because it quoted cheaper is the version that gets stopped. Anything that alters what the roof looks like from the lane, a rooflight on a front slope especially, is worth checking first, and National Park heritage and conservation guidance sets out how the Authority looks at that.

A listed cottage needs consent for the work itself, repairs included. Send us the address and we check it on the interactive property map before anything is priced.

From our base in Boscombe to East Boldre is 16.7 miles. Our roofing area runs from the village through Norleywood and Bull Hill to the SO42 addresses between Beaulieu and the Solent shore. Planning sits with the National Park Authority, and building control with New Forest District Council.

The business is Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719, and owned by Thomas Hannen, who climbs up to price each roof himself. On Checkatrade a verified customer marked us 10 out of 10. Neither the visit nor the itemised written quote is charged for. Before you book a visit in East Boldre, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in East Boldre 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.