Roofing in Hamworthy

Ridges and verges. A roof from the late sixties or seventies almost always has its ridge, hip and verge tiles bedded in sand and cement. After fifty years of wind off the water that bedding cracks, rain gets behind it, and the next gale lifts a tile.

Re-bedding in mortar works, but it starts the same clock again. On most Hamworthy roofs we fit a dry ridge and dry verge instead: the tiles are screwed or clipped down over a ventilated roll, so there is no mortar to fail. A typical semi is a day or two once the scaffold is up.

Felt at the eaves. Roofs of this age were laid on bitumen underlay, and the strip that runs into the gutter goes brittle in the sun and rots away. Water that should drain into the gutter runs down the fascia and into the wall instead. We lift the bottom courses, fit an eaves protection tray and a strip of new membrane, and relay the tiles. If the underlay has gone further up the slope, we will tell you that the repair is only buying time.

Slipped and missing tiles. Interlocking tiles slip when the nail has rusted through or the batten has rotted. One or two can be refixed with clips. When they are slipping across a whole slope, the fixings have gone together and patching becomes a running cost. If it is only a tile or two, a cracked ridge joint or a drip you want traced, see our page on roof repairs in Hamworthy.

Re-roofs. Stripped to the rafters, new treated battens, breathable membrane, a new interlocking concrete tile or a clay tile if you want one, with dry fix ridge and verge and the lead renewed. A bungalow, and there are plenty in Hamworthy, can often be done off towers at the eaves, which keeps the access cost down. On a two storey house expect about a week of good weather.

Moss, gutters and the loft. Concrete tiles on shaded Hamworthy slopes grow moss, which washes down and blocks the gutter and downpipe. We clear the debris by hand rather than jet washing, which drives water up under the laps. While the tiles are off for a re-roof is also the cheapest time to put the loft right: topping up the insulation, fitting eaves ventilation so the air moves, and curing the condensation that drips off old felt in a cold snap.

Chimneys and leadwork. Stepped flashings, soakers, back gutters and valleys in code rated lead, and the flaunching on top of the stack. A lot of leaks blamed on tiles turn out to be here.

Older roofs and flats. The few older houses near the bridges and along Blandford Road may still carry natural slate or a plain clay tile, which we repair in kind. The flat roofs on garages and back extensions, many still on felt, are covered on our flat roofing page for Hamworthy: GRP or EPDM rubber on a sound deck, with the upstands and outlet detailed properly. On a block of flats the freeholder or managing agent has to instruct the work, so we quote for them.

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 bungalow off Blandford Road, a three bedroom semi with a drive for the scaffold to stand on, and a flat-roofed block by the harbour are three very different access jobs. 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.

Hamworthy is BH15, across the harbour from Poole Quay and about 7.7 miles from our base in Boscombe. We cover the whole peninsula, from Lower Hamworthy and Carter's Quay by the bridges, through Central Hamworthy and Lake, out to Rockley and Cobbs Quay, and Turlin Moor on the Upton side.

BCP Council is the planning and building control authority. 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 Hamworthy, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Hamworthy 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.