Roofing in Mudeford

Ridges and verges. A lot of the roofs in Mudeford went on within a few years of one another, and the ridge, hip and verge tiles were bedded in mortar alone. Forty and fifty years of wind off Christchurch Bay cracks that bedding, and the next gale lifts the tiles.

We strip the loose ones, clean them and refix them on a dry fix system, with a dry ridge and a dry verge mechanically fixed in line with BS 5534. On a bungalow that is often a day's work.

Concrete interlocking tiles. Most Mudeford roofs of that age are concrete interlocking tile. They are tough, but the surface wears and moss and algae take hold on the shaded slope. A cracked or slipped tile is lifted out and replaced with a matched one, clipped as well as nailed, because a single missing tile on an exposed roof lets the wind get under its neighbours and turns into storm damage over a winter.

Clay, slate and the older cottages. Nearer the quay in Mudeford there are older houses and cottages with clay plain tile or natural slate. Those are repaired in the same material, with copper or stainless nails and slate hooks, and the lead to chimneys and abutments is checked while we are up there. A worn flashing or soaker at a chimney is behind a lot of the leaks we trace.

Re-roofing. When tiles are slipping across the whole slope and the old felt under them has rotted at the eaves, a re-roof is better value than more repair. We strip to the rafters, check the timbers, and go back on a breathable membrane, new treated battens and the right fixings for the exposure. A bungalow or a small house is usually a week or so once the scaffold is up.

Dormers and flat sections. Plenty of bungalows in Mudeford have had a dormer added to get a bedroom in the roof. The cheeks, the felt flat roof on top and the lead where it meets the tiles are the usual weak points, and they are easiest to put right while access is up anyway.

When we would talk you out of it. A roof with a loose ridge, a few slipped tiles and sound timbers does not need replacing, and moss on its own is not a reason to re-roof. We would rather fix what is wrong and show you the photographs. A single slipped tile, a lifted hip or a leak beside a dormer is covered on our page for roof repairs in Mudeford.

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 single storey bungalow on a quiet close, a terrace where the scaffold has to cross a neighbour's frontage, and a house near the quay where parking is tight in summer all price differently. 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 Mudeford and the rest of BH23, from the quay and Avon Beach across to Friars Cliff and Highcliffe, back towards Stanpit and Christchurch, and on into Southbourne. BCP Council is the planning and building control authority, and our base in Boscombe is about four 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 Mudeford, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Mudeford 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.