Roofers in Poole

Roof repairs in Poole run from one slipped tile to a flashing that has leaked for years. Every job below starts the same way: a look from the roof and the loft, a photo of the fault, and a written price for that fault before any work begins.

• Slipped, cracked and missing tiles or slates, refixed or replaced with a matched tile.
• Ridge and hip tiles on cracked mortar beds, rebedded or converted to a screwed dry fix system on a ventilated roll.
• Verges, where the mortar has dropped out along the gable edge.
• Chimney stacks: flashings and soakers re-formed in lead, the stack repointed and the flaunching on top renewed.
• Valleys, where two slopes meet and the most water runs.
• Flat roofs: splits, blisters, standing water, failed upstands and lifted edge trims.
• Gutters, downpipes, fascias and soffits, and moss packed into the laps.
• Storm damage, and leaks traced back to where the water really enters, the flashing kit round a roof window included.

The covering decides the method. Around the Old Town and older Parkstone the roofs are plain clay tile or natural slate on a steep pitch. Welsh slate came into Poole by barge through the Quay while the Victorian suburbs were going up, so a matched natural slate is the right repair there. Through the inter-war suburbs and out towards the peninsula it is mostly concrete interlocking tile, and the older ones were often laid with no membrane under them at all.

Fixings near the water. Within reach of the harbour we use stainless or non-ferrous nails and clips, and BS 5534 means clipped tiles on the seaward slopes, not nailed only.

Flat roofs. Rear extensions, garages, porches and dormers across Poole carry a flat roof, and plenty are still on felt that has done its time. Felt, GRP fibreglass and EPDM rubber all last if the deck is sound and the falls and edge details are right. If the deck is soft or the insulation is soaked, an overlay wastes your money and we will say so.

Leadwork. Flashings, soakers, valleys, box gutters and abutments go back in code rated lead, checked first because salt is hard on thin lead.

Flats. In and around the town centre a third of homes are flats or maisonettes. The roof over a flat belongs to the freeholder, so the person who can see the stain often cannot order the repair.

Roof repairs in Poole are priced here from a visit, never by the hour or the square metre. The price comes from what it takes to reach the fault, what the roof is covered in, and what turns up underneath, so two jobs of the same size can cost very different amounts.

The platform. A bungalow can often be done off a tower. A two storey semi wants a full scaffold, often standing on the driveway, and a terrace on the back of the pavement wants a highway licence and perhaps a skip permit too. The work at height rules are why the scaffold is a priced line and not an extra you hear about later.

The covering and what is under it. Clay and slate take longer to lay than concrete, and switching between them changes the weight on the rafters. Soft battens, no membrane or a rotten flat roof deck add work, and each is photographed and priced before it is touched.

The junctions. Chimneys, valleys and abutments are priced one at a time, because that is where the leadwork hours go.

Who signs it off. On a block, the freeholder and any leaseholder consultation set the start date more than the price.

Questions to ask any roofer’s quote

A sound quote answers these unasked. Anyone who knocks after a storm wanting cash up front is one to turn away.

• Are the scaffold and any highway licence included?
• Are the battens and membrane being renewed, or left?
• What are the nails and clips made of?
• Will you see photos of the damage before, and of the finished work after?
• Is the quote itemised and in writing, with the full company name on it?
• Can you check the company on Companies House? Ours is company number 15471719.

Roofs in Poole’s Old Town and along the High Street are mostly plain clay tile or Welsh slate, on Georgian and Victorian buildings of two or three storeys. The council’s character statement for the Town Centre Heritage Conservation Area records that on the High Street below New Street and Castle Street, every building on the north-west side is listed bar two.

So a matched clay tile or slate is the only sensible repair, and on a listed building even like for like work can need listed building consent, so check the council’s listed building records before a date is set. Many of these buildings are shops with flats or offices above, so the landlord or freeholder instructs the roof, not the tenant upstairs. Much of the High Street is pedestrianised, so the scaffold licence and deliveries are settled before the quote is final.

Chimneys here are soft brick in lime mortar. When a stack flashing is re-formed, the pointing above the lead goes back in a matched lime mix, because cement traps the damp and the brick face comes away in frost.

Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd is registered in England and Wales under company number 15471719. Thomas Hannen owns it and prices every roof himself. One verified customer has given us 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade, and the visit and itemised written quote are free.

From our base in Boscombe to Poole town is 6.7 miles. For roofs we cover the Old Town and the Quay, Longfleet, Baiter, Hamworthy, Parkstone, Oakdale, Branksome, Lilliput, Canford Cliffs and Sandbanks, and BCP Council is both the planning and the building control authority. You can read our customers’ Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Poole 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.