Roofers in Amberley

Amberley sits on a low ridge of Upper Greensand rock, hemmed in by the Downs to the south, the River Arun to the west and the Wildbrooks to the north. The rock is often called Amberley blue stone, and it shows in the older walls. A roof that lands on a wall like that cannot be treated as a plain rectangle. Stone faces are uneven, joints wander and old walls move a little, so the junctions between roof and wall need cutting to fit by hand. That is slower than a standard job, and worth it. On a house of this kind the survey starts at the wall, because the wall decides how the roof can be mended. We also look at the loft side of the stone, where damp often shows before the ceiling below does.

1.1 What thatch means for the roof next door

According to the Neighbourhood Plan, made in 2017, the old part of the village is a conservation area with more than 60 listed buildings, and most of the parish's thatched houses stand in it. Thatching is a specialist craft and the thatcher should look after the thatch. The roofs beside it are our concern: tile or slate on an extension, a porch, a shared wall, a garage that backs on to a thatched garden. Sparks from a chimney are the usual worry around thatch, so shafts and flues next to it get a careful look. Our chimney repairs page explains what we check on a stack.

1.2 Lead where roof meets stone

Lead is the material that makes a join between slope and stone wall watertight. It is dressed into a cut joint, or a groove, and folded over the roof covering. Old flashings crack along their folds or lift as the wall moves, and water then runs behind them. A strip of lead that has split can look fine from the garden while a loft stain tells another story. Lead comes in codes by thickness, and flashings are commonly cut from code 4 or 5. Our lead roofing and leadwork page explains the codes. A repair that renews one failed run is often enough, and sound lead stays where it is. If a whole side has been patched with sealant over the years, that is a sign the run needs taking out and doing again.

1.3 Damp lanes by the Wildbrooks

Low ground to the north means damp air, and a north-facing slope that never dries gathers moss. Cleaning is a job that can be done on the roof you already have, and it is often the cheaper answer than a new covering. Our roof cleaning and moss removal page explains what is involved, and why we look at the tile edges and the gutters afterwards instead of walking away.

Quarrying of chalk for lime-burning and cement began commercially at Amberley in the 1840s, and the Chalk Pits business closed in the mid-Sixties and is now an industrial museum. That industrial past sits oddly beside the thatch, but it is part of why the village is not one single age. Older cottages sit beside later houses and extensions, and what suits a 17th-century roof does not suit a postwar flat-roofed extension.

3.1 Flat roofs, garages and asbestos

A postwar extension or a garage with a flat roof ages differently from a pitched one. The covering wears, joints open and water ponds where the deck has settled. BS 6229:2025 keeps a minimum finished fall of 1:80, and roofers usually design for around 1:40 so the surface drains. If a flat roof ponds, the deck is the question as much as the covering.

Many later outbuildings and garages carry sheet roofs. HSE guidance tells owners to assume asbestos is in any building built or refurbished before the year 2000, until a check says otherwise. Asbestos cement that is carefully handled and not broken up is non-licensed work, but a roof that has broken up creates dust and becomes notifiable. Roofs of that kind are fragile, so never walk on one. If you suspect a garage roof is asbestos cement, leave it alone and tell us. Household asbestos waste needs a consignment note, and it must be double-wrapped and labelled, so it is not something to put in a general skip. We survey those roofs before any quote is written.

3.2 What UK cost guides say

Checkatrade's roof repair guide gives typical UK figures for common small jobs, shown below. They are national, exclusive of VAT, and no substitute for a survey. Access, the height of the eaves and what the survey finds all move the final figure. Read any quote for a line about VAT and scaffold, and ask the same question of every firm you invite. On a narrow lane, the licence for scaffold is issued by West Sussex County Council, and your roofer can tell you who applies.

3.3 Bats, birds and timing

Old roofs can hold bats or nesting birds, both protected. Tell us what you have seen, and the timing of the work will be set around it. A roost found mid-job stops the job, so asking at the survey saves everyone time.