Roofers in East Wittering

East Wittering sits on the open coast of Bracklesham Bay, on the Manhood Peninsula, and its beach end is the part Pevsner had in mind when he wrote of a jumble of bungalows and chalets near the beach. The Victoria County History explains the pattern. The coastal district, formerly the separate parish of Bracklesham, suffered severe erosion, and modern bungalows and small houses now take up the ground. Those roofs sit low, close to the sand and close to the weather, with no upper storey above them to take the first hit from a gale.

1.1 What a low roof asks of its fixings

Out here, sea weather means gales and driving rain, so we start with the places where water gets shoved sideways instead of simply running off. One is the verge, the tiled edge that runs up beside a gable wall. Another is the ridge, the line of capping tiles along the peak. The third is flashing, the lead or zinc strip bridging the gap where a slope runs into masonry such as a party wall or a stack. Marley warns that on any pitch under 30 degrees the windward slope can see strong suction, and shallow pitches are common on a chalet, so fixings do more of the holding than the weight of the tiles. BS 5534 was revised in 2014, and a mortar bed on its own has not counted as the fixing for ridge and hip tiles since; clips or screws are added. A ridge that has only ever sat on mortar is worth checking before anything else on an older bungalow.

1.2 Flat-roofed extensions and porches

A bungalow that has been extended may carry a flat roof over the new room, and a chalet may have a flat porch or lean-to tacked on the side. These roofs let go at the edges and at the upstand, the short vertical return of covering against a wall, long before the open sheet wears out. BS 6229:2025 sets a minimum finished fall of 1:80, and a roofer designs nearer 1:40 so the surface still drains after the deck settles. If water has stood on a roof for years, patching the sheet only treats a symptom. Approved Document L counts replacing a flat roof's waterproof membrane as renovation, and when more than 50 per cent of the surface is renovated the insulation can need upgrading too. Our flat roofing page explains the coverings we lay and how we weigh a repair against a fresh covering.

The Victoria County History of 1953 describes the old parish church of the Assumption with a 12th-century nave roofed with tile, and tile-hung sides to its bell-cote beneath a shingled broach spire. Tile hanging means small tiles fixed upright to a wall as cladding, and wherever a roof slope runs into that cladding, the joint is where a leak starts. Water slips behind a careless junction and travels along the timber out of sight. The cure is a run of lead soakers, small bent sheets that tuck under each course, finished with a stepped flashing. You find the same junction on any house with a tiled bay or a hung gable, and every piece is cut and dressed by hand to the shape of the tile.

3.1 Which consent path a church roof takes

St Anne's, the current Church of England parish church, had its foundation stone laid on 6 June 1958 and was consecrated on 14 May 1959. For a listed building of that denomination in worship use, the route runs through the Church of England faculty system and not through the council. A church that has closed, or one run by a faith that has no exemption, answers to the local planning authority instead. Whether any building is listed, and how it is used, settles which path applies, so we ask those two questions before pricing work that goes past a like-for-like repair. Survey photographs of the existing covering also help if an application is ever needed, which is one more reason ours are taken before the quote is written.

3.2 Where the Somerley conservation area comes in

The notice for the Somerley Conservation Area names East Wittering and Bracklesham parish among the places it lies in, and Chichester District Council has Article 4 directions that belong to that conservation area, not to East Wittering village. If your address is anywhere near the edge, ask Chichester District Council's planning team whether it falls inside and which rules apply, before you fix a date for any roof work. Matching the colour and size of the existing tile is part of a good answer wherever a street front is concerned, and a short note to the council costs nothing. Building control sits with the council or a registered building control approver, and we explain what needs notifying. Roof windows are a separate question that turns on the exact location of the house, so read our guide to skylight planning permission before you order one.