Roofers in Flansham

Flansham sits on slightly rising ground in the north of the old parish of Felpham. The Victoria County History notes that by the mid 20th century it was known for its seclusion despite lying so close to Bognor's built-up edge, and it counts four older houses that survive. A new civil parish of Felpham, created in 1985, left Flansham out. The hamlet's roofs are best read on their own terms, starting with the oldest piece of building in it.

1.1 A chimney older than the roof around it

At Flansham Farmhouse the chimney stack and part of a wall of a late 16th or early 17th century house remain. A stack that has outlived its house shows what chimney work is really about. The brick can last for centuries, while the parts that keep the weather out, the flaunching (the sloping mortar cap that seats the pot) and the lead flashing, wear out much sooner. MyJobQuote says lead flashing can last over 80 years, so a sound old flashing is worth keeping. The signs of trouble are a leaning stack, brick faces that flake, and damp stains on the chimney breast or around it in the loft. We look at the joints and brick first, then the flaunching, then the lead, and photograph each so the verdict can be checked. Our chimney repairs page sets out the options from repointing to rebuilding.

1.2 Surveying a house off the lane

A house up a track or behind a hedge needs a different plan for the survey: where the ladder stands, whether a scaffold can reach the eaves, and how materials come in and waste goes out. We settle that when we look at it. Where scaffold would block a footway or road, a licence is needed from West Sussex County Council, and the council wants at least 10 working days, so the date for the work is set around it.

1.3 The parish church and roof consent

The parish church for the old parish, St Mary in Felpham, is Grade II* and faced chiefly with flint and some Bognor rock sandstone. Because the church is Anglican and in regular use, roof work goes through the faculty system, and any change to the exterior is a matter for planning permission. Your own house is a separate matter, unless it is itself listed.

The large Flansham Park estate was built in the 1970s with terraced, detached and semi-detached houses and bungalows. Its roofs are around half a century old. That is young for most tiles and well past the typical life of a felt, so the covering decides how much the age matters.

3.1 A tile at fifty

If your roof is concrete tile, it is not yet at the 60 years Marley expects, though it may be near the 30 to 60 range that other guides quote. Moss, lifted ridge caps and slipped tiles are the usual complaints, and each can be dealt with without a new roof. At this age the tile is rarely the weak link, so the ridge, the verge and the felt beneath are checked before a re-roof is even discussed. Moss keeps damp pressed to the tile and can choke the gutters, so a clean and a gutter clear are low-cost steps before anything bigger. A replacement roof element has to meet a limiting U-value of 0.15 under Approved Document L, and a heavier covering, roughly 15 per cent more than the old, brings building control in.

3.2 Terraces and shared walls

A terraced run shares its verges, party-wall upstands and gutters with the neighbours, so a leak at a shared junction can appear in the next house. The sensible first step is a word with the neighbour, and a survey that covers the whole line of roof. A single long gutter on a terrace is only as good as its worst joint and outlet, and a blockage there can soak the wall of the house below it. Building Regulations approval is needed to remove a chimney breast, and if it stands on a party wall a notice goes to the neighbour first. Where two homes share a ridge, a refixed cap on one side that stops at the boundary leaves the problem half done.

3.3 Bungalows and flat extensions

A bungalow roof is wide and low, which makes a close inspection easier, and the loft is usually only a short climb away. Low eaves also put the gutters within reach, so overflow stains and sagging runs are easy to see and cheaper to deal with early. Our bungalow roof inspection guide describes what we look at. Flat-roofed extensions need a finished fall of at least 1:80 under BS 6229:2025, and roofers design nearer 1:40; our flat roofing page covers the coverings. The HSE assumes that anything built or refurbished before 2000, such as an older garage, contains asbestos until sampled, so sheets are never broken up on the day.