Roofers in Ford

The parish of Ford lies on the river's western side, and in the 20th century it gave its name first to an airfield and then to an open prison. The airfield opened in the south-west of the parish in 1918, first called Ford junction airfield and also known as Yapton aerodrome, and it had its modern name by 1931. It closed in 1959. In the 1920s the parish population grew fourfold, from 90 to 360, mainly because the airfield buildings were converted into dwellings. That is an unusual start for a village. It means some Ford homes began life as buildings made for aircraft and their crews, and the roofs on them were never designed as house roofs. Later houses and bungalows were added around them, so a single road can offer several ages of construction side by side.

1.1 When a building changes use, the roof follows

A hangar, a hut or a workshop turned into a dwelling brings a roof that was made for a different job. It may have a low pitch, wide spans or a lightweight covering. After a century of alterations, extensions and repairs, a roof like that can carry several coverings and several different ways of leaking. So the first step on a home with this history is to learn what is up there: the covering, the fixings, the drainage and the position of earlier repairs. We photograph each slope and each junction, then tell you what needs doing now, what can wait and what should be left alone. If the survey shows the structure is sound and only the covering has failed, that is the smaller job, and it is the one we recommend.

1.2 Low pitches and flat extensions

Low-pitched and flat roofs rely on the fall, the slight tilt that carries water to the gutter. BS 6229:2025 keeps a minimum finished fall of 1:80, and roofers design nearer 1:40 so that the surface still drains once it is built. Water that stands on a roof after rain is a warning sign. The cause might be a sagging deck, a blocked outlet or a covering that is worn out. Our flat roofing page explains the coverings we lay, including EPDM, a synthetic rubber sheet, and GRP, a glass-fibre laminate. When a roof over an old extension has been patched again and again, fresh boards and a new covering set to better falls can be the more sensible fix than another patch. A pitched roof that is old enough to need attention is the other half of the picture, and the pitched roofing page covers how slopes of tile and slate are renewed.

Arun District Council's conservation areas page lists no conservation area in Ford, and its Article 4 directions apply only at Craigweil House in Aldwick. None of that means the rules are relaxed. A listed building still needs listed building consent for works that would change its character, and a flat does not carry the permitted development rights that a house does. Putting back the same covering rarely needs planning permission, but if the new covering will look different from the old, put the question to the council's planning team before the work is booked.

3.1 Building control on a re-roof

According to the Planning Portal, building control approval is not normally required where less than 25 per cent of the total building envelope and under half of the roof itself is touched. Arun names the replacement of roof coverings in its own list of work needing approval, so the two sources can appear to disagree. Put the question to Arun's building control team, or your roofer, how the rules apply to your particular job. Where the work is notifiable, we deal with the notification ourselves. Approved Document L sets a limiting U-value of 0.15 for a new roof element, and an energy upgrade may be required where more than half of a roof element is renovated.

3.2 Garages, outbuildings and asbestos

A village whose homes grew from buildings of the 1920s may well include garages and outbuildings of similar age. For a building put up or reworked before 2000, the HSE's advice is to assume asbestos is in it until someone has checked. Taking weathered asbestos cement sheeting down with care counts as non-licensed work, but the sheets are fragile, and if they break up substantially the job becomes notifiable. Household asbestos waste needs a consignment note. We establish the material of the roof before we climb on it, and we tell you if a sample test is the right first step.

3.3 Scaffold and the road

A scaffold standing on the public highway has to be licensed by West Sussex County Council, and the council wants at least 10 working days' notice before the scaffold goes up. On a plot with a drive or a front garden, the scaffold can stand on private land, which avoids the wait. Whoever quotes, ask if scaffold and VAT are in the price.