Roofers in Lodsworth

For centuries the bishops of London held the manor here, and its privileges were so wide that the parish was known as the Liberty of Lodsworth. The Manor House stands south of the church. It dates from two periods of the thirteenth century and is built of sandstone under roughcast, which is a rough coat of render with small stones in the mix. Later brick was added, and the roof is now modern tile. The house carries a Grade II* listing, a high grade. That combination, thick old walls with a younger roof on top, is the kind of building a roofer meets here. Every earlier repair leaves a clue: a patch of different tile, a flashing of two thicknesses, a ridge that has been bedded twice. Reading those clues is half the survey.

1.1 A listed house and a roof from another century

A roof renewed in modern tile has already changed once. A second change, to a different tile or a different pitch, would affect how the house looks, and on a listed building works that alter its character need listed building consent. Routine upkeep and small repairs that copy the old work need none, according to the National Park Authority. The line is not always obvious, so the list entry gets opened and the roof photographed before we tell you which category your job belongs to. A listed owner receives that reasoning with the written quote.

1.2 Roughcast below the eaves

Where a roof edge meets roughcast, the render often cracks first. Rain then runs behind it, and the damp shows as a stain inside long before the roof itself seems to be at fault. We tap the render, look at the flashing let into it, and decide whether a small repair will do. A skim of sealant over a failed crack hides it for a season while the water carries on behind, so we do not use it as a cure. Lead against old sandstone is chased into a joint and sealed, which is slow, careful work, and our lead roofing and leadwork page shows how it is done. A neat edge there is the square finish that keeps a thick wall dry for years. The same goes for the chimney, where a stack on a sandstone gable meets the roof slope: the lead is cut into the stone, never just stuck to its surface. Old stone walls are rarely plumb, and a flashing that follows the wall faithfully is worth more than one cut to a template.

Lodsworth lies inside the South Downs National Park, so planning questions begin with the National Park Authority. Chichester District Council takes in the applications for the Authority in this corner of the Park, and it also remains the building control body. The village has a conservation area as well, so check the map for your address. Lodsworth's one Article 4 direction, made on 9 June 2021, applies to land adjoining Lodsworth House. It takes away rights over gates, fences, walls and other means of enclosure, and over the temporary use of land for up to 28 days a year, and it places no restriction on roofs.

3.1 Brick from the common

The later nineteenth century saw extensive brickfields on Lodsworth Common. A brick house or outbuilding from that time has chimneys and gable ends that need their own sort of attention: repointing the stack, re-forming the flaunching, which is the mortar fillet round the chimney pots, and renewing the flashing where the stack leaves the roof. Our chimney repairs page covers each of those jobs. A stack left alone for too long can drop pieces onto the slope below, which is how a small repointing job becomes a tile replacement as well. If a stack leans or its pots have shifted, tell us at once: we make it safe first and discuss the rebuild afterwards.

3.2 What triggers Building Regulations

Whether a roof job needs building control depends on its size and on what goes on top. Under Approved Document L, fitting a fresh waterproof layer to a flat roof is treated as renovating it, and insulation has to be improved once more than 50 per cent of a roof element's surface is renovated. A heavier covering is checked too. We tell you which rule your job meets, and where a notice has to be given, we give it. Barns, sheds and garages with flat roofs are worth a look at the same visit, and the work can be priced together, because their membranes often wear out before the house roof does. A scaffold that takes up road or verge needs a licence from West Sussex County Council, arranged by the scaffolders, and the council wants at least 10 working days' notice. That delay is allowed for when we agree a start date with you.