Roofers in Middleton on Sea

The oldest part of Middleton on Sea is small, and the Victoria County History names its landmarks. Rose Cottage is a one-storey flint cottage under thatch, apparently of the 17th century or earlier, with 19th-century additions. The medieval church of St Nicholas stood off Sea Lane, in ground that now lies beyond the modern coastline, and its replacement, built of flint with stone dressings and some brick, was consecrated in 1849. Flint, stone, brick and thatch are the materials the history gives for the older buildings, and they set the terms for anyone mending a roof beside them.

1.1 Where tile meets thatch

Thatching is a specialist trade, so the reed or straw is a thatcher's job. What reaches a roofer is the boundary. A tiled or slated roof next door may share a party wall, a gutter run or a chimney stack with a thatched neighbour, and fire safety comes before anything else. Scaffolding goes up clear of the thatch. Hot work, such as torching a felt joint or soldering lead, is either planned around the thatch with a fire watch or swapped for a cold method, like a cold-applied membrane or mechanical fixings. The flue gets checked early, because a spark from a badly lined chimney is the real danger to straw.

1.2 Flint walls and lead flashings

Rain is kept out at the junction of roof and wall, or roof and chimney, by a flashing, a strip of metal dressed into the joint. Flint walls are uneven, with a face that wanders from one course to the next, and flint is hard to cut, so the lead normally goes into a groove cut along a mortar joint, is wedged firm and then pointed over. It cannot simply be screwed to a flat surface. Lead is sold in codes that reflect thickness. The Royston Lead brochure gives code 4 as 1.80 mm and code 5 as 2.24 mm, both weights suited to flashings. Our lead roofing and leadwork page explains the codes and where each one belongs.

1.3 Reading an older chimney stack

Stacks on old cottages are often the first part to show their age. Look at the pointing, any lean, the flaunching (the mortar crown at the top that beds the pots and sheds rain) and whether the flue is still lined. Beside thatch, a proper look at the lining matters more than the cosmetics. Our chimney repairs page sets out what we check and what usually comes first.

Middleton's population was 148 in 1921 and 4,197 in 1991, and that growth came from the estates. The Victoria County History describes them as a mixture of permanent residences, weekend houses and bungalows, and says that by about 1928 bungalows for renting were in steady demand. Chichester Rural District Council put up council houses and old people's bungalows before 1957. A house built as a weekend or rental place was not necessarily planned as the family home it later became, so the roof deserves a proper look whenever a sale or a survey comes round.

3.1 One storey, one roof

On a bungalow the roof is the whole top of the house, so a slipped tile or a failed flashing sits close to the ceiling and a leak shows quickly. Where the roof is hipped, with all four sides sloping, the hips and the ridge both need mechanical fixing. A roof never stripped in its life may have an old underlay (the membrane under the battens) that has perished, or none at all, and the battens that carry the tiles may have softened with age. Roof windows and loft rooms add their own rules, so ask before you plan one. Because the ceiling sits so close, a bungalow also shows damp quickly, which makes an early inspection after any gale worth the small effort.

3.2 Flat-roofed garages and extensions

Garage and rear-extension flat roofs fail at the edges and around outlets. BS 6229:2025 sets a minimum finished fall of 1:80, and roofers design nearer 1:40 to make sure the surface keeps draining after it is laid. GreenSpec rates EPDM rubber at 20 to 30 years, while Less quotes 25 to 40 years for GRP and 10 to 20 years for torch-on felt. Those are typical ranges, never promises, and the real life of a flat roof depends on how well it was laid, how it drains and how often someone checks the outlets. A blocked outlet can shorten the life of even a small garage roof. Our flat roofing page lays out the coverings.

3.3 Asbestos cement sheets on outbuildings

The HSE says to assume a building built or refurbished before 2000 contains asbestos until it is checked. Asbestos cement sheets that are carefully removed without breaking them up are non-licensed work, and substantial breakage makes the job notifiable. If a garage roof is cracked or crumbling, leave it alone, keep children and pets away, and get the sheets identified before anyone drills, scrubs or pressure-washes them. Household asbestos waste needs a consignment note, so ask any contractor how the waste will leave the site.