Roofers in Oving

The church of St Andrew was built in the 13th century, apart from the porch and vestry. Its roofs are tile and its spire is shingled, and its walls change character along their length: west of the transepts the nave is knapped flint, split to show a flat dark face, while the rest is ordinary flint rubble. That mix tells you something about old walls everywhere in the village. Nothing is perfectly straight, and a roofer has to cut the lead and the tiles to the wall in front of him, not to a drawing. The same is true of the roof itself, where years of repairs leave patches of different ages, and a survey has to read them one by one before saying what the whole will do.

1.1 Oving's conservation area and its listed houses

Oving Conservation Area contains 15 listed buildings, two of them Grade II*, going by HeritageCheck's use of Historic England data. If your house is inside the boundary, ask Chichester District Council's planning team whether a roof job is affected before work begins, and read the list entry when the house is listed. Repairs that copy what is there rarely change how a building looks. A different tile, a new dormer or a roof window may. Our photographs are taken standing in the lane and again up the ladder, so the council can see precisely what exists. If the answer is that consent is needed, you have the pictures to attach and a clear description of the repair you want, which makes the application simpler to read.

1.2 Lead where tile meets flint

Lead is the metal of old roofs because it can be dressed into uneven joints. Sheet lead is graded by code number, and the code sets its thickness and weight per square metre: Royston's brochure gives code 4 for soakers, flashings, valley gutters and dormer work, and codes 5 and 6 for the heavier flashings and gutters. MyJobQuote's leadwork guide gives lead flashing an expected life of more than 80 years, a figure for planning, never a guarantee, so a flashing that has failed early usually points to a poor joint rather than tired metal. Chimney leadwork is the job we see most often on old brick, because the stack is the one place where roof, wall and weather all meet. A rebuilt stack, a wider tray or a new apron may be better than a patch when the brickwork is moving. Our lead roofing and leadwork page shows how each junction is dressed.

The Victoria County History describes Oving as good agricultural land, almost entirely below the 50 ft level, with no woodland. It is flat, open country, and a roof here is judged by what the weather does to it, because the land offers little shelter. Protected species such as bats and nesting birds can use roof spaces, so a roof job here starts with a look for both. That makes the first inspection a practical one: gutters, valleys, ridge and verges, and the way each building drains. Garden trees still drop leaves into gutters, and farm and garage roofs have their own wear. The rules below decide how a re-roof is then carried out.

3.1 Building control for a village re-roof

Planning Portal guidance sets two tests together: under 25 per cent of the total building envelope affected, and under 50 per cent of the roof. If the work stays under both limits, an application is not normally needed. A new covering that behaves very differently in a fire, or that makes the roof 15 per cent or more heavier, brings approval in whatever the area. Chichester District Council is the building control body here, or you may choose a registered building control approver instead. Where the work is notifiable, we handle the notification for you, so you are not left chasing paperwork.

3.2 Insulation when the covering is renewed

The Planning Portal also says a re-roof may require the thermal element, meaning the roof's insulation, to be upgraded. Under Approved Document L, renovating over half of a roof's surface is the trigger for that. The 2021 edition applies until 24 March 2027, when the 2026 edition takes over. Insulation, vapour control and ventilation then have to work together, because a new covering over an old, damp loft can trap moisture. We explain at the survey what your roof will need, so that it is included in one written total.

3.3 Scaffold on a village road

A scaffold standing on or reaching over the road requires a licence under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980, issued by West Sussex County Council. The council asks for at least 10 working days' notice and charges £266 for one month. Look at any quote you hold to see if VAT and scaffold are included in the total, and remember the licence lead time when you choose a start date. Our pitched roofing page covers tiled and slated slopes from the first lift to the last ridge.