Roofers in Pulborough

Pulborough stands on rising ground north of the River Arun floodplain, and Horsham District Council's appraisal sets it along Stane Street, the old Roman route linking London with Chichester. The church of St Mary crowns the hill. Its chancel was built in the 13th century, and a major 15th-century rebuilding gave it the nave and tower we see today. Two conservation areas protect the setting, Church Place and Lower Street, and the appraisal records them as designated in 1973. Beside the church, on Church Hill, stands the Old House: timber-framed, 17th century or earlier, with a tiled roof, and listed Grade II*. Between them, these three buildings show the range a roofer meets here: stone, timber and tile, and every one wears out in its own manner.

1.1 Why a frame this old changes the repair

A timber-framed building was never built stiff. Over centuries the frame has settled and the roof plane has gone out of true, so a modern, perfectly flat sheet of anything will not sit on it. Tiles on a roof like this are hand-sized and the battens, the thin strips that carry each course, follow the dips. When a few tiles slip, the sensible fix is to refit or swap them like for like. If the roof must come off, the battens are renewed to follow the line of the rafters beneath rather than forcing a straight line over a wavy frame. That gives a finished roof that looks right from the road, with courses that follow the building instead of fighting it, and no new stress put on joints that have held for centuries. Where a roof is listed, the choice of tile and the method both go through the list entry first.

1.2 Chimneys, valleys and the lead that ties them in

Older houses around the church tend to have a stack, a valley where two slopes meet, or a hip. Each needs lead or a good mortar bed to stay watertight. A soaker is a little square of lead bent to lie under the end of a tile course. A flashing is the longer strip that seals the roof to a wall or stack. Both age quicker than tile. When we survey a Pulborough roof we look at the lead first, because a leak on an otherwise sound roof usually starts there. Mortar around a stack can crumble, a valley can silt up with leaves and moss, and a flashing can lift in a gale. All three are repairs rather than reasons to replace anything, and each one is photographed, so you can judge the fault for yourself. Our lead roofing and leadwork page shows the work in more detail.

Pulborough falls under Horsham, and the district council there handles both planning and building control. The council's appraisal names the two conservation areas and records that both were designated in 1973. It mentions no Article 4 direction in its text, so roof rights in these areas have not been shown to be removed, but that is a reason to ask rather than assume. An address-specific question belongs with the council's planning team, and our team will supply photographs of the roof to go with it. Asking early costs nothing and avoids a stop-start job later on. If your house is one of the older ones near the church, mention that when you ring, since it affects how we plan the survey.

3.1 What a repair needs, and what it does not

Putting back matching tiles in the same pattern rarely needs planning permission. A new type of tile is different, because it changes how the street looks, and the council will want to hear about it. Where you are swapping, say, concrete for clay or the reverse, discuss the choice with the planning team before ordering. Re-roofing can also fall under the Building Regulations. The Planning Portal puts the line at under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof, with exceptions for structural change and heavier coverings. If you are considering roof windows, perhaps in a loft above a Lower Street terrace, read our guide to skylight planning permission first.

3.2 St Mary's and other consents

St Mary's is a working Anglican church, which places it under the ecclesiastical exemption: works are authorised by faculty, though anything that alters its outward look also needs a planning application. For houses, the Old House shows what a listing means in practice: routine like-for-like repairs are fine, but changes that alter the building's character require consent first, and the safest course is to ask the council before ordering a single tile.

Where scaffolding has to occupy a public highway, West Sussex County Council, as highway authority, grants that licence and asks for at least 10 working days. Roof work can disturb bats and nesting birds, which are both protected, so we inspect the eaves and roof space before stripping. When the job ends the roof is left tidy and every bag of waste goes with us. Where work is notifiable, we explain the Building Regulations process and handle the notification.