Roofers in Washington

Washington stands on a narrow ridge of Upper Greensand, north of the chalk, and its buildings are of brick, flint, clunch and sandstone. That mix comes from sitting on the border between downs and Weald. For a roofer it matters because the roof is only half of what we repair. The other half is the wall it lands on. Clunch is a hard chalk cut as building stone. Flint is tough and unforgiving. Sandstone weathers at its own pace, and brick moves differently from all three. Where one roof touches walls of several kinds, the joints open and close at different rates, and that is where leaks usually begin.

1.1 Where the roof meets flint, clunch and sandstone

Flashing is the metal skirt that stops rain tracking down a wall or a stack into the house. Lead suits it best, because it can be beaten into a surface that is anything but flat. We tuck the upper edge into a groove in the masonry, wedge it, then point over it. On smooth brick that groove is neat and shallow. On rubble, flint or soft stone the joints are deep and ragged, so the wall may need repointing first, or the new lead has nothing firm to bite on. We photograph the old lead, show you where it has lifted or split, and say plainly whether it can be re-dressed or must be renewed. Our lead roofing and leadwork page explains the lead codes and what each one is used for.

1.2 Brick chimney stacks

Brick stacks are a feature of roofs in brick country, and they take a battering from above. Flaunching, the sloping cap of mortar that holds a pot upright and throws rain clear, cracks first. When that happens, rain finds its way inside the stack and travels down the flue. The brickwork below can lose its pointing, and the lead tray at the base lifts. We look at all of it from the roof, not from the ground with binoculars. Most stack faults are small and can be fixed without taking the stack down. A stack that leans or has crumbling bricks is a bigger job, and we tell you that before you see a price. Our chimney repairs page walks through the options.

1.3 Reading a roof by its walls

On a Washington survey we begin with the walls. Cracks running up from a roof junction, damp patches on a chimney breast indoors and crumbling pointing beside a flashing all show where water gets in. The covering itself is often fine. A repair that cures the real cause holds, and one that smears sealant over the symptom does not.

Washington sits on the Greensand beneath Chanctonbury Hill, which at 782 ft on the south-east edge of the parish is one of the highest points in the county. A roof below a big hill deserves a check after a gale, and the places weather reaches first on any roof are its crown, its corners and its gable edges.

3.1 Ridges, hips and verges that stay put

Ridge, hip and verge are those three exposed places: the ridge crowns the top where two slopes meet, the hips run down the outside corners, and the verge dresses the edge over a gable end. For generations all three were bedded on mortar alone. Since BS 5534 was revised in 2014, the tiles along ridges and hips must be held by more than mortar; screws, clips or similar mechanical fixings are added. A roof laid before that may have capping that only sits on its bed, and once the mortar cracks the tiles can lift in a blow. We test them by hand, tile by tile, and report what we find with photographs. The verge deserves a second look as well, because the pointing there tends to fall away in strips and the tiles beneath it lose their support. This is usually a smaller job than a customer fears.

3.2 Scaffold for a village roof

A roof above first-floor height needs safe access, and on many Washington jobs that means scaffolding. Where it has to stand on the pavement or road, it needs a licence from West Sussex County Council. The council wants at least 10 working days' notice and charges £266 for a month. Factor that delay into when you want the work to begin. On a single-storey extension or a low outbuilding a tower or roof ladders may do instead, which keeps the job simpler. After the survey, the price comes to you in writing as one sum. Whoever quotes you, ask whether scaffold and VAT are inside it.