Roofers in Westergate

The Victoria County History records a mid-16th-century cottage in Westergate, and it describes The Tudors as a timber-framed thatched cottage with flint making up its southern section. Old buildings of that kind share a problem. A timber frame, a thatched slope and a flint wall all move and breathe in different ways, so a roofer working beside any of them has to think about the whole building and not just the slope in front of him.

1.1 Timber frames and slow leaks

Water finds the timber long before it finds the ceiling. A slow leak at a valley or an abutment can soak the wall plate (the timber that runs along the top of the wall and takes the rafter feet) for years before a stain shows. When we open up an old roof the first job is to probe the plate, the rafter ends and any beam that carries the roof. Where timber has gone soft, a carpenter comes before the roofer, because a good covering over rotten wood only hides the fault. Airflow matters as well. Marley says a cold roof with a non-breathable underlay wants an eaves vent of 10 mm along the length of the eaves on pitches over 15 degrees, so an old frame can dry out instead of holding the damp.

1.2 Where a frame meets flint

Flint walls and timber frames take up moisture and movement differently, and the junction where they meet is where flashings are tested. Flashing is the thin metal that keeps water out of a joint. On an old building it is shaped to the wall and keyed into the mortar course, rather than stuck on with a bead of mastic that will crack within a few winters. Valleys, where two slopes meet in a trough, are lined with lead on older roofs, and soakers are the small lead sheets bent under each tile course where the roof meets a wall. Our lead roofing and leadwork page describes both. Old flint is usually laid in lime, which lets the wall breathe and gives a little as the building moves, so where a flashing is chased into a flint wall we point the chase in a mortar that suits the wall. Hard cement there can trap damp and crack away from the stone within a few seasons.

1.3 Check whether a building is listed

An old frame may be listed, and a listed building cannot have its character altered without consent. Westergate House and Little Westergate House are both listed Grade II, and the national list shows whether any other building is, so we check before quoting any job beyond a plain like-for-like repair, so that the covering, the ridge and the flashings are agreed before work begins. A survey with photographs also gives the conservation officer something to look at, if one needs to be asked.

Aldingbourne is, the Victoria County History says, mostly good agricultural land lying between 25 and 50 feet above sea level and rising to 120 feet on its northern edge, and 400 acres of common at Westergate were inclosed in 1777. The village sits on flat ground, so the roof of a garage, a lean-to or an extension has to deal with wind, rain and sun in the open. Each plot is looked at on its own, and a plot that has grown by several extensions over the years may carry three or four roofs of different ages and types.

3.1 Wind on open ground

Fixing specifications depend on geographic location, altitude and local wind exposure, Wienerberger notes, and Marley adds that windward slopes pitched under 30 degrees can see severe suction. So we check how every tile, slate and ridge is held, recommend mechanical fixing where it is missing, and give you photographs of each loose course. A roof on open ground rewards a proper survey of the verges and ridge, since those are the first places a gust gets a hold.

3.2 Lean-tos and conservatory roofs

A polycarbonate conservatory roof typically lasts around 10 to 15 years on the Eco Experts' figures, and HomeBuilding gives a typical 10. A new solid roof is a different matter: the Planning Portal's guidance treats a replacement conservatory roof as work that has to meet the Building Regulations on structure, energy use and ventilation, so approval is part of the job. A lean-to against a house also needs sound flashing along the wall it abuts, and a gutter that copes with the extra run-off from above. Our conservatory roof replacement page explains the options.

3.3 Garages and sheds

Checkatrade's October 2026 replacement guide gives around £1,000 to £2,000 to re-felt a garage roof, with an average of £1,500. A garage built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos in its sheets or boards, so the roof is checked before anything is cut. Check whether any quote includes VAT and scaffolding, since a small garage roof can be reached from a ladder or a low platform but a larger one may need a licence for a scaffold on the highway. Our garage roof replacement page sets out the coverings and the sequence of work.