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Roofers in Almodington

Almodington is a hamlet on the flat Manhood Peninsula, where 1930s smallholdings grew into glasshouse nurseries. We survey its houses, sheds and outbuildings and photograph what we find.

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Almodington's smallholding houses, nursery sheds and timber-clad landmark

  • A modest 1930s house roof

    Houses from the 1935 settlement

    In 1935 the Land Settlement Association bought farms including Batchmeres Farm, creating about 130 holdings of four to five acres, each with a house, greenhouses and piggeries.

    Read more about Houses from the 1935 settlement

    Houses built for that scheme are now many decades old.

  • A flat roof on a shed

    Nursery sheds and flat roofs

    The smallholdings have largely become commercial nurseries notable for their huge glasshouses, says Chichester District Council's Somerley appraisal.

    Read more about Nursery sheds and flat roofs

    Beside glass, a nursery site usually needs packing sheds, stores and extensions, which often have flat or shallow roofs.

  • A roof abutting timber boarding

    Weatherboard and flashings

    An 18th-century octagonal windmill covered with weather-boarding stands in the north of Earnley parish, near the former Almodington boundary.

    Read more about Weatherboard and flashings

    Where any roof meets timber boarding, a flashing has to tuck behind the board to keep rain out.

Street map of Almodington, west of central Worthing, with a pin on the town.

What the council has on file for Almodington

Planning authority
Chichester District Council
Councils
Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council
Conservation area
None found in Chichester District Council's appraisal list
Article 4
No direction confirmed in the records we hold
Setting
A hamlet on the Manhood Peninsula, between Earnley and Sidlesham
From central Worthing
27.2 road miles, west, about 40 minutes by car

Almodington roofs

Smallholdings, glasshouses and open ground

Old settlement houses, hard-working flat roofs beside the nurseries, and the join between roof and timber cladding.

Chapter one

Roofs on the 1930s settlement smallholdings

A single 1935 scheme left Almodington a scatter of modest houses and outbuildings, so each roof is read on its own merits.

In 1935 the Land Settlement Association bought farms around here, Batchmeres Farm among them, to create about 130 holdings of four to five acres, each with a house, greenhouses and piggeries, for unemployed men from the north-east and South Wales. Chichester District Council's Somerley appraisal tells the story and adds that the smallholdings have largely become commercial nurseries. For a roofer the interest lies in what the scheme left behind: a scatter of modest houses and a great many outbuildings, built as part of one plan and all now many decades old. Nobody should assume what covers any single one of them. The survey reads the roof in front of it.

At a glance

  • The 1935 scheme created about 130 holdings
  • Each holding had a house, greenhouses and piggeries
  • Assume asbestos in buildings from before 2000

1.1 The house roof

On a house of that age we work through a short list of likely faults: ridge and hip tiles whose bedding has let go, flashings where the roof meets a chimney or a flat-roofed extension, and timber at the eaves that has sat wet behind a leaking gutter for years. We begin in the loft, trace any stain to its source and photograph the fault before talking about price. A damp patch in a bedroom is rarely under the hole, so the cause may sit on a different slope or lower down. If one bad flashing is the problem, one flashing is replaced, and if the tiles are sound but the ridge is not, the ridge is rebuilt and the tiles stay. Our roof repairs page explains how we tell a repair from a re-cover.

1.2 Sheds, stores and old sheeting

Outbuildings from this period may carry sheet roofing of unknown kind, and for anything put up or refurbished before 2000 HSE says to presume asbestos is somewhere in it. Cement sheeting that has weathered yet stayed intact can be taken off with care as non-licensed work. If a sheet has cracked into pieces, the work moves into the notifiable non-licensed category, and notice goes in before anyone starts. HSE adds that cement roofs of this kind are fragile without exception, which is why nobody should stand on one to inspect it. Old soffits may hide asbestos insulating board, and nearly all removal of that board is licensed work. Waste from a home needs a hazardous waste consignment note. So we ask what the building is, test where it matters, and set the route out for you before any quote is written. If a roof is covered in sheets and you cannot tell what they are, send us photographs and leave them untouched in the meantime.

How asbestos in an old outbuilding roof is treated

SituationTreatment
Cement sheet, sound, carefully removedNon-licensed work
Sheet substantially damaged or broken upNotifiable non-licensed work, notice before starting
Insulating board in an old soffitMost removal is licensed work
Asbestos waste from a homeConsignment note needed
Source: HSE, non-licensed and notifiable non-licensed work; HSE, where asbestos is found; GOV.UK hazardous waste consignment note guidance

Chapter two

Flat roofs beside the glasshouses

A nursery site leans on its sheds and stores, and a flat roof has no slope to hurry the water away.

New grey GRP fibreglass flat roof on a rear kitchen extension
New grey GRP fibreglass flat roof on a rear kitchen extension

Alongside every glasshouse nursery stand the buildings that make it run: packing sheds, cold stores, offices, lean-to extensions. What covers each one comes out of the survey, but sites of this type usually include some flat or low-pitched roofs, and those fail in their own way. With no slope to hurry water off, every weakness, whether a lifted seam, a split upstand or a clogged outlet, gets a chance to hold water against it. Ponding is the common sign. Water that stands for days gets in sooner or later, and the stain on the ceiling below may sit well away from the fault itself.

At a glance

  • Flat roofs should finish with at least a 1:80 fall
  • Published lifespans for flat coverings differ widely
  • New membranes can trigger an insulation upgrade
Large felt flat roof with upstands and vents, autumn trees
Large felt flat roof with upstands and vents, autumn trees

2.1 Falls and drainage

IKO, citing BS 6229:2018, recommends a minimum fall of 1:80 on a flat roof, and says to design for 1:40 so that tolerances and deflection still leave 1:80 when the job is finished. Roofs built flatter than that, or that have sagged over the years, hold water. An extra outlet, tapered insulation or a new deck can restore the fall, and which of those suits depends on the layers beneath, which only the survey reveals. In autumn it is worth clearing outlets and gutters of leaf debris before the first heavy rain.

Large felt flat roof with upstands and vents, autumn trees
Large felt flat roof with upstands and vents, autumn trees

At the edges, two small details decide whether a flat roof stays dry. An upstand is the short upturn of membrane against a wall, and a drip is the edge detail that throws water into the gutter instead of down the fascia. We photograph both on any flat roof we look at, so you can see their condition for yourself.

2.2 Choosing the covering

Published lifespans differ by material. Less puts torch-on felt at 10 to 20 years, GreenSpec gives EPDM as 20 to 30 years, and Less says GRP lasts 25 to 40; MyBuilder gives 15 to 30 years for flat roofs in general. All of these are ranges, not promises, and the skill of the fitter shapes the result as much as the product does. EPDM is a single-ply rubber membrane, laid in one sheet with few joints, while GRP is glass-reinforced plastic, a hard-wearing fibreglass finish. Paragraph 11.2 of Approved Document L counts a new membrane on a flat roof as renovating a thermal element, so a re-cover can mean new insulation as well. Our flat roofing page goes further into each system.

Typical UK flat roof costs per square metre

  • Felt£70 to £100 per m²
  • EPDM£90 to £130 per m²
  • PVC£95 to £140 per m²
  • GRP£95 to £150 per m²

The figure for your roof comes once the survey is finished, written as one total; area, access and the state of the deck all move it. Source: MyBuilder flat roof cost guide, updated 21/08/2026.

Chapter three

Open ground, weatherboard and lead

The Manhood Peninsula is flat and open, so edges, abutments and flashings take the weather first.

Almodington sits on the flat Manhood Peninsula, between Earnley and Sidlesham. Flat open ground offers little shelter from the wind, so we look hard at the edges of every roof: eaves, verges and ridges, where a gust gets its first purchase. Sheds and extensions with shallow pitches get the same scrutiny as the house. Marley warns that a pitch under 30 degrees can leave the slope facing the wind exposed to severe suction, while Wienerberger says each tile's fixing should follow a specification written for the site, taking in its location, height and local wind. Rather than rate any street's exposure from a map, we judge the roof in front of us on its own fixings, clip by clip and nail by nail, and we photograph any that have lost their hold so you can see it.

At a glance

  • The hamlet lies between Earnley and Sidlesham
  • Lead flashing can last over 80 years
  • No conservation area is listed for Almodington
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet

3.1 Where a roof meets timber boarding

The octagonal 18th-century windmill in the north of Earnley parish, near the former Almodington boundary, is covered with weather-boarding, and weatherboard makes a good teacher. Wherever a roof abuts boarding, a flashing does the sealing: a strip of metal dressed over the junction, tucked behind the board and lapped over the roof covering. Lead is the usual material. Leadworx calls code 4 the usual pick for ordinary flashing work, and MyJobQuote says lead flashing can last over 80 years, longer in higher codes. Failure comes from a lifted board edge, a split at a fold, or sealant smeared across the gap instead of a proper dressing. We photograph the fault, re-dress or replace the lead, and leave the boarding properly lapped.

Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet

3.2 Planning and who to ask

No conservation area appears in Chichester District Council's list for Almodington, and the council is the body to ask about your own address. Laying the same covering again seldom needs planning permission, while a change of material, a roof window or an extension follows other rules, set out in our roof planning permission guide. Building Regulations still apply to larger work. Where a job is notifiable, the notification to your building control body is something we do, so you are not left chasing paperwork while the scaffold is up. Send photographs of the roof and the address, and we will say what the survey should check first.

Victorian terrace chimney stacks with spalled bricks and old lead flashing

Fig. 3 On the survey Lead split at a fold beside a wall

Roofing services for Almodington buildings

Almodington roof questions, from the smallholdings to the glasshouses

Can the roof of an old settlement smallholding house be repaired rather than replaced?

Often, yes. These are modest houses, and faults tend to gather in a few places: a ridge, a flashing, a valley or the eaves. We trace each fault from the loft, photograph it and recommend the smallest job that cures it. A full re-cover only makes sense when the battens, nails and underlay have failed across the whole roof, and we show you the evidence either way, with photographs taken on your own roof, before you decide anything.

Should I worry about asbestos on an old Almodington shed or garage roof?

Treat it with care. HSE tells owners to presume asbestos in anything built or refurbished before 2000, and says cement roofs are fragile without exception, so stay off them. Taking off sound sheets carefully is non-licensed work, yet broken sheets turn it into notifiable work. We identify the material first and describe the right route before any quote is written.

How long should a flat roof on a packing shed or extension last?

Published figures vary with the covering. Torch-on felt is quoted at 10 to 20 years, EPDM at 20 to 30 years or more, and GRP at 25 to 40, while MyBuilder says flat roofs typically last 15 to 30 years. None is a promise. Falls, drainage, detailing at the edges and workmanship all change the outcome, so we examine them at the survey.

Why does the join between my roof and a weatherboarded wall keep leaking?

Usually the flashing has failed. Lead can split at a fold, a board edge can lift away, or sealant has been used in place of a proper dressing. A sound flashing tucks behind the boarding and laps over the roof covering, so water runs out and not in. We photograph the junction, then re-dress or replace the lead and refix the board properly.

Roofers near Almodington

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10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.

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