Roofers in Broadbridge Heath

1.1 The join between two roofs

On a pair, the ridge runs straight across both halves and something has to close the gap along the party wall, whether that is lead, a cover of tile or slate, or a mortar fillet. The join has to cope with two houses settling at different rates, and that makes it an easy place for water to find. Valleys, the inside angles where a bay or a rear wing meets the main roof, each need sound lead or a well-laid trough under the covering. We examine the join, the valleys and the stacks first, then work outwards across the slopes. A slipped tile in the middle of a slope is a nuisance. A lifted flashing at the party wall can send water into both houses.

1.2 Your neighbour and your roof

Because the roof is half of a pair, the work next door matters to you. If only one half is re-covered, the new work must lap neatly into the old at the ridge and the party wall, and any difference in the colour or thickness of the covering will show from the street. Agreeing dates and sharing scaffold with a neighbour can spare you a second set of poles. Taking a chimney off a party wall is another matter: GOV.UK lists it as work needing notice to the adjoining owner, given at least 2 months ahead and up to a year ahead. Our chimney repairs page explains stack work, including flashings and flaunching.

1.3 How we survey a semi

We look from the street, from your garden and from inside the loft, and we photograph the join, the valleys and each stack so you can see what the roof shows. The written quote follows, giving one total for the work that properly closes the fault, and nothing larger than that.

3.1 Gutters before anything else

On any house, a blocked or sagging gutter sends water down the wall and into the brickwork, where it looks like a leak from the roof. Brett Martin's guidance is a gentle fall to the outlet, with supports no more than 900mm apart, and we check both on survey. Fascias and soffits, the boards under the eaves, are inspected at the same time, since rot in them lets water and birds into the roof space. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page sets out what the work involves. Water that runs down a wall for months leaves green staining and damp patches, and owners often look up at the tiles when the trouble is a joint in the guttering.

3.2 Moss, cleaning and community buildings

Moss holds water against tiles and can block gutters as it falls. MyBuilder cautions that high-pressure washing can harm fragile tiles, so we prefer a careful clean by hand where the surface is old. Cleaning is not a repair, though: a cracked tile stays cracked beneath a clean surface, so the clean follows the survey, never replaces it. St John's church opened in 1963, replacing an iron chapel used from 1904 and demolished as unsafe in 1957. Buildings of that sort, along with halls, shops and small units, are surveyed in the same way as a house, with photographs and a written quote. Flat roofs on such buildings are often the first to need attention, so the survey records falls, ponding, laps and drainage outlets. A building owned by a trust may have its own approval steps, so tell us who signs off.