01903 299063 Get a quote

Roofers in Crawley

Crawley grew from a Weald market town into a post-war new town, so its roofs range from Horsham slabs on the High Street to tiled brick estates. We survey both and photograph what is wrong.

Get a quoteCall 01903 299063

New-town estates and one Horsham slab roof

  • A tiled brick semi roof

    Pale brick and tiled estates

    The Victoria County History says most 1950s public housing here used pale red brick, sometimes rendered or clad, under pitched tiled roofs.

    Read more about Pale brick and tiled estates

    West Green was mostly finished by 1951, and Langley Green was complete in 1956.

  • A low-pitched tiled roof

    Lower pitches in later decades

    The same history notes that later decades brought lower-pitched roofs, and Bewbush was begun in 1974-5. A shallow slope drains slowly and takes wind differently, so laps, underlay and fixings are where we look hardest.

  • Stone slab roof detail

    A Horsham slab roof on the High Street

    The Priors' House, a timber-framed building of about 1450 on the east side of the High Street, had a roof covered with Horsham slabs when the Victoria County History described it in 1940.

Street map of Crawley, north of central Worthing, with a pin on the town.

Council rules and listings in Crawley

Planning authority
Crawley Borough Council
Councils
Crawley Borough Council and West Sussex County Council
Conservation area
High Street Conservation Area, first designated November 1986; one of 13 in the borough
Article 4
Crawley Borough Council's planning team can confirm whether one applies to your street
Roof of note
Priors' House, High Street: Horsham slabs recorded in 1940
From central Worthing
29.7 road miles, north, about 41 minutes by car

Crawley roofs

From Horsham slabs to new-town tiles

Three questions that follow from how, and when, Crawley was built.

Chapter one

Ageing tiled roofs on the new-town estates

Crawley went up neighbourhood by neighbourhood from 1947, so whole streets of roofs now reach the same age together.

Crawley New Town was designated under the 1947 Crawley New Town (Designation) Order, and the Victoria County History describes it rising one neighbourhood at a time: West Green mostly finished by 1951, Three Bridges begun in 1952, Langley Green complete in 1956. A district built over a few years tends to wear out in step, so the tiles, nails and underlay on one street often tire together. A leak on one house can be an early warning for its neighbours, and we ask what has already been done along the row before we climb.

At a glance

  • The new town was designated in 1947
  • West Green was mostly finished by 1951
  • Ridges laid before 2014 may lack a mechanical fixing

1.1 Reading a 1950s tiled roof

The same history describes pale red brick walls under pitched tiled roofs for most of the decade's public housing. On a roof like that, at the edge of each slope, we raise a handful of tiles and check three things: whether the nails have corroded, how the battens (the narrow laths nailed across the rafters) are holding, and what, if anything, lies underneath as underlay. Extensions and garages added later meet the original tiling at flashings that get a check of their own. Ridge tiles are a particular weak point. Before BS 5534 was revised in 2014 a bed of mortar was accepted as sufficient, so ridges laid earlier may carry no clip or screw at all.

1.2 Patch, or strip and start again

Slipped tiles and a failed valley on one slope are patch jobs, and we recommend them as such. Nails rusted through on every slope, soft battens and a covering past its useful years point towards a re-roof. Building control then matters. The Planning Portal puts the limits for re-covering at less than 25 per cent of the building envelope and less than 50 per cent of the roof; past either limit, or with a covering 15 per cent heavier than the old, an application follows. Approved Document L takes the whole roof up to current insulation standards once over half its surface is renovated. Either the council's team or a registered building control approver can sign the work off, and we handle the paperwork when it is notifiable. Our written quote gives a single figure for the whole job. Our roof replacement page follows a re-roof from survey to completion.

Semi-detached roof costs across the UK

  • Moderate roof repair£500 to £1,000
  • Flat roof, semi£2,500 to £6,000
  • Lean-to roof, semi£3,000 to £5,500
  • Gable re-roof, semi£5,000 to £8,000
  • Hipped re-roof, semi£8,000 to £12,000

Scaffold, access and your choice of covering decide where a roof lands in these ranges; the written quote after the survey fixes one total for yours. Source: MyBuilder roof repair and new roof price guides, updated 21/08/2026.

Roofer unloading tools from a plain white van on a residential street

Chapter two

The Priors' House and Crawley's High Street

A Weald crossroads town kept a few very old buildings among the new, and their roofs are repaired in their own stone.

Crawley is older than its new-town label suggests. The Victoria County History records a Friday market licence granted to Michael de Poynings in 1202-3, and the Priors' House on the High Street's east side dates from about 1450. Its roof was covered with Horsham slabs when the History described it in 1940, so what is up there now needs checking on site. Horsham slabs are thick sandstone slates; the Stone Roofing Association calls them calcareous, flaggy sandstones, and the courses shrink in height from eaves to ridge. Two laying systems exist. Double lap is the usual pattern, while single lapping, found only on Horsham stone roofs, uses Welsh slate shades set in mortar to weather the joints. The Association recommends keeping or restoring double lap wherever possible, and moving from single to double calls for a fresh look at the loading and at whether the structure copes, with building control approval to follow.

At a glance

  • The High Street conservation area dates from November 1986
  • The Priors' House roof was Horsham slab in 1940
  • Existing slabs are reused before any others

2.1 Relaying with stone already on the roof

The Stone Roofing Association's first rule is to reuse as many of a roof's existing slabs as possible. It warns against taking slabs from other historic buildings when that can be helped, because buying them encourages the destruction of old roofs, and where a shortfall remains it advises suitable new Horsham slates if any can be found. Mixing limestone slates in with sandstone is something it rules out altogether. Supply was reported as a problem in 2019, which is why owners sometimes turn to clay tiles, yet on a listed building that change needs listed building consent from the council. Horsham District Council's appraisal for Horsham itself describes these roofs as steep and carried on strong timbers because of their weight, so we examine the frame before we judge the slabs.

2.2 Thirteen conservation areas

Crawley Borough Council counts 13 conservation areas, among them the High Street, Ifield Village, Worth and St Peters; the High Street was first designated in November 1986. Whether an Article 4 direction touches a particular street is a question for the council. A repair that leaves the covering as it was is generally outside planning control, but a different material, or a listed building, changes that, so put the question to the council's planning team before any scaffold goes up. Our survey photographs give the planners something concrete to look at if you ask for advice. Roof windows and dormers are a separate matter, covered in our roof planning permission guide, and the Horsham stone roofing page goes through slab repairs in more detail.

Relaying a slab roof

  1. Strip and sort Slabs come off by hand and are sorted by size, because the courses diminish from eaves to ridge.
  2. Check the frame Rafters and battens are examined first, since a slab roof is heavy and needs strong timbers.
  3. Relay The roof's own stone goes back first, largest at the eaves and smallest at the ridge.
  4. Make up Any shortfall is filled with suitable new Horsham slates, if they can be found.

Chapter three

Shallow slopes in Crawley's later neighbourhoods

Roofs laid at lower pitches in later decades need more care with laps, underlay and the wind.

The Victoria County History notes that later decades of building in Crawley brought lower-pitched roofs, and Bewbush was begun in 1974-5. Pitch is not cosmetic. Every covering has a minimum below which rain can be driven back up beneath the laps, and the figure sits on the maker's data sheet. Marley's concrete plain tile needs 35 degrees at the least, and its Lincoln clay pantile 15, while natural slate sits at 20 degrees under moderate exposure, according to Cupa Pizarras citing BS 5534. A roof laid close to its limit has little margin when rain arrives sideways. Where a shallow roof leaks, the cure is sometimes a covering made for the pitch, which means a check with the maker and, if the weight changes, with building control.

At a glance

  • Under 30 degrees, wind-facing slopes see strong suction
  • Each tile has its own minimum pitch
  • Flat roofs are designed at 1:40 to finish at 1:80
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet

3.1 Wind and underlay on a shallow roof

Marley's guidance is that below 30 degrees the slope that takes the wind risks heavy suction, so shallow roofs lean on their fixings more than steep ones do. We check clips, nails and the tiles along each edge, and we look at the underlay beneath, because on a low pitch it does a good share of the waterproofing when rain is pushed under a lap. Lead around chimneys and abutments, and the gutters, matter more as well, since a slow-draining roof asks a lot of every joint. Ventilation counts too: a cold roof with high-resistance underlay should have 25 mm along the eaves at pitches of 15 degrees or less.

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

3.2 Flat and low-pitched additions

Extensions, porches and garages often sit under flat or nearly flat roofs. According to IKO, citing BS 6229:2018, a flat roof is designed to a fall of 1:40 so that it finishes at no less than 1:80 once tolerances and deflection are allowed for, and puddles that linger on a roof are a sign it has lost its fall. MyBuilder says a flat roof typically lasts 15 to 30 years. Taking a flat roof back and renewing its waterproofing is itself treated as renovation under Approved Document L, and that is when the insulation question comes up. Our flat roofing page covers the materials and what each costs.

Minimum pitches and falls

Marley concrete plain tile
35 degrees
Marley Lincoln clay pantile
15 degrees
Natural slate, moderate exposure
20 degrees (BS 5534, via Cupa Pizarras)
Flat roof finished fall
1:80, designed at 1:40 (IKO, BS 6229:2018)

Source: Marley; Cupa Pizarras; IKO, fetched October 2026

Services for Crawley houses

Crawley roof questions, from West Green to the High Street

What should I look at on a 1950s brick-and-tile house in West Green or Langley Green?

From the ground, look for slipped or cracked tiles, ridge tiles that have shifted and gutters that sag or overflow. Inside the loft, look for daylight at the ridge, stained rafters and damp patches. Corroded nails and soft battens only show once tiles are lifted, which is what a survey does. Take your own photographs first, and expect ours to follow with the quote.

Can a Priors' House type of Horsham slab roof be relaid with slabs from elsewhere?

Reuse of the roof's own stone comes first, according to the Stone Roofing Association, which also cautions against slabs from other buildings. Where other slabs prove unavoidable, check they were obtained legitimately, and any shortfall is best met with suitable new Horsham slates. Limestone and sandstone must not be mixed. A listed building needs consent from the council before the covering changes.

Does the High Street Conservation Area limit what a Crawley owner can do to a roof?

Matching repairs are not generally treated as development, so the area does not stop maintenance. Anyone planning a change of material should ask Crawley Borough Council's planning team first, including whether an Article 4 direction applies. A different covering, a roof window or a listed building each bring their own checks, which we discuss before the quote is written.

Do low-pitched roofs from Crawley's later decades need different tiles from older houses?

Each tile has a minimum pitch set by its maker, so a covering suited to a steep roof may fail on a shallow one. Marley's concrete plain tile needs 35 degrees and its Lincoln pantile 15, for example. A heavier covering can also trigger building control if it is 15 per cent heavier or more than the one it replaces, so check before swapping.

Roofers near Crawley

Tell us about your roof

Describe what is happening and we will call you back to arrange a visit.

  • Photographs of what we find
  • A written quote with one total price
  • Or call 01903 299063

10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.

Call Get a quote