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Roofers in South Chailey

South Chailey lies on strong Weald clay around South Common, with Horsham slates on the parish church to the north. We survey roofs here and photograph each fault we find.

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Three roof stories from South Common and the clay

  • A stone slab roof on a church

    Horsham slates up the road at St Peter's

    The Victoria County History says Chailey's chancel is tiled and its tower has a shingled spire, while Horsham slates cover everything else.

    Read more about Horsham slates up the road at St Peter's

    The church stands in Chailey village, north of South Common, and shows how a Weald stone roof is built.

  • A small chapel with a pitched roof

    A mission church of 1895 and a pottery

    St John's Mission Church on South Common went up in 1895, by which time the common was wholly inclosed.

    Read more about A mission church of 1895 and a pottery

    Chailey Potteries, opposite, were started about 1740 by the Norman family, so small old buildings cluster round the green.

  • A brick chimney on a tiled roof

    Roofs on strong clay ground

    Chailey is a large Wealden parish on strong clay. Clay ground moves a little with the seasons, so on older houses we check whether a crack near a chimney or a gap at a flashing is old and settled, or still opening.

Street map of South Chailey, north-east of central Worthing, with a pin on the town.

Where South Chailey sits on the planning map

Planning authority
Lewes District Council
Councils
Lewes District Council and East Sussex County Council
Conservation area
None in South Chailey; Lewes District's nearest are Chailey Green and Chailey (St George's)
Article 4
Ask Lewes District Council whether one applies to your street
Church
St John's Mission Church, South Common, built 1895; the parish church is St Peter's in Chailey village
From central Worthing
22.9 road miles, north-east, about 35 minutes by car

Chailey roofs

Horsham slate, clay and the common

Questions that come from the Weald's stone roofs, its clay ground and its old chimneys.

Chapter one

Horsham slates and the Weald's stone roofs

The parish church shows what a Weald roof can be, and a stone roof needs different handling from any tile.

St Peter's is in Chailey village, north of South Common, not in South Common itself, but it is the nearest example of a Weald stone roof. The Victoria County History describes plastered sandstone rubble walls, a tiled chancel, a shingled spire and Horsham slates on the rest of the roof. The Stone Roofing Association's guide describes the stone as a flaggy, lime-bearing sandstone, cut into random sizes and graded so the widest slabs lie at the eaves and the narrowest at the ridge, a laying pattern known as diminishing courses. It names two ways of laying them: the usual double lap, and single lapping, which the Association says belongs to Horsham stone alone, with the gaps between slabs masked by thin strips of Welsh slate set in mortar.

At a glance

  • Horsham stone is a flaggy sandstone with lime in it
  • The widest slabs sit at the eaves
  • Keeping the roof's own stone comes first
Sandstone farmhouse and barn with Horsham stone roofs in the Sussex Weald
Sandstone farmhouse and barn with stone roofs in the Sussex Weald

1.1 Keep the roof's own stone

The Association's first rule is to keep as much of the existing stone on the roof as possible. Stone borrowed from a different building is a final option, because every slab taken strips an older roof elsewhere. If the roof comes up short, newly cut slabs are the better fix when a supplier has them. Limestone slates are never mixed in with sandstone. In 2019 a conservation charity warned of a supply crisis in roofing slabs, so a gap in the pile is a real constraint. Horsham District's conservation appraisal pairs these roofs with steep pitches and strong framing, and notes that repairs over the years have left a mixture of double and single lap, filled with shadow slates when stone was scarce. The Steyning appraisal calls relaying with mortared joints an inappropriate repair.

Sandstone farmhouse and barn with Horsham stone roofs in the Sussex Weald
Sandstone farmhouse and barn with stone roofs in the Sussex Weald

1.2 What the survey checks

We look for slabs that have flaked or split, for sag between the rafters, for failed mortar on the shadows, and for any patch where cement or sealant stands in for a proper repair. We do not guess a weight for your roof: the frame is inspected before a slab is lifted. Changing a listed roof from single to double lap needs building control approval, a faculty where one applies, and listed building consent. St Peter's is an Anglican parish church in use, so the Church's faculty system decides its roof works. Where slabs have simply slipped they can often be re-seated; where they have laminated into layers, they come off. Our Horsham stone roofing page explains lifting, sorting and relaying.

Horsham stone-slate facts

What it is
A flaggy sandstone with lime in it (Stone Roofing Association)
How it is laid
Widest slabs at the eaves, narrowing towards the ridge
First choice
Keep the stone already on the roof
Making up a shortfall
New Horsham slates where available
Never combine
Limestone slates with sandstone
Supply
A crisis in slab supply was reported in 2019

Source: Stone Roofing Association, Horsham Stone Roofs; Stone Specialist, 31 July 2019

Chapter two

Chimneys and flashings on clay ground

On strong clay and old brickwork, the chimney stack is where movement and weather meet first.

Victorian terrace chimney stacks with spalled bricks and old lead flashing
Victorian terrace chimney stacks with spalled bricks and old lead flashing

Chailey is a Wealden parish where the soil is strong clay, and the Victoria County History records potteries working that clay in the south-east of the parish. Clay swells in wet weather and shrinks in dry, so an old house can shift by small amounts through the year. We do not blame the ground for every crack. What we do is look at a crack in a stack, or a gap at a flashing, and decide whether it is old and stable or still moving. A fine crack in the pointing is a repointing job. A step crack that has widened since last year suggests the brickwork needs a structural opinion before anyone touches the roof.

At a glance

  • Approval is always needed to remove a chimney breast
  • A party-wall chimney means notice to the neighbour
  • Stack rebuilds can run from £2,000 to £10,000 or more
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet
Lead-lined valley where two clay-tiled roof slopes meet

2.1 What a stack needs

A chimney stack is the most exposed part of the house, with weather on four faces. Pointing wears back, bricks crumble where frost has got in, and the flaunching around the pots cracks. Where the stack meets the roof, a lead flashing and a tray or back gutter carry water round it. From inside, the signs are a tea-coloured patch on the breast wall that deepens after rain, damp paper beside the stack and loose plaster. In the loft we look at the back face of the stack, the timbers close by, and any daylight around the base, since gaps there let wind-driven rain in. MyBuilder gives a typical UK range of £500 to £2,000 for repointing and £2,000 to £10,000 or more for a rebuild, and MyJobQuote gives £350 to £460 for new chimney lead without scaffold. Our chimney repairs page shows how we decide between mending and rebuilding.

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

2.2 If the chimney is coming out

Chimney breast removal always calls for Building Regulations approval, the Planning Portal says, as the breast carries part of the building. Rules for taking down only the stack above the roofline may differ. Where the chimney sits in a party wall, GOV.UK treats its removal as work the neighbour must be told about, with the neighbour owed notice anywhere from two months to a year beforehand; no reply cannot be taken as agreement. We explain which of these applies before a quote is accepted.

Chimney work guide prices

  • Chimney repointing£500 to £2,000
  • Chimney lead replaced, no scaffold£350 to £460
  • Scaffold for a chimney£400 to £900
  • Stack rebuild£2,000 to £10,000+

A visit to the stack decides which row you sit in; the written quote that follows is a single total. Source: MyBuilder chimney repair and scaffolding guides, updated 21/08/2026; MyJobQuote chimney leadwork, 22/09/26.

Chapter three

Repairing or re-roofing a house near South Common

Most roofs near the common need a repair before they need replacing, and the survey is how we tell which is which.

A roof that leaks in one place is a repair. A roof that leaks in several, with tiles slipping across every slope, is heading for replacement. We count the damage, test the battens and fixings, look at the underlay, and say which one yours is. You receive survey photographs of your roof along with a written quote, and if patching will hold, patching is the price you get. A repair can be as small as re-bedding a ridge or renewing a valley, and when that is the answer, that is the job we recommend. Our roof replacement page describes what a full re-roof involves.

At a glance

  • Building control limits are 25 per cent and 50 per cent
  • The standard 20 per cent VAT rate applies to a re-roof
  • A contract made at home has a 14-day window

3.1 What a re-roof lets us put right

Stripping a roof exposes what the old covering was hiding: tired battens, perished underlay, and a ventilation gap that was never open. For a shallow extension roof of 15 degrees or less, Marley asks for 25 mm of continuous ventilation along the eaves, against 10 mm above 15 degrees, when a high-resistance underlay is used. We check those details while the roof is open, because they are cheap to fix then and expensive afterwards.

3.2 When building control applies

The Planning Portal sets out when a repair or re-covering needs a building control application, and the table below lists the triggers. Where the work is notifiable, your council's building control team or a registered building control approver handles it, and we explain the route. South Chailey itself has no conservation area; Lewes District's nearest ones are at Chailey Green and Chailey (St George's), further north. Listed status, any Article 4 direction and any change of covering are still worth confirming with Lewes District Council. Our roof planning permission guide covers the wider rules.

3.3 VAT and your cancellation rights

Expect VAT at 20 per cent, the standard rate, on a re-roof, so ask whether each total includes it, and whether scaffold is in. Sign at home and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you 14 days to change your mind. We begin early only on your written request, and a visit you asked for to deal with an urgent repair falls outside the right.

When a repair or re-covering needs building control

JobRoute
Re-covering within both 25 per cent envelope and 50 per cent roof limitsNo application normally
Work beyond either limitApplication and approval
Structural changes to the roofApplication and approval
Covering at least 15 per cent heavierApplication and approval
A covering whose fire performance differs from the old oneApplication and approval
Source: Planning Portal, interactive house, roof Building Regulations, fetched October 2026

Services on offer for South Chailey

South Chailey roof questions, from the clay to the common

Can Horsham slates on a roof near South Common be lifted and relaid?

Yes, and keeping the roof's own stone comes first. Slabs are lifted one at a time, graded by size, and set back in diminishing courses once the battens and frame have been checked. Where a few have cracked, new Horsham slates fill the gap if any can be found. On a listed building, confirm consent with the council before work starts.

South Chailey has no conservation area, so is any roof covering change allowed without asking?

Not entirely. A listed building follows its own rules, and the council can say whether any Article 4 direction reaches your street. Putting back the same covering rarely needs consent. A different material may be a planning matter, so ask Lewes District Council first. We take photographs before anything is disturbed, so there is a reference.

Is a cracked chimney stack on clay ground a repair or a rebuild?

It depends on whether the crack is still moving. A hairline in the pointing is a repointing job. A wide step crack that has grown suggests the brickwork needs a structural look first. We photograph the stack from the ground and from the roof, check the lead tray and flaunching, and say plainly which job it is before you commit.

Do I have 14 days to cancel a roofing contract signed at my home near South Common?

Generally yes. A contract made at your home can be cancelled within 14 days without giving a reason, and the period runs from the day after you sign. Work starts inside it only on your written request. A visit you specifically asked for to deal with an urgent repair is excluded from the right, so ask us to explain which situation applies.

Roofers near South Chailey

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

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