Roof repairs in Leatherhead, Surrey and South West London

Roof Repairs That Fixthe Actual Problem.

The most common call we get. One tile moves, wind gets under the row, and the ones around it follow. We replace the damaged tiles, re fix the loose ones and check the rest of the slope while we are there, because if one nail has failed the others on that batten are the same age.

Tiles move for a reason. On a concrete roof it is usually a nail that has rusted through or a clip that was never there; on a clay roof it is often the nibs breaking on tiles that are eighty years old. Frost splits tiles that have soaked up water, and a footfall from a previous trade cracks them where they are not supported.

We match the replacement to what is on the roof, from reclaimed stock for older clay and slate and from current ranges for concrete, so the repair does not show from the road. Every replacement is fixed, not just slotted in, and the surrounding tiles are checked and re fixed while the ladder or scaffold is up.

Most tile repairs in Surrey and South West London are done in a morning from a ladder or a small tower, weather allowing. Tiles are fixed to the current British Standard for slating and tiling, BS 5534, which means every replacement is nailed or clipped rather than laid loose, so the same tile does not slip again in the next wind.

The details are where roofs leak. Lead flashing that has pulled away from a chimney, a valley that has split, a soaker that was never there. We dress new lead on site rather than use sealant, because sealant is a short term repair on a material designed to last fifty years.

Lead fails in predictable ways. Step flashing pulls out of the mortar joint it was chased into, back gutters behind a chimney split where the lead has fatigued, and long valleys crack because they were laid in one length with no room to move. Each one lets water in at a point the covering cannot protect.

We form new lead of the right code for the detail, in lengths that can expand and contract, and dress it into the brickwork with a proper chase and lead wedges. It is more work than a tube of sealant and it is the difference between a repair and a delay.

Lead is specified by code, the thickness for the job: Code 4 for flashings and soakers, Code 5 for valleys and gutters that carry water. We use the code the detail needs and dress it by hand, which is why a lead repair from us is quoted as a repair to last rather than a seal to get you through the winter.

GRP, EPDM and felt. Blisters, splits, ponding and failed edges. Some can be repaired; some are past it and we will say so rather than patch a roof that will be leaking again by spring.

On a flat roof we look at the whole covering, not just the wet patch, because the water shows up where the deck sags rather than where it got in. Splits at the upstands and laps, blisters, failed edge trims and blocked outlets are the usual finds, and each can be repaired on a roof that is otherwise sound.

Where the deck is soft underfoot or the covering has been patched several times already, a repair only buys a season. We will tell you that plainly and quote for a new GRP or felt roof instead, so you can decide with the facts in front of you.

A flat roof repair is quoted after we have walked the roof, because the deck tells us more than the surface. Where a repair is right, it is done in a day and photographed. Where the deck is soft, the honest answer is a new GRP or felt roof, and we will show you the photographs that make that case.

Ridge tiles down, a hole in the felt, water coming through a ceiling. We make it safe and watertight first, with a temporary cover if that is what the weather needs, then come back and do the permanent repair when it is dry. There is someone on the phone 24 hours a day.

The first visit is about stopping the damage: loose tiles and slates taken down before they fall, a cover over any opening, a hanging gutter or a cracked pot made safe. We photograph the roof as we found it, which is what an insurer will ask for.

The permanent repair follows when the roof is dry, with the slope around the damage checked as well, because a storm rarely moves one tile without loosening its neighbours.

Storm calls in our area come with the south westerlies, and the roofs that lose tiles are usually the ones bedded on old mortar at the ridge and the verge. A temporary repair from us holds until the permanent one, and both are photographed for the insurer with the date and a description a claims handler can use.

You cannot stand on your roof and look. So we photograph what we found and what we did and send them to you. It is how you know the work happened, and it is how we keep ourselves honest.

The photographs are part of the job, not an extra. You see the fault as we found it, the repair as we left it, and anything else we noticed while we were up there. They go with the invoice, and they are useful for an insurance claim, for a buyer or seller, and for the next roofer in twenty years.

The photographs are also the record for the next owner. A buyer’s surveyor who can see a dated photograph of the valley being relined in lead asks fewer questions than one who is told it was done. Keep them with the house paperwork.