Roofers in Chippenham

When the Great Western Railway reached Chippenham in 1841, it drew new businesses, and the housing they needed spread north of the line. Where housing of that era was built in terraces, the roofs run along the street and share walls with their neighbours. That layout gives them a particular set of roof problems that differ from those of a detached house.

Start with the party wall. Where two roofs meet on a shared wall, the join is dressed with lead, mortar or a tile detail, and it has to move with two buildings that settle and expand at different rates. A flashing here fails slowly, and you may spot a patch on one house's party wall that the neighbour never sees. We trace such leaks by checking the loft on both sides if we can, and we explain the findings to each owner in the same plain terms.

Then come the chimneys. A terraced stack may carry several flues, one for each household, and it stands on the ridge where wind and weather reach it hardest. Pointing gets tired, the pots can loosen, and the flaunching cracks. A flue that has gone out of use still leaves a stack that needs to be ventilated and capped properly, otherwise damp collects inside it. The choices are laid out under chimney repairs.

The coverings on these houses have often changed over their long life. Some have been re-laid in the original material; others in something heavier or lighter. When a whole slope is stripped, we inspect the ends of the rafters and wall plates for rot, and renew battens and underlay as needed. A full re-cover is a larger decision, and roof replacement explains how we approach it and when we say it is not needed.

Take extra care with any gutter lying between two roofs or behind a parapet, since a leak there runs down inside the wall.

St Peter's church was replaced in 1968 by a modern six-sided design, which originally had a copper roof, which is now tiled. We don't know the reasons for that change, and we won't guess at them. What the fact does show is a question that arises on many Chippenham roofs: what happens when one covering is swapped for another?

The first consideration is weight. Natural slate, clay tiles, concrete tiles and metal sheet all weigh different amounts per square metre, and the timbers beneath were sized for one of them. Choose a covering that adds 15% or more to the load and approval under the Building Regulations follows, with a check of the structure. A lighter covering raises its own questions about wind uplift and fixings.

The second is appearance. A roof is one of the largest surfaces seen from the street, so a run of terraced houses can look odd when one roof is re-covered in a different colour or texture. Listing or conservation area status gives the council a say in what is acceptable. Wiltshire Council can say whether your street is covered.

The third is geometry. A six-sided roof, or any roof with several hips and valleys, has many junctions where lead and tiles must be cut and sealed. The more complex the plan, the more weight the quality of detail carries. Cutting tiles to a hip is slow work, and a poorly cut tile is where leaks begin.

Our default is to match, which is why we begin by identifying what was originally on the roof. That does not rule out change; sometimes the right answer is a more durable material, and we will talk through the alternatives at the survey.