Roofers in Mangotsfield

St James's church is a good example of what a layered building looks like. The medieval fabric survives, the 19th century work is built onto it, and the roof has to keep water out across both. Church and chapel roofs are often a mixture of covering and sheet metal, and the sheet metal is usually lead.

Lead lasts a long time and fails in particular ways. It expands and contracts with temperature, and if a sheet is too long or fixed too rigidly it creeps downhill and splits. The traditional answer is to lay lead in short bays with raised rolls along the seams and steps called drips where the roof falls, so each sheet can move without tearing. When an old sheet has split at a drip or cracked along a roll, a patch can last a while, but a repeated crack in the same place means the layout is wrong and the section needs relaying.

Sheet lead is graded by code, a figure tied to its weight and thickness. We give no code numbers here, since the choice belongs in a specification for the job and the manufacturer's table. What we do is match the lead in the roof to the lead in the repair and detail it properly: laps that are long enough, clips that hold without pinning the sheet down and flashings let into the wall.

Gutters on a building of this age are often hidden. A parapet or box gutter sits behind a wall or between two slopes, and it can hold water that nobody sees until a stain appears inside. We lift the nearest slates or stone to look and clear what has collected.

Listed building rules apply to anything on the church or on other listed buildings nearby. Consent comes from South Gloucestershire Council. Detailing for sheet metal is covered under lead roofing, and the proposed work can be set out for the council in whatever form it asks.

In an area whose building spans centuries, the main house is rarely the only roof on a plot. Garages, lean-tos, sheds and conservatories add their own coverings, and some of them are old enough to raise the question of asbestos. Corrugated sheets of asbestos cement were used on garages and outbuildings in the 20th century. We cannot tell by looking whether a given sheet contains asbestos, and nobody should assume it does or does not. Sampling and testing give the answer.

HSE guidance classes the careful removal of whole asbestos cement sheets as non-licensed work. Once the sheets will be broken up enough to throw off significant dust and debris, the job becomes notifiable non-licensed work. The practical lesson is to leave brittle sheets alone, do not drill or scrub them and get advice before any work. We follow the HSE guidance and test first. We do not hold an asbestos licence and do not claim to.

Where a garage roof is sound, an overlay may be possible, though that depends on the sheet and its supports. Where it is not, a new covering is the answer. National guides give typical ranges for replacing a garage roof: £700 to £1,000 for a single flat roof, £900 to £1,400 for a double and £2,500 to £4,500 for a pitched roof (MyBuilder, 2026). Removing asbestos averages about £2,000. Those are national averages; the price we fix after surveying reflects your own roof.

Conservatory roofs are the other outbuilding question. A polycarbonate or glass roof that has gone cloudy or leaks at the glazing bars can be replaced with a lighter or heavier alternative. Replacing with a solid roof counts as material alteration work and requires a Building Regulations application. Options for a garage are covered under garage roof replacement.