Roofers in Nailsea

The drained North Somerset Levels lie to the west of Nailsea, and the town faces them. There is little to slow a westerly wind before it reaches the first line of houses, and rain driven by that wind arrives at an angle rather than straight down. Roofs in this position are tested more often than those in a sheltered street, and the faults tend to show on the west side first.

Wind damages a roof by lifting it. A gust passing over the ridge creates suction on the leeward slope, while air forced under an unsealed edge pushes up from below. Any tile with a weak fixing can be raised and dropped back with a clatter, and a repeated movement works the nail loose. The weak points are therefore wherever the fixing is thinnest, meaning the ridge line, the hip lines, the gable edges and the first row above the gutter.

Wind-driven rain is the quieter problem. It passes under laps that stay dry in ordinary rain, and it wets the underlay and the batten ends. A felt that is perfectly sound in a straight fall of rain can still let water through where it has become brittle or torn at the laps. A stain high on a west-facing gable wall indoors is a common sign.

The remedy starts with a close look. We inspect the west-facing slope at close range, test the edge tiles by hand, lift a tile or two to see the felt and the batten, and look in the loft for daylight and for tide marks on timber. If the roof is sound, it may need nothing more than new fixings on the verge and ridge. If not, you get a clear choice and a fixed price. The mechanical fixing of ridge and verge tiles, rather than mortar alone, is standard practice now under BS 5534.

The loft itself deserves a look. Condensation and wind-blown moisture can leave similar marks, and the fix for each is different.

Houses grow outward as well as upward, and the flat roofs and conservatories that result need a different kind of care from the main pitched roof. A flat roof is not completely flat; it has a slight fall to carry water to an outlet or gutter, and when that fall is lost, the water sits. Ponding is the first sign of trouble, followed by blistering, cracks and splits at the edge.

The usual flat coverings are bitumen felt, lead, GRP (glass-reinforced plastic, commonly called fibreglass) and EPDM, which is a synthetic rubber membrane. Felt is the traditional budget choice, EPDM goes down in one sheet and tolerates movement, GRP sets as a continuous skin on a sound deck, and lead lasts and bends round awkward details. In MyBuilder's 2026 guide to typical UK prices, felt sits at the lower end per square metre and lead at the top, with the other two between. Your fixed quote follows the survey.

Many failures are caused by the details, not the field of the roof. Leaks start at the upstand against the house wall, at the drip trim on the edge and at the outlet. A repair that addresses only a visible crack can leave the real cause untouched. Which system suits which roof is explained under flat roofing.

Conservatories are a special case. A glass or polycarbonate roof is held by bars and seals that age, and a solid replacement roof is treated as a material alteration, so you must submit a Building Regulations application. MyBuilder's guide puts typical UK replacements between £2,000 and £10,000 or more, depending on roof type, size and frame condition, and your fixed quote follows the survey. Our conservatory roof replacement page covers the options.

Glass has a particular history in Nailsea, but a modern conservatory roof has very little to do with the old glassworks. What matters is whether the frame can carry a new roof and whether the junction with the house is sealed.