ROOFING & GUTTERING

Roofing in a wet climate

South Wales gets a lot of driven rain, and most of the roofing problems we are called to are not dramatic failures — they are small defects that have been letting water in slowly for a season or two. Finding where water actually enters is rarely where the stain appears on the ceiling, so we start by looking rather than by quoting.

What we deal with

• Slipped, cracked or missing slates and tiles — usually a nail-fatigue problem on older slate roofs rather than a fault with the slate.
• Full re-roofs — stripping back, replacing defective battens and laying a breathable membrane before the covering goes back on.
• Flat roofs — EPDM rubber and GRP fibreglass on extensions, dormers and garages.
• Leadwork — valleys, chimney flashings, soakers and abutments, which are a common leak point on Victorian terraces.
• Guttering, fascias and soffits — including the downpipe runs and gullies that cause damp at ground level when they block.
• Chimneys — repointing, flaunching and capping off disused stacks with ventilation.

Symptoms worth acting on early

Damp patches that appear a day or two after heavy rain rather than during it, daylight visible from inside the loft, slates in the garden after a storm, gutters overflowing at one particular corner, or blown plaster on a chimney breast. None of these are urgent in the sense of needing someone tonight, but all of them get more expensive the longer the timber underneath stays wet.

Re-roof or repair?

If the battens and timbers are sound and the problem is localised, a repair is the sensible answer and we will say so. A re-roof becomes the better value option when slates are failing across the whole slope, when there is no underlay beneath them, or when you are already scaffolding the property for other work. Scaffold is a meaningful part of the cost, so combining roofing with rendering, guttering or chimney work in one visit usually saves money.

Access and weather

Most jobs need scaffold or a tower, and we allow for weather days in the programme rather than promising a date we cannot control. You will be told what the access arrangement is and how long it stays up before work starts.