Beacon Basingstoke Roofing

Roofers in Cold Ash

Cold Ash lies 17 road miles north-west of Basingstoke, strung along a ridge about 150 metres above sea level between the Pang and Kennet valleys. Its roofs take the wind from both sides, and they range from Bucklebury Alley's old cottages to a brick Victorian church. We photograph yours first, then price it in writing.

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A row of Victorian terraced houses with Welsh slate roofs and brick chimneys in Reading

Roofs we see in Cold Ash

  • A row of Victorian terraced houses with Welsh slate roofs and brick chimneys in Reading

    Exposed ridgetop houses

    The village runs along the top of a ridge at about 150 metres, with the River Pang valley on one side and the River Kennet valley on the other. Nothing shelters a house up there from a south-westerly gale. Roofs on this ridge are tested at the edges: the verge, the ridge line, the hips and any tiles that are only held by weight rather than clipped down.

  • A Georgian brick town house with a slate roof and parapet in a Hampshire market town

    Brick Victorian and older homes

    St Mark's parish church, built in 1864 to 1865 to designs by Charles Beazley, is a brick Gothic Revival building, and older brick houses nearby deserve the same care over matching materials. Bucklebury Alley is believed to be the oldest part of the village. Roofs here are plain clay tile or slate on timber that has been moving and settling for a long time.

  • New EPDM flat roof on a brick extension

    Large plots and mature trees

    The area was largely unpopulated moorland before 1800, and later building has spread out into big gardens with established trees. Roofs under overhanging branches stay damp, drop leaves into valleys and gutters, and take the occasional falling limb in a storm. Large detached houses also carry long, hipped roofs with several valleys, each one a place where water can find a way in.

17 road miles north-west of Basingstoke

Planning and building control in Cold Ash

Cold Ash is in West Berkshire, so planning and building control sit with West Berkshire Council. Parts of the village to the north and east lie within the North Wessex Downs, a protected landscape where the council pays close attention to how buildings look from outside. A like-for-like re-roof in matching tile or slate rarely causes trouble, but a change of material or colour may draw questions. Check the council's West Berkshire Council website or ask its planning team before ordering anything that changes the roof's appearance.

St Peter's, part of Downe House School, is a Grade II listed red-brick house built in about 1700, and other listed or locally important buildings may be nearby. Any listed house needs consent for changes to materials, so speak to the council's conservation officer first and keep to like-for-like repair. For ordinary houses, the question is usually building control, because a complete re-roof may have to be notified, and we look after that side. For roof windows, start with our planning permission for skylights article, which matters more in a protected landscape.

What we find on Cold Ash roofs

Height shapes the roofs of Cold Ash more than age does. A house on the ridge feels every gust that crosses the Pang or the Kennet, while a cottage tucked down a lane has the opposite problem of trees and damp. Older brick and tile sit next to later houses on big plots.

Chapter 1: Why do tiles keep blowing off the gable end of our house on the Cold Ash ridge?

What we find

A gable end is the triangle of wall at the end of a pitched roof, and the verge is the strip where the tiles finish against it. At about 150 metres on an open ridge, the verge takes the worst of any gale, because wind that hits the wall rides up and lifts the edge of the tiles from beneath. On older roofs the verge tiles were bedded in mortar, which crumbles over the years until the edge is held by little more than habit.

You may notice a verge tile lying in the garden after a storm, or a thin line of daylight where the tile edge meets the barge board, the timber board that finishes the gable. Wind getting under the edge also drives rain in beneath the tiles, so the first sign inside can be a stain on the ceiling near the gable wall rather than anything visible from the ground.

What we fix

We lift the verge to see how far the mortar has failed, replace broken tiles and bed or fix the edge so that it stays put. BS 5534 calls for mechanical fixing of ridge, hip and verge components, so on exposed houses like these we usually recommend dry verge caps, clip-on units screwed to the roof, over a bed of mortar which would otherwise do all the work. Wherever tiles are only held by their own weight, we add clips at the edge and along the first few courses.

Where the barge board is rotten, it is replaced before the verge goes back. Our guide on roof tiles lifting in the wind explains what holds tiles down, and our ridge tile repairs page covers ridge and hip work. A limited verge repair does not need scaffold on every elevation, but the fixed quote is set after the survey.

Chapter 2: Can the clay tiles on an old cottage near Bucklebury Alley be patched instead of replaced?

What we find

Bucklebury Alley is believed to be the oldest part of the village, and the cottages around it were built long before modern tile standards. Plain clay tiles on houses of that kind are small, double-lapped and hung on timber battens, the laths that the tiles hook over. They are fixed with nibs and a few nails, so they depend on the battens staying sound. Over time battens soften, nails corrode and tiles slide down out of their courses, which roofers call nail sickness.

Frost also flakes the face of soft handmade tiles, and a dip or sag in the roof line often means that the rafters underneath have moved. On a house with a chimney, the lead flashing and the mortar at the stack are almost always the first place to leak.

What we fix

Patching is usually the right call. We strip only the failed section, keep every sound tile for reuse and make up the numbers with reclaimed or handmade tiles chosen to match the colour and camber of the originals. New battens go on under the stripped area and the tiles are fixed with stainless nails or clips rather than hung back on the old rusted ones. Our page on nail sickness explains the fault in more detail.

The chimney gets new lead flashings, and any repointing is done in lime mortar so that older brick is not trapped behind a harder mix that makes it spall. Typical UK reported figures for leadwork to a chimney run from £350 to £920, while the fixed quote follows the survey. If the survey shows that most of the roof has gone, we tell you, and show you the photographs that prove it.

Chapter 3: Why is there so much moss and leaf build-up on the roof of our house under the trees in Cold Ash?

What we find

Established gardens are a feature of Cold Ash, but a roof that sits beneath oaks, beeches or conifers pays for it. Leaves and needles land on the roof and settle in valleys, behind chimneys and in the gutters. The debris holds moisture against the tiles, and moss grows where the surface stays wet. A roof that faces north or sits in permanent shade can hold moss all year.

The first thing that fails is usually not the tile but the part that carries water away. A valley choked with leaves will overflow into the roof edge, a blocked gutter will back up beneath the first row of tiles, and the fascia board behind it rots from the inside. Overhanging branches that rub in the wind can also wear or crack tiles.

What we fix

We clear the roof by hand, scraping the moss and brushing it down, then treat the tiles with a biocide, which works over the following weeks. We do not pressure wash concrete or older clay, because it can remove the surface and force water beneath the laps. Valleys, gutters and downpipes are emptied at the same visit and flushed to confirm that the water runs away.

Hand moss removal is reported at £748 to £978 depending on roof size in typical UK ranges, and a fixed quote follows the survey itself. See our guide to moss blocking gutters for what happens when it is left. If branches are touching the roof, cutting them back is the lasting answer, although tree work is a separate trade. If we find rotten timber, we replace it, and if bats or nesting birds are present we pause and arrange timing around them.

Chapter 4: Our big detached house in Cold Ash has several valleys and one of them leaks. Does the whole roof need doing?

What we find

Houses on large plots tend to carry long roofs with hips, dormers and extensions added over the years, and each junction creates a valley, the channel where two slopes meet. Valleys are lined with lead, or with a plastic or GRP trough, and the tiles on either side are cut to follow the line. The liner can crack or lift, the tile cuts can slip, and leaves can build up in the channel until the water overflows sideways under the tiles.

The signs are a stain on a first-floor ceiling beneath where two roofs join, or a patch on a wall that runs down from the valley. Because a valley collects water from two slopes, a small gap there lets in far more than the same gap would elsewhere on the roof.

What we fix

We open up the valley, check the liner, battens and boards beneath it, and photograph what we find. If the lead is cracked or has been laid too narrowly, we fit new code-appropriate lead with proper laps and rolled edges, then recut the tiles to sit over it. If the problem is only debris, we clear it and confirm the flow. Our guide to roof valleys sets out the types and what goes wrong with each.

The rest of the roof stays alone if it is sound. When the survey shows widespread wear, we say so, but a leaking valley on its own is a repair, with a fixed quote after the survey. Where the job is big enough to need building control, we deal with the notification, and everything we do there is covered by our 10-year written guarantee on workmanship.

Cold Ash roofing questions

What wind damage should I look for after a gale on a ridgetop house?

Look for slipped or lifted tiles, cracked mortar along the ridge and verge, lifted lead flashings and loose fascia boards. Pieces in the garden are another clue. Wind-lifted tiles let rain in without any obvious stain for a while, so a quick photograph from the ground helps. We make a leaking roof safe first, then inspect fully and quote the repair.

Does living in the North Wessex Downs change what roofing I can use?

It can. Parts of Cold Ash to the north and east lie within the North Wessex Downs, and West Berkshire Council looks harder at changes of appearance there. Matching repairs are normally uncomplicated, but swapping a clay tile for concrete or a slate for a cheaper sheet may need approval. Ask the planning team at West Berkshire Council before you order, and we can supply survey photographs for that conversation.

Can you repair the roof of a listed house like the red-brick St Peter's type of property?

We can repair listed roofs on the right terms. St Peter's at Downe House School is a Grade II listed red-brick house from around 1700, and similar houses need like-for-like materials and, often, consent. We record the roof in photographs, propose matching clay tile and lime, and give you the survey report for the conservation officer. Older roofs can shelter protected bats and nesting birds, so a survey or careful timing may come first.

Is a ridgetop house more likely to need a new roof than one in the valley?

Not necessarily. Exposure wears the edges first: ridges, verges and the first rows of tiles, rather than the whole covering. A repair that clips down loose tiles and refixes the ridge can add years to a roof on the Cold Ash ridge. We check the felt and battens from the loft, and if the main slopes have life left in them, our quote covers only the repair. Our pitched roofing page explains the full replacement alternative.

Do you also cover the nearby towns of Thatcham and Newbury?

Yes. Thatcham is close by in the Kennet valley, and Newbury is a short drive on, and both are within our range. If your address sits closer to either, see our pages on roofers in Thatcham and roofers in Newbury. The photo survey, written quote and workmanship guarantee are the same throughout.

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