Beacon Basingstoke Roofing

Roofers in Elstead

Elstead is 21.8 road miles east of Basingstoke, a Surrey village on both banks of the River Wey and ringed by woods and heathland. Its older roofs sit in conservation areas, its newer ones at the edge of the commons. We photograph your roof from the ground, the loft and ladders, then set out the repair and what it will cost.

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White uPVC fascia, soffit and guttering under a tiled roof

Roofs we see in Elstead

  • An Edwardian red-brick detached house with clay tile roof and tile-hung gables in north Hampshire

    Cottages in the conservation areas

    Waverley lists two conservation areas in the parish: Elstead, and Westbrook Green A and B. Many older houses there have plain clay tiles laid on timber battens, steep pitches and brick chimneys. Those tiles are small and cambered, so a patch repair with matching reclaimed tiles is generally better than a wholesale change, and anything that alters the look of the roof may need the council's agreement.

  • Roofer fitting roof tiles on a brick house near Basingstoke

    Historic and riverside buildings

    Elstead Old Bridge dates from about 1300, St James' Church is Grade II* listed, and the mill, now a pub restaurant, has been rebuilt several times since the 16th century. Roofs close to the river and on buildings of that age have uneven timbers, old lead and lime pointing, and need gentle, like-for-like work. Damp from the Wey valley makes ventilation and drainage especially important.

  • White uPVC fascia, soffit and guttering under a tiled roof

    Homes on the edge of the heath

    Beyond the village core, houses and outbuildings back onto Elstead Common, Hankley Common and the woods around them. Trees overhang many of those roofs, dropping needles and leaves into valleys and gutters, and the shade keeps tiles damp so moss takes hold. They also stand more openly to wind, which tests ridges, verges and the edges of roofs harder than a sheltered street would.

21.8 road miles east of Basingstoke

Planning and building control in Elstead

Waverley Borough Council is the planning and building control authority for Elstead. It lists two conservation areas in the parish, Elstead and the Westbrook Green A and B areas, which you can check on the council's conservation areas page. The village also lies in the Green Belt and in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so the council takes a careful view of changes to the look of buildings, and St James' Church, as a Grade II* listed building, shows the standard expected locally.

Repairing a roof with matching materials is normally straightforward. Changing the covering, adding a roof window or altering the line of a roof is where questions arise, so speak to Waverley's planning and conservation staff before work is ordered. Our guide to roof work in a conservation area explains the approach, and the roof window planning guide covers skylights. A larger re-cover can be notifiable to building control, and we deal with that for you.

What we find on Elstead roofs

Elstead roofs do not wear out evenly. The conservation area cottages have old timber and hand-made tiles, the buildings by the river have damp to deal with, and the homes beside the commons contend with trees and wind.

Chapter 1: Why have tiles slipped on the steep clay roof of our cottage near Westbrook Green?

What we find

Handmade plain clay tiles are thin and slightly curved, and each one hangs from two small nibs (projections on the back) over a timber batten. On an old, steep roof they are also held by a pair of nails, or wooden pegs. As the fixings corrode or the batten softens, a tile slips down by a few millimetres, lets the one below it loosen, and eventually falls. Frost then splits the face of any tile that has absorbed water.

The roof may look fine from the lane while the problem builds underneath. Check the garden after a gale for tile fragments, and look at the hips and valleys, where the cut tiles are most exposed. If the loft shows daylight where no daylight should be, or the underside of the tiles has darkened, water has been getting in.

What we fix

We take off only the area that has failed, keep every sound tile, and make good with reclaimed or handmade plain tiles chosen to match the colour and curve. Rotten battens are renewed, and tiles go back with stainless or copper fixings rather than the old nails. Hips and valleys are rebuilt carefully, and the ridge is bedded or dry-fixed in a way that suits the conservation area.

A cottage in plain clay is priced on its roof area and the tiles chosen, and the published range for a concrete-tile semi, £6,500 to £10,500, is only a loose guide; your fixed quote follows the survey. Before changing the type of tile, check with Waverley. Our pitched roofing page explains the work.

Chapter 2: The timbers in the loft of our old house by the River Wey look damp. Is it the roof?

What we find

Old houses near a river carry more moisture than newer ones, so a stain in the loft does not always mean a leak. Roofs of this age often have no modern underlay. Instead the tiles were bedded with torching, a layer of lime mortar pointed on the underside of the tiles to keep out wind-blown rain and snow. When torching falls away, it lies as grit on the ceiling, and moisture and draughts get through. A roof that is also poorly ventilated can build condensation on cold timbers and slates.

Telling the difference matters, because the repairs are very different. A leak shows after rain, usually in one line below a flashing, a valley or a broken tile. Condensation shows after cold nights, often as beads of water on nail tips and furry mould on the north slope.

What we fix

We check the loft in daylight and in the middle of the day, tracing any wet timber back along the slope, and run through the likely causes with you in order. A genuine leak is repaired at the source. Failed torching can be redone in lime, and where a roof is being stripped we can add a breathable underlay so that it does not trap damp in the timbers.

If the cause is condensation, the answer is ventilation and sometimes insulation, not more roofing, and we say so. Old frame timbers should never be sealed under foam or a non-breathing layer without good reason; our condensation in the loft guide explains why. Where the source is a leaking roof, a fixed quote follows the survey.

Chapter 3: Why do the valleys and gutters on our house beside Elstead Common keep blocking?

What we find

The village is surrounded by woods and heath, and many roofs near the commons sit under oak and pine. Needles, seeds and leaves drift into the valley (the V-shaped channel where two roof slopes meet) and the gutters. A mat of debris holds water, and moss spreads from it onto the tiles on either side. The valley lining then rots or lifts, and the gutter overflows down the wall, which in turn damages the fascia and the brickwork below.

Look for overflowing at the same place each time it rains, a green fringe along the edge of the valley, and damp patches on the wall under the gutter. In the loft, a stain on a rafter next to the valley points to a lining that is no longer doing its job.

What we fix

We clear the valleys and gutters by hand, inspect the lining under the tiles on either side, and renew it if it has split. Where moss has bridged the tiles, we remove it and treat the surface with a biocide instead of power washing, which can wear away the face of old tiles. Run-off is kept out of drains and away from watercourses.

Hand removal with biocide is quoted in UK cost guides at £748, £863 and £978 for small, average and large roofs; your fixed quote follows the survey. On tree-covered plots, regular clearing is cheaper than repairing the damage a blocked valley causes. See our roof cleaning and guttering pages.

Chapter 4: Why do the verge and eaves tiles lift in gales on our house at the edge of the common?

What we find

A roof on open ground catches wind from the heath side with nothing to slow it down. Wind lifts the edges of a roof first, along the verge (the sloping edge at the gable end) and the eaves, where air is pushed up beneath the tiles. On older roofs the verge is bedded in sand and cement mortar, which cracks and shrinks away from the tiles. Once it does, the edge tiles can lift one after another in a strong gust.

The evidence is typically small: crumbs of mortar in the gutter, a gap between the verge tile and the barge board, or a tile that sits proud of its row. A fallen verge tile can drop into a garden or onto a drive, so these faults are worth catching early.

What we fix

The standard that now applies, BS 5534, wants verge, hip and ridge fittings held by clips or screws, so mortar alone is not trusted to do the job. We refix the verge tiles with clips or screws, bed or dry-fix them properly, and check that the tiles at the eaves are held down as well. For a roof on an exposed plot, fixings are chosen with the wind in mind rather than the minimum.

A dry ridge on a semi is listed in UK cost guides at £900 to £1,600, with scaffold adding £300 to £900. Verges and hips are priced from the survey photographs. Read more on our ridge tile repairs page.

Elstead roofing questions

What does damp near the river do to the roof timbers of an Elstead cottage?

Persistent damp can soften rafter feet, wall plates and battens, particularly where old tiles let moisture through or gutters have dripped onto the same spot for years. From the loft we check the timbers with a probe and look for dark staining. Where only the ends of timbers are affected, we can often repair them locally without stripping the whole roof.

Do I need consent to repair the roof of a house in the Elstead conservation area?

Like-for-like repairs, with the same materials and look, are normally accepted, but it is not our place to give legal advice, so check with Waverley Borough Council's planning team. Changing tile type, adding a roof window or altering the roof line is a different matter. We provide a photographic survey you can show the council, and our guide to roof work in a conservation area explains what to ask.

Can you work on an old timber-framed roof with no underlay?

Yes. Many older roofs were built without felt, so we expect it. We strip only the area in question, check the rafters and battens, repair or splice rotten timber, and re-lay the tiles. Where a section is stripped, a breathable underlay can go in, laid so that the roof can still dry out. We do not seal old timbers behind a non-breathable layer.

Heathland birds and bats are protected near us. Does that affect roof work?

It can. Much of the heath around Elstead is protected for rare birds, insects and reptiles, and bats and nesting birds are protected too. Roofs close to the commons may need the work timed, or checked for roosts, before tiles are lifted. We keep it simple: we look for signs when we survey, tell you what we see, and plan around it.

Will scaffolding or a delivery lorry be a problem on our lane?

We check access at the survey. Village lanes and narrow drives can limit where a scaffold tower or a materials delivery can stand, so we plan the position, the timing and any road or verge permissions with you in advance. Where a lorry cannot reach, tiles and materials can be carried up by hand. Waste is taken away and the site is left clear.

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