Beacon Basingstoke Roofing

Roofers in Godalming

Godalming lies 26.4 road miles east of Basingstoke, in the valley of the River Wey with the Surrey Hills National Landscape to the north and west. Its older roofs are mostly clay tile, many of its walls are Bargate stone, and there are five conservation areas to respect. We survey with photographs first, and the quote that follows is fixed in writing before any work starts.

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Clay tiled pitched roof gable on a red-brick house

Roofs we see in Godalming

  • New EPDM flat roof on a brick extension

    Clay tile in the town centre

    Godalming's town centre appraisal describes the buildings on the main streets as mostly 17th to 21st century, many of them listed, built in red brick, render or timber framing under pitched roofs and clay tiles. Frith Hill is named as the best viewpoint over the town's roofscape, where clay tiles dominate the older domestic buildings. These are roofs that were made to be repaired, not replaced.

  • 1960s and 70s brick semi-detached houses with concrete interlocking tile roofs on a Basingstoke estate street

    Bargate stone walls and chimneys

    Bargate stone was used widely in and around the town, and quarrying it was part of the local economy until well into the 20th century. Where a pitched roof meets a Bargate stone gable or chimney, the joint is sealed with lead set into the stone. The stone is rough and uneven, so those flashings need to be cut to fit the face, and their pointing deserves attention as much as the metal does.

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

    Wey valley houses and shop backs

    The Godalming Navigations and River Wey conservation area follows the river through the town. On older houses and shops, the valleys, parapets and small flat roofs at the back rarely get a second look. Water collects in these awkward corners, and so do leaves from the trees in the valley. The same buildings also tend to have roof spaces that are hard to see into, so problems stay hidden until the ceiling shows a mark.

26.4 road miles east of Basingstoke

Planning and building control in Godalming

Godalming is covered by Waverley Borough Council for planning. Waverley lists five conservation areas in the town: Binscombe, Godalming Town Centre, Godalming Crown Pits, Godalming Navigations and River Wey, and Ockford Road. Its conservation areas page has the details, and it is worth reading before you plan roof work on any older house here, because the town centre appraisal treats clay tile, brick and timber as part of the area's character.

Like-for-like repair is normally the straightforward route. A different tile, a change of pitch or a new rooflight in a conservation area, or on a listed building, may need consent, so speak to the council's conservation officer before ordering materials. Away from the protected areas, the usual question is building control, since a large strip and re-cover can be notifiable, and we deal with that. Our conservation rooflights guide explains the options for old roofs.

What we find on Godalming roofs

Godalming has old buildings in large numbers, and the roofs on them have usually been repaired more than once by different hands. The faults we meet fall into a few groups: tiles held by corroded fixings, lead sealing against stone, hidden valleys and flat sections, and the damp of a wooded river valley.

Chapter 1: Are the old clay tiles on our Godalming house worth repairing, or does the whole roof need replacing?

What we find

A plain clay tile roof, the kind the town centre appraisal describes on the older domestic buildings, can last a very long time because the tiles themselves rarely wear out. What fails is the way they are held. Many old tiles hang on iron nails or wooden pegs, and the nails corrode until the tiles slide out of position, which roofers call nail sickness. Frost also flakes the faces of softer tiles, and the battens underneath rot where water has got in.

From the garden you may see a wavy line along a course of tiles, odd gaps, or patches where newer tiles have been dropped in beside weathered ones. From the loft, daylight through the roof or darkened timber under the tiles tells you where water has been entering. The roof is rarely finished; it is usually tired in patches.

What we fix

We strip only the area that has failed, keep every sound tile, and match the gaps with reclaimed or handmade plain tiles chosen for colour and camber. New battens go under the stripped section, and the tiles are secured with fresh stainless nails or clips, never the old corroded ones. A listed building should have like-for-like work, and we photograph each stage so the council has a record of what was done.

If the underlay and battens have perished across most of a slope, repair stops making sense and a re-cover on new battens is the honest advice. The price range for a new roof on a semi or detached house is reported at £4,000 to £13,000 in typical UK guides. The fixed quote follows the survey. Our pitched roofing page sets out how these jobs run.

Chapter 2: Why does water get in where our roof meets the Bargate stone gable wall?

What we find

Bargate stone is a rough, sandy stone that was laid in irregular courses, so the face of a wall is anything but flat. Where a roof slope butts up against such a wall, the joint is covered with lead, tucked into a groove cut in the stone or into a mortar joint. In time, the mortar weathers, the lead fatigues and cracks, and the groove opens. Water then runs behind the metal and into the roof space or down the inside of the wall.

Damp stone is a good guide. A wall that is dark and wet below the roof line after rain, or a stain on the plaster inside, tells you the water has not been shed outwards. Stone is also porous, and a failed joint at the top can soak a large area before anyone notices. Algae and moss on the stone often mark exactly where water has been running for years.

What we fix

We check the joint from above and from the loft, then replace the lead at the abutment (the junction between roof and a rising wall). Each length of new flashing is dressed into the stone with a stepped or raked cut to follow the uneven courses, and wedged and pointed. Pointing is done in lime mortar so that the stone can still breathe, since a hard cement mix makes the stone surface spall.

Lead work of this kind is usually a repair, not a new roof. Typical UK prices for chimney flashing on four sides are about £525 without scaffold and around £1,000 with it, and the abutment costs scale with its length. A written fixed price comes after we have been up there. See our lead roofing and leadwork page for more on the metal.

Chapter 3: There is a valley gutter between two roofs at the back of our Godalming terrace. Why does it leak?

What we find

Where two roof slopes meet at an internal angle, rain from both runs into a valley. In many town buildings that valley is lined with lead set between the tiles, and in the tightest spots it runs hidden behind a parapet wall. These channels carry a great deal of water for their size, and any leaf litter or moss slows the flow. If water rises over the edge of the lead, it runs under the tiles beside it.

Lead is durable but it moves with the heat, and old sheets can crack along their folds or lift where the nails have worked loose. A hidden valley may be the source of a stain on an upstairs ceiling that appears only after a long wet spell. On small flat sections at the back of a shop or terrace, the same pattern shows up in felt that has blistered and cracked.

What we fix

We clear the valley and photograph its lining, then decide whether to patch or replace. A short split in good lead can sometimes be repaired, but a valley that has worn thin over its length is better relined in new lead, fixed correctly with the right laps and clips, so that it can move without cracking. Flat sections nearby can be re-covered in EPDM (a single sheet of synthetic rubber) or GRP (glass-reinforced plastic), with proper upstands at the walls.

Typical UK ranges reported for flat roofs are £80 to £120 per square metre for EPDM and £100 to £160 for GRP. Your fixed quote follows the survey. Larger shop and office roofs are covered in our flat roofing guide.

Chapter 4: How do we deal with moss and damp on a roof that sits under trees in the Wey valley?

What we find

Godalming sits in the valley of the River Wey, and roofs under or beside mature trees stay shaded and wet for much of the year. Moss establishes on the tiles, leaf litter builds up in valleys and gutters, and the roof gets less sun to dry it. Over time the moss holds water against the clay, and a hard frost can flake the face of the tile. Clogged gutters then overflow onto the fascia and the wall below.

Look for green or black growth on the shaded slope, a gutter with plants growing in it, and tide marks on the render under the eaves. Moss is not harmful to a sound tile in the short term, but when it lifts tiles or blocks drainage, the roof starts to leak at places that were once watertight. Overhanging branches also scrape the surface when the wind blows.

What we fix

We remove moss by hand, treat the surface with a biocide and clear every gutter and valley. Pressure washing can strip the surface of older clay and concrete tiles, so we avoid it. Broken or slipped tiles found under the moss are replaced before treatment. If branches overhang, we say so in the report, because cutting them back keeps the roof drier for much longer than any treatment.

Hand removal with biocide is reported in UK cost guides at roughly £750 to £980 depending on size, and a pressure wash at about £550 to £720. We set the real figure after the survey. Our roof cleaning page explains what each method does and when it suits.

Godalming roofing questions

How is lead flashing fitted where a Godalming roof meets Bargate stone?

The lead is turned into a groove cut along a mortar joint, not the face of the stone, then wedged and repointed. Bargate stone is irregular, so the joints do not run in neat lines and the groove has to follow them. Old flashings often fail where earlier repairs relied on sealant instead. We photograph the joint so you can see what has gone wrong.

Our house is in the Godalming Town Centre conservation area. Can you still repair the roof?

Yes. Like-for-like repair in matching clay tile, brick and lead is normally acceptable, and that is what we propose on older buildings. If you want to change material or add a rooflight, ask Waverley Borough Council's conservation officer before work begins. We photograph the roof in detail and give you the survey report, so you have a clear record of what is there now and what needs doing.

Can you take a look at roofs that are visible from Frith Hill?

Yes, and the view from there is a fair guide to how many roofs in the town are clay-tiled. We survey from the roof itself and from the loft, not from a distance, and drones are not part of how we price. If you live on the hill, tell us about parking and access, and we plan the scaffold around it.

Do you work near the Pepperpot and the busy A3 and bypass roads?

Yes. Town centre jobs need extra planning for parking, deliveries and pedestrians, and we agree the arrangements with you before work starts. The Pepperpot dates from 1814, when it replaced the medieval market house, and it stands in the Godalming Town Centre conservation area. If your property is listed or in a conservation area, check with the council before any change of material, and we can provide survey photographs for that conversation.

Can you tell whether bats or nesting birds are in my old Godalming roof?

We look for droppings, staining and nests during the survey, but we are roofers, not ecologists. Both bats and nesting birds have legal protection, so work on an old roof can need careful timing or a specialist survey beforehand. If we see signs, we pause, tell you, and suggest the proper specialist before any tiles come off. Wooded valley areas such as the Wey make this a fair question to ask.

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