Roofers in Coulsdon (CR5)
Coulsdon is largely a 1930s town, and 1930s houses have one roof detail that causes more leaks than anything else on them: the little roof over the bay window. It is the first thing we look at here.
The bay roof, and why it leaks
Almost every 1930s semi and detached house in Coulsdon has a bay window with its own small roof over it, tucked in under the main elevation.
It is a fiddly detail: a flat or shallow-pitched surface, a junction where it meets the wall above, and flashing that has to be right because there is nowhere for water to go if it is not. These were often covered in materials that have long since had their day, and repairs over the years have frequently been done in whatever was to hand. When damp appears in a front room or around a bay, that detail is where we look first, and it is very often a contained repair rather than anything to do with the main roof.
Hipped roofs, terraces and the conservation streets
The main roofs on the 1930s stock are commonly hipped, which means more junctions than a simple gable and more places for a fixing or a mortar bed to fail — hips in particular tend to be the first thing to let go. The Victorian and Edwardian terraces around the older parts of Coulsdon behave like terraces anywhere: the valley behind the rear addition and the party-wall junctions are where water usually gets in. On the protected period properties in the conservation areas there may be limits on what can go back on, which we establish at survey.
Who actually does the roofing
Roofing is a specialist trade. SG brings in roofers it has worked with for years and manages them on site — we survey, price, run the job and stay answerable for the result.
More in Coulsdon
Everything we do in Coulsdon is on the Coulsdon area sheet, and the full detail of how we approach this trade is on the roofing page.
Common questions
Q.01There is damp around my bay window. Is the whole roof going?
Very often not. On a 1930s Coulsdon house the small roof over the bay is a common and contained problem, and it is the first thing we check before anyone talks about the main roof.
Q.02What usually fails on a hipped 1930s roof?
The hips themselves — the mortar bedding and the fixings along them — before the field of the roof does. That is often a repair rather than a re-cover.
Q.03Do you cover the conservation areas in Coulsdon?
Yes. On protected period properties there can be limits on what may be used, which we establish at the survey rather than partway through.
Q.04How quickly can you look at a leak?
Ring the office on 01883 337 700. Godstone is a short drive, so we can normally get someone out to make it safe and then price the proper repair.
Thinking about roofing in Coulsdon?
Tell us what you are planning. We come out, look at the job properly and give you a price for it.