CHERTSEY KT16
Roofers in Chertsey, From Old Town Cottages to Newer Estates
From the Georgian frontages in the old town out to Ottershaw, Lyne and Longcross, GB Roofing Services looks after roofs right across KT16. Repairs, new roofs, flat roofing, roofline and chimneys. Free estimates.
Lime mortar that has given up
Chertsey gives us two kinds of job. In the old town there are period cottages and Georgian frontages with natural slate or handmade clay tile, bedded in lime mortar that has long since given up. Out towards Ottershaw and Lyne it is post-war and modern housing with concrete tile and flat roofed extensions. GB Roofing Services works on both.
Ridge and hip tiles bedded in lime mortar
On the older Chertsey properties the ridge and the hips were bedded in lime mortar when the roof was built, and that mortar has simply run out of life. You see it as crumbling joints, hairline cracks along the ridge line, and eventually a hip tile sliding down onto the guttering after a gale.
Patching with a bag of sand and cement is the usual quick fix and it rarely lasts, because the new mortar is harder than what surrounds it and cracks away again. We prefer to lift the ridge and hips, clean them up and re-bed dry, using a ventilated system with mechanical fixings so every tile is screwed down instead of relying on mortar. It costs a little more on the day and lasts far longer.
- Mortar dust and lumps sitting in the gutter after wind
- A ridge line that looks wavy from the pavement
- Daylight visible along the ridge from inside the loft
- A hip tile that has already started to move
Roof repairs in Chertsey
Leaks rarely announce themselves in the right place. Water comes in at a flashing or a slipped slate, runs along a rafter and drops through a ceiling several metres away. Finding it is the job. Covering it over is not.
Around the old town we spend a lot of time on slate, re-fixing slipped slates, renewing lead at abutments and chimney stacks, and sorting valleys somebody else has patched. On the newer roads it is more often concrete tile, cracked verges and perished felt at the eaves. Either way we tell you whether a repair will genuinely hold, or whether you would be spending money on a covering that has come to the end.
On the ground
Around Chertsey
We are on these roads regularly, so a look at your roof rarely means a long wait.
- KT16
- Ottershaw
- Lyne
- Longcross
- Thorpe
- Chertsey Meads
Tiled roofing and roof tile replacement
Chertsey roofs run from handmade clay and natural slate in the old town to plain concrete interlocking tile on the newer estates. We repair and re-lay all of them. A few cracked or missing tiles is a short job and worth doing before the felt underneath starts taking the rain. Where a whole slope has to come off, we match the replacement to what is already there, using reclaimed tiles when the original pattern is no longer made.
Fascias, soffits and guttering
The roofline is what keeps rainwater off the wall, and it is usually the first part of a house to look tired. Softened timber, sagging guttering, joints dripping onto the path, a green stain running down the brickwork. We strip the old timber back, check the rafter feet, then fit uPVC fascias, soffits and guttering that will not rot and never wants painting. New downpipes go where the water actually runs.
How a job with us actually runs
Grant comes out, gets on the roof and gives you a written estimate, free and with no obligation. If the job turns out smaller than you feared, that is what you will be told. We work Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, clear up at the end of each day and keep you posted on what has been done. Every new project is backed by a full guarantee.
New roofs on Chertsey homes
A re-roof is not a decision to rush. Before pricing we get up and look at the battens, the rafters and the felt, because on a house of any age the covering is often not the only thing that needs replacing.
The work runs the same way each time. Strip the old covering, cut out any rotten timber, fit new breathable membrane and treated battens, re-lay in your chosen tile or slate, then finish the ridge, hips, verges and leadwork properly. On a period frontage the tile choice matters, and if the property is listed or sits in a conservation area the council will have a view on what can go back on. We talk that through before anything is ordered. Every new project is backed by a full guarantee.
Flat roofing for extensions, garages and dormers
Plenty of Chertsey houses have a flat roof somewhere, whether that is a garage, a dormer or a kitchen extension on the back. Felt that has done twenty winters blisters, splits and then lets go at the seams, and by the time it drips the boarding underneath is usually soft too. Laying a new covering over a rotten deck wastes everybody’s money.
We fit three layer torch on felt, traditional pour and roll, built up systems and fibreglass. GB Roofing is a Restec trained and approved installer. Restec is a British manufacturer of GRP fibreglass and liquid roofing systems going back around forty years, with products made in the UK. Flexitec is a glass reinforced system that overlays most existing surfaces, and GRProof is classic fibreglass laid on a new deck. When a Restec system is installed and registered with Restec, the materials carry a 20 year guarantee from Restec, which is only available through installers they have trained and approved.
Chimney repairs and leadwork
Old Chertsey houses have tall stacks, and a tall stack takes weather from every direction. The pointing goes first, then the flaunching around the pots cracks, and water starts running down inside the brickwork and staining a bedroom wall.
We repoint, renew flaunching, fit pots and cowls, rebuild the upper courses where brick has blown, and replace cement fillets with proper lead flashings and soakers. Where a stack is out of use and past saving, we can take it down and make the roof good across the opening.
Ottershaw, Lyne, Longcross and the rest of KT16
Our work in Chertsey runs right across the KT16 postcode. Ottershaw, Lyne, Longcross and the houses down towards Chertsey Meads are all on our regular run, and we are over the river in Thorpe and Egham most weeks too. We know the difference between a cottage roof in the old town and a 1970s estate roof out at Ottershaw before we arrive.
We also cover Addlestone, Shepperton and Egham, and work across Surrey, Middlesex and London. If you are somewhere on the boundary and not certain, ring and we will tell you.
Dry ridge is not only for new roofs
You do not need a full re-roof to be rid of a failing mortar ridge. Where the covering is otherwise sound, the ridge and hip tiles can be lifted, cleaned and re-bedded dry with mechanical fixings as a job on its own. It also lets the top of the roof breathe, which helps with condensation in the loft.
Services
What we do in Chertsey
New Roof
A full strip and re-cover, done once and done properly.
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Roof Repairs
Leaks traced, tiles replaced, storm damage put right.
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Flat Roofing
Fibreglass and felt flat roofs for extensions, garages and dormers.
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Restec Flat Roofing
Restec trained and approved, with the manufacturer’s materials guarantee.
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Tiled Roofing
Clay, concrete and natural slate, matched to what is already there.
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Fascias, Soffits & Guttering
The roofline that keeps water off your walls, replaced in uPVC.
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Chimney Repairs
Repointing, flaunching, flashing and unsafe stacks made good.
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Leadwork
Flashings, valleys and dormers dressed in lead that lasts.
Read moreHow we work
Four steps, and no surprises
The same run of events on every job, whether it is one tile or a whole roof.
Ring or email
Tell us what you have noticed. Grant can usually tell from a description whether it is a morning’s work or something bigger, and he will say so.
We come and look properly
We get up on the roof rather than guessing from the drive, and photograph anything you cannot see for yourself.
A written price
Set out clearly, so you can compare it fairly against another quote. Free, and no obligation to go ahead.
Booked in and cleared up
We hold the date as far as the weather allows, sheet up, and the rubbish leaves with us at the end of it.
Gallery
Recent work
Questions
Chertsey roofing questions
All of it, plus the KT16 postcode around it. That includes Ottershaw, Lyne, Longcross and Chertsey Meads as well as the old town itself. We also work in Addlestone, Shepperton, Thorpe and Egham, and across Surrey, Middlesex and London. Call 01932 690 995 if you want to check your road before booking an estimate.
Not usually. On many Chertsey houses the tiles are sound and only the lime mortar bedding the ridge and hips has failed, which can be dealt with on its own by lifting the ridge, cleaning the tiles and re-bedding dry with mechanical fixings. It only becomes a bigger conversation if the battens or felt beneath have gone as well, and that can only be judged from up there.
It is a way of fixing ridge and hip tiles with screws and clips instead of mortar. A ventilated roll sits beneath the tiles, each tile is mechanically fixed, and the joint is left free to breathe. Because nothing depends on mortar, frost and normal movement cannot crack it open, and the extra ventilation at the top helps keep the loft dry.
Individual slates can nearly always be re-fixed. A slipped slate is usually just a corroded nail, and the slate is put back and held with a copper or lead tingle. It is when slates start slipping all over the roof that the nails have generally gone throughout, and at that point re-slating the slope is the more sensible spend.
Yes, and it is one of the most common jobs we do around Chertsey. We take the old felt off, check the deck, replace any soft boarding, then re-cover in torch on felt, a built up system or fibreglass depending on the roof and what you want from it. We always look at the deck before agreeing a price, because that is where the surprises hide.
Yes, estimates are free and come with no obligation. Grant looks at the roof properly rather than pricing it from the ground, explains what he has found and puts it in writing. We are on the tools Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. If the answer is that your roof has a few good years left, that is what you will be told.
We get to leaks as quickly as we can, and we would far rather see one while it is still small. Ring 01932 690 995 or email grant@gbroofingservices.co.uk with a description of where the water is showing and what the roof is covered in, and we will arrange a time. A temporary hold can often go on before the proper repair.
Other areas we cover
Whether it is one slipped slate in the old town or a full re-roof out at Ottershaw, GB Roofing Services will come and look. Call 01932 690 995 or email grant@gbroofingservices.co.uk for a free estimate. Quality at prices that aren’t through the roof.