ESHER KT10
Roofing Services in Esher, Claygate and Hinchley Wood
GB Roofing works right across Esher and the KT10 villages, from a leaking extension roof in Hinchley Wood to a full re-roof on a Victorian villa. Free estimates, and every new project carries a full guarantee.
Felt roofs are why Esher rings us
Esher keeps us busy with flat roofs. A great many houses off the main roads have a kitchen or bedroom extension on the back, and most of those were finished in felt that has long since had its day. We repair them, replace them, and do all the pitched roof work as well.
Flat roofing in Esher, and what it usually involves
The typical Esher flat roof sits over a kitchen or bedroom extension at the back of the house, or over a garage at the side. Most were finished in felt when the extension went up. Felt has a working life. It goes brittle, lifts at the seams, blisters in a hot summer and then splits.
We fit fibreglass and felt. GB Roofing is a Restec trained and approved installer, so we work with Flexitec, a glass reinforced system that overlays most existing surfaces without stripping the whole roof, and with GRProof, classic fibreglass laid on a fresh deck. Where the finished installation is registered with Restec, the materials carry a 20 year guarantee from Restec. Traditional felt still has its place on a garage, and we lay three layer torch on and pour and roll, along with built up systems.
Falls matter more than the covering. Water that sits in a dip will find the weak point eventually, so we set the falls properly and get the outlet right rather than asking the surface to do all the work.
Why so much Esher felt is failing at the same time
Esher has a lot of tired felt on kitchen and bedroom extensions, and much of it went on within a few years of itself. Once felt blisters and splits, water has usually been sitting in the deck below for a season or two before anything shows on the ceiling. By then the boards are soft.
That is why we open a corner and look before we price. Quoting a new covering over a rotten deck is how a cheap job turns expensive halfway through, and it is the single most common thing we are called in to put right after somebody else. It is worth looking properly before agreeing a price, and our estimate says plainly what happens if the timber underneath has gone.
- Blisters or bubbles across the surface
- A soft or springy patch underfoot
- Standing water still there two days after rain
- Staining on the ceiling below, usually near a wall
- Felt lifting at the upstand where the roof meets brickwork
On the ground
Around Esher
We are on these roads regularly, so a look at your roof rarely means a long wait.
- KT10
- Claygate
- Hinchley Wood
- Thames Ditton
- Weston Green
- Esher Green
Tiled roofing and roof tile replacement
Tiles are what most Esher roofs are made of, and the fix is often smaller than people expect. A few slipped tiles on a 1930s semi is short work if it is caught early. Left alone, the felt beneath gets wet, the batten rots and the tiles above start moving too. We replace individual tiles, relay whole slopes, and match clay, concrete and slate as closely as the original allows. Where an old roof has no felt under the tiles at all, which is common on the Victorian stock, we will tell you and explain what a proper strip and relay would involve.
Fascias, soffits and guttering
Timber roofline on an Esher house has usually been painted more times than anyone can remember, and paint hides soft wood well. The giveaway is guttering that has dropped out of line, or a green stain running down the wall below a joint. We replace fascias, soffits and guttering in uPVC, which does not rot and never needs painting, and we can do the whole roofline in one visit or just the run that has failed. Where the original timber is still sound and worth keeping, we will say so.
Roof repairs across Esher and the KT10 villages
Esher and the villages tight around it are KT10. We are in Claygate and Hinchley Wood most weeks, out to Weston Green, and over the border into Thames Ditton, and on the roads around Esher Green. Repairs are the bulk of what we do here.
A repair is usually one of a handful of things. A slipped or cracked tile. Failed flashing where a roof meets a chimney or an extension wall. A valley that has rusted or been patched badly with sealant. Guttering out of line, putting water down the brickwork instead of into the drain. We find the cause first, because the wet patch on a ceiling is rarely directly under the hole.
Storm damage gets looked at quickly. If a few tiles have come off in a gale we would rather come and make it safe than leave you living with a bucket on the landing.
New roofs for Esher houses
Nearer the centre there are Victorian and Edwardian villas with steep pitches and original slate or clay tile. Through Hinchley Wood and Claygate it is mostly 1930s semis. On the private roads there are larger detached houses, often extended more than once, with roofs that are really three roofs joined together.
A full re-roof means stripping the covering, checking every batten and rafter, fitting new breathable membrane and battens, then relaying with matched tile or slate and fresh leadwork wherever it is needed. On a period house we will often reclaim the sound tiles and make up the shortfall with a close match, so the finished roof still looks right from the pavement.
Every new project we take on is backed by a full guarantee, and the estimate is free with no obligation to go ahead.
Chimney repairs on the older Esher roofs
The older Esher houses carry tall stacks that take weather from every direction. Mortar joints go first. Once the pointing is open, rain gets into the brickwork and shows up as a damp patch on a bedroom wall beside the breast, which people often mistake for a leak in the roof itself.
We repoint stacks, renew flashings and soakers in lead, refit or replace pots and cowls, rebuild the top courses where brick has blown, and take stacks down and roof over neatly where a chimney is no longer in use. Leadwork is our own work.
Cobham, and out towards Walton on Thames and Kingston
Esher sits close to several of the other places we cover. Cobham is a few minutes away and we are there regularly on large pitched roofs and leadwork. Walton on Thames and Kingston are just as close, and both sit inside our Surrey and London patch. If you are on the edge of Esher and not sure which town you count as, it makes no difference to us at all.
GB Roofing covers Surrey, Middlesex and London. The rest of our regular patch runs through Cobham, Oxshott, Weybridge, Addlestone, West Byfleet, Chertsey, Woking, Lightwater and Bagshot.
Free estimates, and how we price a flat roof
The estimate is free and there is no obligation. On a flat roof we would rather see the deck than guess at it, so we lift a section of the covering while we are there. You get a price that accounts for what is actually underneath, not a figure that changes once the job starts. We work Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Services
What we do in Esher
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
Esher roofing questions
Yes. We work across the whole of KT10, which takes in Claygate, Hinchley Wood, Weston Green and Esher Green as well as Esher itself, and we are just over the border in Thames Ditton, KT7, most weeks. We are also in Cobham regularly, so if your address sits on a boundary between two of them it makes no difference to us. Call and ask.
It depends entirely on the deck underneath. If the boards are dry and sound, a Flexitec overlay goes over most existing surfaces without a full strip, which is quicker and far less disruptive. If the timber has been wet for a while and gone soft, no covering will rescue it and the deck has to be replaced first. We check before we price, not after.
Most single extension roofs are a two to three day job in dry weather, longer if the deck has to come off and be replaced. Fibreglass needs dry conditions and a reasonable temperature to cure properly, so we watch the forecast rather than start and hope. We give you a realistic window when we quote and tell you straight away if weather moves it.
No. The 20 year guarantee is a materials guarantee from Restec, the British manufacturer whose systems we fit. It is available only through installers Restec has trained and approved, and only when the finished installation is registered with them. GB Roofing is a Restec trained and approved installer, so we can register your roof. Separately, every new project we carry out is backed by our own full guarantee.
Usually, yes. Most concrete and clay tiles used on Esher’s interwar housing are either still made or have a close modern equivalent. Where a tile is no longer produced we look for reclaimed stock, or lift sound tiles from a slope nobody sees and put the new ones there instead. On a repair, matching matters more than people expect, because a patch of the wrong colour stays visible from the road for years.
There is no honest answer to that without seeing the roof, because a slipped tile and a failed valley are very different jobs on the same house. What we can promise is a free estimate with no obligation, a proper look before any figure is given, and a written price that says what is included. Call 01932 690 995 and we will arrange a visit.
Other areas we cover
If your Esher roof is leaking, the felt on the extension has had its day, or you simply want somebody honest to look before you commit to anything, call Grant on 01932 690 995 or email grant@gbroofingservices.co.uk. Free estimate, no obligation.