LIGHTWATER
Roofers in Lightwater for Repairs, New Roofs and Flat Roofing
Repairs, re-roofs, flat roofing and roofline work across Lightwater, Windlesham, West End and Donkey Town. Free estimates, no obligation, and a full guarantee on every new project. Call 01932 690 995.
Concrete tile from the 1960s onwards
Lightwater sits on the sandy ground between Bagshot and West End, and most of it went up between the 1960s and the 1980s. That means a lot of concrete tile laid at a shallow pitch, plenty of flat roofed garages, and roofs now old enough to need real attention. GB Roofing works across GU18 on repairs, re-roofs, flat roofs and roofline.
Shallow pitches are the local problem
A pitched roof works because water runs off it faster than it can creep sideways between the tiles. Drop the angle and that margin gets thin. A lot of Lightwater estate housing was built with tile laid near the bottom of its recommended pitch, sometimes right on it. In driving rain the water gets under the laps, and from that point the felt beneath the battens is doing the job the tiles were meant to do.
Felt does not last forever. Once it perishes, usually first at the eaves where it has sat wet for years, water starts finding the ceiling below. We see it often enough in GU18 that it is the first thing we check. If the felt has gone and the tiles are sound, there are ways forward short of a full strip. If both are tired, we will say so and price the proper job rather than sell you a patch that buys one winter.
Tiled roofing and roof tile replacement in Lightwater
Nearly every estate road here is covered in concrete interlocking tile. It is a good product and it lasts, but not forever. After fifty odd years the surface goes porous, the colour flattens off and grit starts turning up in the guttering. Tiles crack where somebody has walked on them, and the nibs give way on the ones at the verge.
Matching matters. Some of the patterns from the 1960s and 1970s are no longer made, so we either source reclaimed tiles or work out an honest match and put it where it shows least. On the older cottage roofs towards Windlesham there is handmade clay and the odd bit of slate, which is a different job again.
- Cracked, slipped or missing tiles
- Broken nibs at verges and eaves
- Ridge and hip tiles working loose
- Perished felt and battens under sound tiles
- Full retiling where the covering has had its day
On the ground
Around Lightwater
We are on these roads regularly, so a look at your roof rarely means a long wait.
- GU18
- Windlesham
- West End
- Donkey Town
- Bagshot
Every road in GU18
Lightwater is a small postcode and we know our way around it. We work the estate roads off the Guildford Road, out towards West End and Donkey Town, up to Windlesham where the housing gets older and the plots get bigger, and down into Bagshot. If you are not sure whether you sit inside our patch, ring and ask. You almost certainly do.
Bagshot, Windlesham and Camberley too
Lightwater has Bagshot on one side and Camberley on the other, with Windlesham just up the road, and we cover all of them. Our wider area runs through Surrey, Middlesex and London, taking in Woking, Chertsey, Addlestone, Weybridge, West Byfleet, Cobham, Oxshott and Esher. Being on a job in one town most weeks means we can usually reach a leak in the next one quickly.
What happens when you call
Grant comes out, gets on the roof or into the loft, and tells you what he has found. The estimate is free and there is no obligation to go ahead. We answer the phone Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, on 01932 690 995\. You reach us and you get the same answer.
Roof repairs across GU18
Most repair calls in Lightwater start with a mark on a ceiling. By the time it shows inside, water has usually been getting in for a while and has run along a rafter to somewhere that looks nothing like the actual fault. We go up and look properly before quoting, because guessing from the ground costs you money.
Storm damage, slipped tiles, failed flashing at a chimney or porch abutment, guttering that has pulled away from a soft fascia. Those are the everyday jobs. We fix what needs fixing and tell you straight if the roof has years left in it, which most of the time it does.
Flat roofing for garages, porches and extensions
Lightwater has a lot of flat roof for a place its size. Detached and integral garages, porch canopies, dormer cheeks and the occasional rear extension. Much of it is original felt that has been patched more than once and has gone brittle.
We are a Restec trained and approved installer. Restec is a British manufacturer that has been making glass reinforced flat roofing for around forty years, with the products made here in the UK. Flexitec will go over most existing surfaces without stripping everything back, while GRProof is the classic fibreglass build on a new deck. Both are glass reinforced. When we install either and register the finished job with Restec, it carries Restec’s own 20 year materials guarantee, which is only available through installers they have trained and approved.
We also fit three layer torch on felt and traditional pour and roll, plus built up systems where that suits the building better.
New roofs on Lightwater estate housing
A new roof is the biggest job we do on a house, and on the 1960s to 1980s stock around Lightwater it usually comes at the point where repairs stop being worth the money. Everything comes off. Every rafter and batten gets checked, a breathable membrane and new battens go on, then the tiles. Soft timber is replaced while the roof is open, which is the only sensible time to do it.
We will talk you through the tile choice, whether your pitch will take it, and what happens at the verges, the ridge and any abutment. Dry fixed ridge and verge systems have largely replaced mortar for good reason. On a shallow roof taking wind driven rain they make a real difference. Every new project we do is backed by a full guarantee.
Fascias, soffits and guttering
Timber roofline on a house of this age has usually been painted several times and is now soft behind the paint. You can often spot it from the drive. The fascia sags, the guttering loses its fall, and water runs down the wall instead of into the downpipe.
We strip the old timber off, check the rafter feet, and fit uPVC fascias, soffits and guttering that never needs painting. Where the eaves felt has dropped into the gutter we fit eaves trays at the same time, so the water is put where it belongs. On a standard semi it is usually a couple of days on site.
Chimney repairs in Lightwater and Windlesham
Chimneys take more weather than any other part of a roof and they get ignored until something goes wrong. On the older properties towards Windlesham and the heath, the pointing washes out of the joints and the stack starts drawing damp inside. On the estate houses it is more often lead flashing that has lifted or a cement fillet that has cracked.
We repoint, renew flashings in lead rather than sealant, refit or replace pots and cowls, and rebuild stacks where the brickwork has gone too far. If a chimney is redundant, we can take it down and make the roof good over it.
Worth a look after a wet week
Stand at the end of the drive after heavy rain and check three things. Is there a dark streak on the wall under any gutter joint? Is the guttering still sitting level along the whole run? Is there grit or moss piled at the bottom of the downpipe? Any one of those is worth a phone call before the ceiling tells you.
Services
What we do in Lightwater
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
Lightwater roofing questions
Yes. We cover all of GU18, including the estate roads through Lightwater itself, West End, Donkey Town and Windlesham, and we work in neighbouring Bagshot and Camberley just as often. Our wider area takes in Surrey, Middlesex and London. If you are right on the edge of the postcode, call and ask, because we are usually working somewhere close by.
You can usually tell from three signs: damp patches that only appear when rain is driven from one direction, staining at the eaves, and felt that has gone brittle when you look in the loft. Every tile has a minimum pitch set by the manufacturer, and much of the 1960s to 1980s housing in Lightwater was built right at the bottom of that range. One visit is normally enough for us to tell you whether the covering or the underlay is at fault.
In most cases a few tiles is genuinely enough. If the felt underneath is sound and the timber is dry, replacing cracked or slipped tiles is the right job and we will not try to talk you into more. A full strip only makes sense once the underlay has perished across the roof or the tiles themselves have gone porous. Either way we will show you what we found.
It is a materials guarantee from Restec, the manufacturer, not our own guarantee. It is only available through installers Restec has trained and approved, and only when the finished roof is registered with them. We are a Restec trained and approved installer, so we can register your roof. Our workmanship is separately covered by the full guarantee we give on every new project.
A straightforward semi is normally a few days rather than weeks, depending on size, weather and what the timber is like underneath. We strip and cover in stages, so the house is never left open overnight. If the rafters or the wall plate turn out to be soft once the tiles are off, we stop, show you, and agree the extra work before carrying on.
No. Estimates are free and there is no obligation. Grant will come out, get up and look properly, and give you a written price for the work the roof actually needs. If a repair will do, he will say so. You can reach us Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm on 01932 690 995.
Other areas we cover
If something on your Lightwater roof is worrying you, have it looked at before winter does the rest. Call GB Roofing on 01932 690 995, or email grant@gbroofingservices.co.uk. Free estimate, honest advice, quality at prices that aren’t through the roof.