OXSHOTT KT22
Roofers in Oxshott Who Know What the Trees Do to a Roof
GB Roofing Services covers Oxshott and the KT22 roads around it, from the Fairmile down to Oxshott village. Repairs, re-roofs, flat roofs, roofline and chimney work, with a free estimate and no obligation.
Every house here is a bit different
Oxshott roofs are not standard. Most of the houses here were designed one at a time, so you get steep pitches, deep overhangs, cedar and clay tile, and a rear extension or two from a different decade. Grant and the team have worked on plenty of them. GB Roofing Services repairs, re-roofs and maintains property across KT22.
Trees are the hidden problem on an Oxshott roof
Mature trees are what make the roads around Oxshott look the way they do, and they are also what shortens the life of the roofs. Overhanging branches keep a slope in shade so it never properly dries. Leaf litter drops into the valleys and sits there. Moss takes hold and grows down into the laps between the tiles, where it holds water against the tile and lifts it slightly off its neighbour.
That small lift is enough to let wind driven rain track in behind, and on a cold night the water in the moss freezes and makes it worse. We clear valleys and guttering properly, take moss off by hand rather than by machine, check the laps and the felt underneath, and say honestly if a branch wants cutting back before the same thing happens again in two winters.
- Valleys packed solid with leaf litter after autumn
- A green slope that never dries out, usually the north side
- Grit and moss washing down into the guttering
- Damp showing on a bedroom ceiling days after heavy rain
Roof repairs across Oxshott
Most calls we get in KT22 start small. A slipped tile after a windy night, a stain appearing on a ceiling, a valley that overflowed in a downpour. We find the cause first. On the older detached houses here the leak is often nowhere near the wet patch, because water runs along a batten or a rafter before it drops.
Repairs we carry out regularly include replacing broken and slipped tiles, renewing lead where a dormer meets the main slope, relining a failed valley, fitting eaves trays where the felt has perished at the gutter line, and repointing verges. If a repair will not hold, we say so, and we explain what a proper job would involve instead.
A new roof on an Oxshott house
Individually designed houses rarely have a simple roof. Hips, dormers, valleys, changes of pitch and an extension in a different tile all have to be dealt with. We price a new roof after getting up and looking, never from the pavement. The written estimate says what is being stripped, what is being replaced underneath, which tile is going back on and roughly how long it will take. Every new project is backed by a full guarantee.
Flat roofing, including Restec fibreglass
Garages, dormer cheeks and rear extensions here are usually flat, and many still carry their original felt. We fit three layer torch on felt, pour and roll, built up systems and fibreglass. GB Roofing is a Restec trained and approved installer. Restec is a British manufacturer that has been making GRP fibreglass and liquid roofing systems for 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 on a new deck. Where a Restec system is installed and registered with Restec, the materials carry a 20 year guarantee from Restec, available only through installers they have trained and approved.
Leadwork on the awkward junctions
Big roofs mean long valleys, several abutments and a lot of lead. Lead lasts a very long time when it is the right code and cut to sensible lengths, and it fails early when it is not. We renew flashings, soakers, valley linings and lead gutters, and we will happily explain why a strip of flashing tape stuck over a joint is not a repair.
Tiled roofing and roof tile replacement
Oxshott has a lot of clay tile and a fair amount of cedar, usually on steep pitches. Matching is the hard part. A handmade clay tile that has weathered for eighty years looks nothing like a new one off the pallet, so we look for reclaimed tiles or a modern match that will settle in over a season or two.
We tile and slate pitched roofs of every shape, from a small porch to a full strip and re-cover. On a strip we take the covering off, check every batten and rafter, replace anything soft, fit new breathable membrane and battens, then re-lay. Swapping a handful of tiles is a much smaller job and is often all a roof actually needs.
Fascias, soffits and guttering
Deep overhangs are part of the look here, and they mean long fascia runs and wide soffits, usually a long way off the ground. Timber that has been painted every few years for decades eventually goes soft at the joints. Once the fascia softens the guttering sags, the joints pull apart and the wall below starts to stain.
We replace fascias, soffits and guttering in uPVC, which does not rot and never needs repainting, and we match the profile so it suits the house. Given the trees, gutter guards are usually worth a conversation, although nothing removes the need to clear them out now and then.
Chimney repairs
Chimneys get ignored until water comes in. On the bigger Oxshott houses there is often more than one stack, and the flashing where the stack passes through the slope is usually what fails first, particularly if somebody filled the joint with cement instead of lead.
We repoint stacks, renew flashings and soakers in lead, rebuild the upper courses where the brickwork has blown, fit pots and cowls, and cap off or take down stacks that are no longer used. When a stack comes down we make the roof good over the opening rather than leaving a patch for someone else.
Oxshott, KT22 and the roads around it
We work throughout the KT22 postcode, which covers Oxshott itself and runs across towards Leatherhead and Ashtead. We are out on the Cobham and Claygate side just as often, so we are on the road between them most days rather than travelling in from a long way off.
GB Roofing Services also covers Cobham, Esher and Leatherhead, along with the wider area across Surrey, Middlesex and London. If you are on the edge of Oxshott and unsure whether you fall inside our patch, ring and ask. The answer is almost always yes.
Please do not jet wash a mossy roof
A pressure washer takes the moss off and takes the surface of the tile with it, and it drives water up under the laps into the roof space. On an older clay or concrete covering it can knock years off the roof in a single afternoon. Moss should come off by hand, and the reason it grew needs sorting at the same time.
Services
What we do in Oxshott
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
Oxshott roofing questions
Yes, we work across the whole of Oxshott and the KT22 postcode, which also takes in Leatherhead, Fetcham and Ashtead. We are in Cobham, Stoke d’Abernon, Claygate and Esher most weeks as well, and we work more widely across Surrey, Middlesex and London. If you are not sure whether your road falls inside our area, call 01932 690 995 and we will tell you straight away.
Because the roof is shaded and stays damp. Oxshott has a lot of mature trees, and a slope sitting under branches never dries properly after rain, which is exactly what moss wants. North facing slopes are the worst. Clearing it helps for a while, but unless the branches are cut back and the valleys and guttering are kept clear, it comes back within a couple of years.
It does real damage once it grows into the laps. Moss holds water against the tile and lifts each one slightly off the tile below, which lets wind driven rain track underneath. It also washes down and blocks gutter outlets. On an older covering, frost then cracks tiles that were otherwise perfectly sound.
Usually yes, and often without a big job. Most overflowing valleys in Oxshott are simply packed with leaf litter, so the first step is clearing them and seeing what is underneath. If the lining has split, or the tiles either side were cut too tight when the roof was laid, we reline the valley properly. Cutting back the branches above makes the fix last.
In most cases yes. We source reclaimed tiles where the original pattern is no longer made, and where that is not possible we find the closest current match and blend it across the slope rather than leaving a block of new tile in one spot. Handmade clay weathers a great deal, so any fresh tile looks brighter at first and then settles down.
No. Estimates are free and come with no obligation. Grant will come out, get up and look properly rather than guessing from the ground, then tell you what the roof needs and what it does not. We are working Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Every new project we take on is backed by a full guarantee.
Other areas we cover
If something on your Oxshott roof is leaking, sagging or simply green, have it looked at before winter. Call GB Roofing Services on 01932 690 995 or email grant@gbroofingservices.co.uk for a free estimate and honest advice.