Roofers working across Hellesdon
Hellesdon's interwar and post-war houses mostly have hipped roofs covered in concrete tiles, a design that behaves differently from a simple gable roof when it starts to age.
A hipped roof slopes down on every side, which means more hip lines and more hip tiles. Those hip tiles are traditionally bedded in mortar, and when the mortar crumbles they can shift or fall. On houses of this age it is common to find hips that have been repointed several times over, and at some point a proper rebed or a mechanically fixed dry hip becomes the sensible answer.
Chimneys on interwar houses are another recurring issue. Many are no longer used, but they still carry lead flashings and a cap, and a neglected stack lets water into a bedroom wall long before anyone suspects the roof.
Businesses on the trade units nearby tend to need flat or low pitched commercial roofing, and we handle those as planned work or reactive repairs depending on what the building needs.
Many Hellesdon houses have had loft conversions or dormer additions over the years. Where a dormer has been added to an older hipped roof, the joins between new and old work deserve a close look, because mismatched tiles and hurried flashings at those points are behind a lot of the damp patches reported in upstairs rooms. We check those joins on every visit to a converted roof.
Should I remove a chimney I no longer use?
Sometimes that makes sense, sometimes a repair and cap is cheaper. We set out both routes after looking at the stack.
What is a dry hip system?
It fixes hip tiles mechanically with clips and a roll of weatherproof material instead of relying only on mortar, so there is less to crack in future.