Trusted Roofer In London

A little, and it is not what people expect. The urban heat island means central London sees fewer hard frosts than the countryside around it, so the freeze and thaw that breaks up clay tiles and mortar inland is gentler here. Against that, London’s air and its street trees keep north facing slopes and flat roofs damp and mossy, leaf fall blocks parapet outlets every autumn, and the high ground of the northern and southern suburbs takes far more wind than the valley floor. The real London factor is not the weather at all: it is that so many of the capital’s roofs are flat, hold water, and cannot be seen from anywhere, so faults are found late.

Yes. London has thousands of conservation areas spread across its 32 borough councils plus the City of London Corporation. Many carry Article 4 Directions that strip permitted development rights and require planning consent for roof changes that would not normally need it. Listed building consent and planning consent are the homeowner’s responsibility and depend on the relevant borough council. We recommend checking with your local London borough’s planning team before any roof work begins, and we will work to whatever specification the council approves.

London’s housing stock is enormously varied: Georgian and early Victorian townhouses in central districts with lead-lined parapet box-gutter roofs, Victorian and Edwardian terraces across inner suburbs with natural-slate or clay-tile pitched roofs, mansion blocks of the same era with flat or shallow-pitched roofs, large stocks of inter-war semis across outer suburbs, post-war estates, plus modern apartment and mixed-use developments throughout. Pitched roofs use clay tile, slate or concrete interlocking tile. Flat roofs use hot melt, EPDM, asphalt or felt. Each requires a different approach.

Start inside, because on a London terrace or block the roof itself is usually out of view. Look at the top floor ceilings, the tops of chimney breasts and the walls beside any parapet for new stains or damp, and check whether water is coming through where a back addition meets the main house. Then, if you can safely get to a window or a neighbouring roof that overlooks yours, look for slipped or broken slates and tiles, dislodged ridge and hip tiles, lifted lead at chimneys and party walls, and debris sitting in valley gutters or parapet box gutters, which is the commonest cause of a leak after a storm in London. If you cannot see the roof at all, that is what the free survey is for.

Greater London is the northern end of the area we work in, alongside Sussex, Surrey and Kent. Bromley, Chislehurst, Croydon, Wandsworth and Harrow each have their own page, but we survey and quote across the capital and a property elsewhere in London is not outside the area by default. If you are not certain whether your address is one we cover, ask. It costs nothing to find out, and the survey is free wherever in London the roof is.

Yes, anywhere in London and with no obligation. We look at the roof from wherever it can be seen properly, which on a London terrace or block often means from the roof itself rather than from the street, and we look inside as well, because the ceiling stains and the loft usually tell us more about a hidden roof than the outside does. You then receive a written quote setting out what we found, what we recommend and what it will cost. We are fully insured for public and employer’s liability and a certificate is available whenever you want to see it.

Because so many London flat roofs are about to be covered up. Podium decks get paved over, roof terraces get decked, green roofs get planted, and inverted roofs carry their insulation on top of the waterproofing under a layer of ballast. Once that happens the waterproofing cannot be inspected or easily repaired, so it has to be a system that is seamless, fully bonded to the deck and expected to last as long as the building. Hot melt is applied as a liquid and reinforced as it sets, with no laps or joints, which is exactly what those roofs need. On a small, open extension roof that will stay visible, EPDM or GRP is often the more sensible choice, and we will say so.

The roof does not cost more for being in London; the access sometimes does. The quote is built from what the roof needs and how we reach it, and reaching a London roof can mean working from a busy street, across a neighbour’s property, on a block that stays occupied, or on a deck that has to be cleared first. Where that adds cost we set it out separately in the written quote, so you can see what is the roof and what is the access. What we do not do is quote a London job from a distance and adjust it on site; the survey is where the price is worked out, and it is free.

Yes. Rear and side extensions on London houses nearly always carry a flat roof, and it is one of the most common new roof jobs we do: a properly insulated deck, a waterproofing system chosen for the size of the roof and what will sit on it, and the junction with the existing house detailed so it does not become the leak in five years’ time. On new build blocks and commercial buildings we install complete roofing systems, and where the new roof is a podium or a roof garden we install the hot melt waterproofing beneath it.

Yes, and it is a large part of our London work. Larger flat and pitched roofs on residential blocks, offices and commercial premises need a contractor who can document insurance and accreditation before starting, keep the building occupied while the work goes on, and warrant the finished system in writing. We are NFRC members and CHAS accredited, carry full public and employer’s liability cover with certificates available on request, and our warranties cover labour, materials and damage. The survey and the written quote are free, and the quote is set out so whoever is responsible for the building can approve it.