Rear tiled roof of a brick semi seen from the garden

Roofers in Calne

Leaks, slipped tiles, tired chimneys and worn-out lead are what we deal with across Calne, from the Georgian houses round the triangular green to the brick terraces and later homes spread out along the River Marden.

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Calne's roofs, from the green to the Marden

Georgian town houses around a green — The green and the old cloth town

Calne grew rich on woollen broadcloth in the eighteenth century, and the evidence stands around the triangular green by the parish church, where 24 listed buildings include five at grade II*. Clothiers' houses and almshouses like these tend to have steep roofs, deep chimney stacks, parapets and hidden valley gutters, and each of those details can fail independently. Valleys lined with old lead split, parapet gutters clog with leaf litter, and chimney flashings wear out before anything else on the roof. With so many listed buildings, we plan around the covering already in place and take any visible change to the council first.

Rendered gables and brick chimney stacks — Limestone, render and brick terraces

The county history records that houses from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have limestone rubble walls, with timber framing inside and a coat of render over many of them. By the nineteenth century local limestone was the main building material, and brick came in widely from the middle of the century while stone stayed the favoured facing. That mixture matters to a roofer. A soft rendered gable needs its verge and flashings dressed so rain cannot run behind the render, and a brick terrace needs sound party-wall flashings and pointing at every stack. We study how wall and roof meet before looking at the covering.

Tiled semi-detached homes with a flat porch — Later homes at the Downs' edge

Calne sits at the north-western edge of the North Wessex Downs, and away from the old centre the town is made up of later houses, extensions, garages and outbuildings. Roofs of that age often carry concrete interlocking tiles, and the faults repeat: ridge tiles whose original bedding has cracked, verge cement that has crumbled, and valley linings that have simply reached the end of their life. Flat-roofed porches, garages and rear extensions turn up too, and a leak through one of them is often a failed upstand or edge trim rather than a dead deck. Most of this work needs no consent at all, and the survey tells you which kind you have.

From Swindon to the Marden valley

Distance: 17 road miles south-west of central Swindon
Council: Wiltshire Council
Conservation area: Calne, on Wiltshire Council's records
Setting: The River Marden, at the north-western edge of the North Wessex Downs
Council: Wiltshire Council

Calne roof questions

Do Calne's listed houses need consent for a roof repair?

Matching repairs rarely do, but swapping the covering on a listed building usually does. Put the question to Wiltshire Council's conservation team before the work is priced, not afterwards.

Why do old Calne chimneys leak around the stack?

Usually the flashing, not the brickwork. Lead that has cracked or lifted lets water in beside the stack, and tired flaunching on top lets it in from above.

Can a rendered limestone gable be re-roofed safely?

Yes. The edge detail is the delicate part, because new tiles and any cement must sit cleanly against the render without trapping water behind it.

What sits on the roofs round Calne's green?

Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing

Weathered brick chimney stack with eroded joints and cracked pot

The short answer

Buildings with a long history of repair: steep pitched roofs behind parapets, tall chimney stacks and lead-lined valleys. Many of the houses are listed, so the roof you see today has been patched, re-laid and flashed several times, and each layer of earlier work affects whatever comes next.

Stand on the triangular green beside St Mary's and you see the shape of a town that made its money from cloth. The houses were built by merchants who wanted tall rooms, big chimneys and a frontage that showed it. Behind the front wall, the roof is often a more complicated piece of carpentry than it looks from the street.

Why do parapets and hidden gutters leak?

Many Georgian houses finish the front wall with a low parapet, and the roof drains into a gutter tucked in behind it. That gutter is a lead-lined channel, and it only works while it stays clear and while the lead can move freely as it warms and cools. Cracked lead, blocked outlets and a smear of mastic where lead should be are the usual reasons for a ceiling stain in a top-floor room. Our lead roofing page explains how a parapet or valley gutter is relaid.

What goes wrong at chimneys and party walls?

Houses in a row share walls, and where a stack stands on a party wall the flashing has to turn the corner correctly. Flaunching is the mortar collar around the pots, and it is the first part of a stack that frost and wind break up. A chimney with failed flaunching, loose pointing and a lifted flashing can look perfectly fine from the road and still let a surprising amount of water into the bedroom below.

What do layers of past repair tell us?

A roof that has lasted two centuries has been mended by a dozen different hands. We photograph what we find, tell you which repairs are sound and which are only holding the water off for now, and send a written quote for the narrowest job that fixes the fault, backed by our 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing.

Where the building is listed, we match the covering and the fixing method already there, and talk through any departure with you first. Gutters, hoppers and downpipes get the same attention, because a roof that sheds water onto an old wall can cause as much damage as a leak through it. Once the job is done we leave the roof space swept and carry the rubbish off.

Does limestone rubble change how a Calne roof is repaired?

The answer

Yes. Rubble walls are uneven and often rendered, so verges, abutments and chimney flashings cannot be handled as if the wall were smooth brick. The roofer has to dress lead and finish mortar to suit a surface that moves and soaks up water, and leave sound render undisturbed.

The county history describes the older Calne houses as having limestone rubble walls, many of them rendered, with timber framing inside. For a roofer, that blend of soft stone, render and old timber is the first thing to understand before touching a roof, because the roof is only as dry as the junctions where it meets the walls. A covering can be perfectly sound and still leak, simply because of what happens where it stops.

How are verges on rubble gables fixed?

The verge is the sloping edge of tiling that overhangs a gable wall. On smooth brick it is easy to bed the tiles and finish in cement. On a rubble gable the top of the wall may be uneven and soft, so the edge needs careful bedding and, on an exposed gable, fixings that do not rely on mortar. Since BS 5534:2014 ridge, hip and verge tiles are held mechanically as well as bedded, which means a re-bed here gets stainless clips, or a proprietary dry system, chosen for how exposed that particular gable is.

How do flashings sit in render?

Lead flashings normally sit in a groove cut into the wall. In render, that means cutting through the coat and making good, so water runs onto the lead and never behind the render. If the render has blown or cracked at a junction, a new flashing alone cannot cure the damp, and we tell you that plainly instead of quoting for a repair that will not hold.

Our roof repairs page explains how we weigh a patch against a bigger job, and the survey photographs show you the junction in question before you decide.

Our view

Mend the junction between wall and roof first, because that is where rubble and render let the water in.

Who approves roof work in Calne's conservation area?

Brick and limestone cottages around a small village green

Industrial units with grey metal roofs beyond a roof under repair

The short answer

Wiltshire Council decides, through its planning and conservation teams, and anything notifiable under the Building Regulations goes to its building control team. Straight swaps rarely need planning permission. Altering a chimney, swapping the covering for another type or touching a listed building is the point to ask, before you accept any price.

Wiltshire Council's records show a conservation area for Calne, and an Article 4 direction is on file for the town as well. We never assume what such a direction covers, because each one is different. It is a reason to ask Wiltshire Council's planning team before any roof work that would alter how a building looks from the street.

Do matching repairs need permission?

Replacing a cracked tile, nailing back a slipped one or bedding a ridge again with identical material counts as upkeep. Re-covering in identical material seldom needs a planning application either, provided the house is unlisted and no Article 4 direction has taken that freedom away.

At what point does a Calne re-cover go to building control?

Below 25 per cent of the building envelope and below 50 per cent of the roof, a re-cover normally needs no building control application. Go beyond those limits and approval is required, and the roof's insulation may need upgrading while the roof is open. A covering 15 per cent heavier than the old one is also a trigger, which is why the roof timbers are looked at before a heavier tile goes on. Where work is notifiable we explain it and handle the Building Regulations notification, whether that goes through Wiltshire Council's building control team or a registered building control approver.

What about the listed houses round the green?

Much of what surrounds the green is listed, and listed building consent is required for any alteration that touches a building's special character. Roofing material counts. We begin with what is already up there, laid as it was, and talk through anything different before a price is given.

MythLiving near the green means every tile you replace needs an application.

FactLike-for-like repairs seldom do; the council's interest is in anything that alters the look of the building.

Roofing services in Calne

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the Marden valley

Why do the roofs on Calne's older terraces leak at the chimney first?

A chimney is where several materials meet: brick or stone, mortar, lead and the roof covering. Each moves at its own rate, so the joints open long before the roof itself fails. We check flashing, flaunching and pointing together and fix whichever has actually gone. Our page on chimney repairs shows how a stack is put right.

Do you repair roofs on the old houses by the green?

Yes, with materials and methods to match what is there. Every slope is photographed before a tile moves, and we agree the approach with you in advance. A listed house is different: any change to the covering goes to the council for consent before we quote.

Do you cover the villages around Calne?

Yes. Calne is inside the 30 road miles we work across from Swindon, and so are the villages and farms around it, including the downland to the south and east. The areas page lists every place if you want to confirm yours before getting in touch, and a call on 01793 626096, WhatsApp or the enquiry form all reach us.

How do you stop old ridge tiles on a Calne house blowing off?

By fixing them mechanically as well as bedding them. After the 2014 revision of BS 5534, mortar on its own is no longer relied upon, so a re-bed means fixings of some kind, or a proprietary dry ridge that has passed testing. It is among the first improvements we raise on any roof whose ridge has gone untouched for decades, and on a Calne house with an exposed gable it is rarely a luxury.

Ask us about your roof

Tell us what’s happening and we’ll call you back.

Photos of what we find
A written quote
10-year workmanship guarantee

Or call 01793 626096