Roofers on a slate roof along a limestone village street

Roofers in Eynsham

Work on pitched roofs, chimneys, porches and extension roofs in Eynsham, whether the house stands near St Leonard's and the abbey ground or on one of the newer streets leading towards Oxford.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Eynsham's roofs, from abbey ground to new streets

Old village houses beside a parish church — Around St Leonard's

Eynsham is an old settlement. Aethelmar founded a Benedictine abbey here in 1005, and it fell at the Reformation in 1538, but the village that grew round it is still the heart of the parish. St Leonard's is an Anglican parish church with thirteenth century fabric and fifteenth century work, listed Grade II*. Fires in 1629 and 1681 did serious damage, so houses of very different ages now stand shoulder to shoulder. On a roof like that we plan the repair around the timbers beneath it: the pitch, the sag in the ridge, and whatever earlier patching is hiding under the surface. A single old slope is rarely a simple job.

Terraced cottages with chimneys and a lean-to — The wharf and the older streets

The Oxford Canal traded at the village wharf from the 1790s, and a working wharf lets a village bring in heavy goods that a purely local trade could not easily move. Cottages and houses from that period onwards can carry quite different coverings on the same street, and plenty have been altered and re-roofed several times over. We never guess a covering from the pavement. On the survey we photograph the slope, ridge, chimney flashings and verge, then record the covering and its condition. Lean-tos, outhouses and rear extensions are common on older plots, and their low roofs often fail before the main house does.

Modern tiled houses on a residential close — Newer streets towards Oxford

With a population of a little over five thousand, Eynsham has grown well beyond its old core, and many roofs there belong to later houses. Those are typically tiled over timber trusses, with dry-fix verges, ridge systems and short lead flashings where a wall meets the slope. The faults differ from an old cottage's: cracked or slipped tiles, ridge fixings working loose, tired valley liners, and underlay that has split behind the tile line. Small flat roofs over a porch, a garage or a kitchen extension turn up on these streets too, and they tend to give trouble at the edges and upstands first. Often the repair is quick, and we tell you when it is.

From Swindon out to the Swinford ford

Distance: 29 road miles north-east of central Swindon
Council: West Oxfordshire District Council
Council: West Oxfordshire District Council
Conservation area: Eynsham Conservation Area, designated in 1975
Setting: Thames flood plain near the old Swinford ford

Roof questions from the Swinford ford to St Leonard's

Does Eynsham Conservation Area change how a roof is repaired?

Usually not for repairs in matching materials. A different appearance, or alterations to a house that is listed, belong with West Oxfordshire District Council's planners, ideally ahead of signing anything.

Can you work on houses close to St Leonard's church?

Yes, on houses and outbuildings in the village. The church building itself is dealt with through the Church of England's own faculty system, with its own approvals.

Does the Thames flood plain setting matter for my roof?

Not directly. Low, damp ground can encourage growth on shaded slopes, and sound gutters and downpipes count for more where the ground already holds a lot of water.

What will a survey find on an Eynsham roof?

Torch showing a water-stained rafter beneath slates in a loft

Spray foam cut away revealing damp-stained rafter timber

The short answer

That depends on the age of the building. An older house may carry a much-patched covering on timbers that have shifted, while a newer one usually has plain tiles whose fixings and flashings are wearing out. Our camera records the slopes, and the quote is put in writing.

Eynsham has no single type of roof. A village settled long before the abbey went up in 1005 gathers all sorts of buildings, and its newer streets add a second layer on top. Only a survey separates one roof from another.

What do you look at first on an older house?

The ridge line tells us plenty. A sagging ridge, a wavy slope or a gable that leans slightly points to timbers that have moved, and that changes the repair. Then we study the verges, where the slope finishes against a gable wall, and the chimney, where old flashings and cement fillets give up early. From the loft we look at rafters and battens for daylight, stained timber or old repairs. Our roof repairs page shows how a minor fault is told apart from a bigger one.

What goes wrong on newer estate roofs?

Later tiled roofs fail in smaller, repeatable ways. Tiles crack or slip, the underlay (the membrane beneath the tiles) splits, ridge and verge fixings loosen, and lead flashings at a porch or an extension lift in the wind. Many of these jobs are repairs rather than replacements, and the fix we suggest is the narrowest one that cures the fault.

Why do you photograph the roof?

The pictures show what we saw, which spares you from simply believing us, and you can pass them to a neighbour, a surveyor or a relative. The written quote arrives as one total price after the survey, never as a figure called out from the pavement.

If access is awkward, perhaps behind a terrace or over a rear extension, we note it at the visit, because access and the height of the eaves both shape the price.

Is a listed or conservation area roof in Eynsham different?

The answer

The craft is the same, but more needs confirming first. Eynsham Conservation Area dates from 1975, and West Oxfordshire District Council decides what needs consent. Repairs in matching materials rarely do, whereas a change of covering or work on a building with a listing, usually means talking to the council first.

Many people hear the words conservation area and assume every roof job needs a formal application. It does not work like that. Putting back the same covering is generally outside planning control, and the same goes for most repairs. The caveats are listed buildings and any Article 4 direction a council has made, and a short call to the planners at West Oxfordshire tells you whether your street has one.

When should I speak to the council?

If the job changes how the house reads from the street, say with a new covering, a roof window on a slope facing the street, or a rebuilt chimney, a call to West Oxfordshire District Council's planning team before you commit saves trouble later. If the house is listed, alterations touching its character need listed building consent, roofing material included. The planning rules for roof windows are covered properly on our skylights page.

What about the church and the chapel?

St Leonard's is Grade II* listed and used by the Church of England, so works there go through the church's faculty system. Eynsham Baptist Church is Grade II listed, and Baptist Union churches in use can also come under the ecclesiastical exemption, though the detail depends on the individual building and its trustees. For either building the owners take the work through the correct route, and we describe the roof and the repair in writing so they can do that.

Who deals with Building Regulations?

Bigger re-roofs are a separate matter. Building control approval applies once re-covering reaches 25 per cent of the total building envelope, or 50 per cent of the roof, and the roof may then need extra insulation. We explain which side of the threshold your job sits on. Eynsham jobs that cross the threshold get their notice drafted and lodged by us, whether it goes to a registered building control approver or straight to the council, and we keep you informed as it moves along.

MythA designated area turns every small roof repair into a planning matter.

FactMatching repairs seldom do. Councils look hard at altered materials, altered appearance and listed buildings.

How do I arrange a roof quote in Eynsham?

Roofer behind a brick chimney with fresh flaunching around two pots

Roofer repointing a brick chimney stack from scaffolding

The short answer

For an Eynsham survey, phone 01793 626096, or reach us by WhatsApp or through the enquiry box below. One visit covers the survey and the photographs, and a written quote with a single total price follows. Leaks and storm damage get priority, and the first task is always to stop water getting in, with bigger plans coming second.

A survey in Eynsham is a proper visit, not a drive-by. A little detail beforehand helps us plan the day.

What should I tell you before the survey?

Describe what you can see and where: a stain on a ceiling, a slipped tile on the lawn, a drip that only appears in a certain wind. Mention the age of the house if you know it and whether anyone has mended the roof before. If the building is listed, say so. A photograph from the ground helps, though we still go up and look ourselves.

What do I get after the survey?

Expect a written quote giving one total price, and a set of images of the roof itself, because a camera records what a description can miss. If a repair will do, that is what is quoted. When you compare quotes, check whether each one includes VAT and scaffolding, since those two shift a figure more than people expect. Our prices are good and fair, and the survey is what lets us price a roof properly.

What happens when the work starts?

We handle the Building Regulations notification when the job calls for one, and we explain why before we start. When the roof is finished we tidy the plot, bag up the debris and take it all away. In writing, you also receive a guarantee of ten years on the workmanship; it covers our work and is not an insurance policy.

For chimney work, our chimney repairs page sets out the detail, from repointing to new flashings and rebuilt flaunching, the cap of mortar around the pots.

Our view

Fix what the survey shows is failing, and leave the sound parts of the roof alone.

Roofing services in Eynsham

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from around St Leonard's and the old wharf

Why might an old Eynsham roof have so many patches?

Age and fire history both play a part. Fires in 1629 and 1681 damaged the village, and buildings that have stood through centuries of weather collect repairs in different materials. On a survey we read the patches. Where a fault is local we mend it, and where the patches show a roof that keeps moving, a larger repair serves you better than another patch laid on top.

Do you work on the lean-tos and outbuildings behind older Eynsham houses?

Yes. Rear extensions, lean-tos, garages and sheds often have low or flat roofs, and these give trouble at edges, upstands and the line where they meet a house wall. We check the lead or flashing at the wall first, then the covering, and suggest the smallest repair that works.

Is Eynsham too far out for a roofer based in Swindon?

No. We cover everywhere within 30 road miles of Swindon, and Eynsham is inside that area. The survey is a full visit with photographs, and the written quote that arrives afterwards is a single total.

How are ridge tiles fixed on Eynsham's older houses?

Many sit on a bed of mortar, as builders laid them for generations. BS 5534, revised in 2014, no longer lets mortar do the job alone, so the ridge and hip tiles are screwed or clipped down as well, or a dry-fix system is used in place of the mortar. Which suits the roof is something we explain on the survey, and it matters most on an exposed gable.

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