Rear tiled roof of a brick semi seen from the garden

Roofers in Park South

Roof repairs, replacements, flat roofs and guttering on the Park South estate, from the 1960s houses and garages to the shops around Cavendish Square.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Park South's roofs, from the 1960s on

Rows of 1960s houses with tiled roofs — The 1957 to 1965 estate

Park South was built as an estate between 1957 and 1965, in a single burst rather than over generations. That matters for roofs, because a whole street built in the same few years tends to reach the same ages at the same time. The coverings, felt, battens and fixings of a 1960s house are now all around sixty years old. Typical late faults are brittle underlay, ridge tiles on tired bedding, cracked or slipped tiles around the chimney, and lead or mortar flashings that have let go. Because neighbours' roofs age together, a repair on one house is often a sign that the next house along will need attention soon, and we are happy to say what we can see from the survey. That can help a street of neighbours plan together, or at least avoid being surprised by a leak in the middle of winter.

Flat-roofed garages beside a row of houses — Garages, porches and flat extensions

The estate has a mix of housing, and with it a mix of low roofs attached to the main buildings. Flat-roofed garages, front porches, kitchen extensions and rear lean-tos all appear on estates of this age, and they are usually the first to give trouble. Felt dries and cracks, flashings pull away from the brick, and ponding water finds the weakest seam. Older detached garages may still be covered in cement-based sheets, which need careful handling because buildings from before 2000 should be assumed to contain asbestos until a test shows otherwise. We would sooner identify the material before touching it than guess, and a small sample sent for testing settles the question quickly. If it does turn out to be asbestos cement, careful removal of intact sheets is non-licensed work, but broken sheets bring extra duties, so we plan the job around keeping the material whole.

A parade of shops with flat and low roofs — Cavendish Square and the shops

Cavendish Square is the estate's landmark shopping area, and it has since been rebuilt as a smaller shopping area. A shopping parade has a different set of roof problems from a house. The roofs are often low-pitched or flat, they run across several units with shared gutters and parapets, and a leak in one unit may start above the next. Where a roof like that has been altered or reduced over the years, the junctions between old and new work are the places to look first. Our commercial roofing page covers parades and similar buildings, and the survey for a parade covers the roof as a whole instead of one unit at a time.

From the town centre to Coate Water

Distance: 2 road miles south-east of central Swindon
Council: Swindon Borough Council
Council: Swindon Borough Council
Conservation area: None listed for Park South by the council
Neighbours: Coate Water and Liden Lagoon, with shops at Cavendish Square

Park South roof questions

Is a Park South house from the 1960s due a new roof?

Not automatically. Age brings felt, bedding and flashing faults, but a sound covering can often be repaired. The loft and a close look at the tiles tell us which.

Can I leave my old garage roof near the Cavendish Square shops alone?

If it is sound and dry, yes. If it is cement sheet, do not scrub or break it up. We identify the material first and say what the safe options are.

Do trees near Coate Water make a roof need cleaning more often?

They can. Leaf litter holds moisture and clogs gutters, and shaded slopes grow moss sooner. Clearing the gutters regularly does more good than any cleaning treatment.

How do roofs from the early 1960s wear?

Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing

Rolled lead roof covering over a bay above white windows

The short answer

After six decades the weak points are rarely the tiles themselves. The old felt beneath them goes brittle, ridge and hip bedding crumbles, battens soften where moisture has got in, and flashings loosen. A survey separates a roof that needs a repair from one that needs stripping and re-covering.

The estate went up between 1957 and 1965, so most roofs here have had a long life already. The question to ask is not how old a roof is but how much of it is still doing its job.

What fails first under the tiles?

Under the tiles, the original felt is the first part to give out. It was never meant to be seen again, and after sixty years of heat in the loft it can crack like old paper. Water then runs through a damaged tile and finds nothing to stop it. Ridges follow: the mortar that held the tiles has weathered away, and BS 5534 now expects them to be fixed mechanically as well as bedded. Around chimneys, mortar fillets and lead flashings dry out and pull free.

Should the slope be patched or stripped?

Where the tiles are sound and the felt is damaged in only a few places, a local repair makes sense, because it is the least work that still cures the fault. If the felt is perished over most of a slope, patching just moves the leak. In that case the right answer is to strip the slope, fit new underlay and battens, and put the sound tiles back, topping up with matching ones. Our roof repairs page sets out what that looks like.

A roof built to the standards of the early 1960s will also have less insulation than a house built today. If a full re-cover is planned, it is the moment to ask what the roof will need under Part L, because it changes what building control expects.

We also look at the loft hatch and the eaves, because blocked eaves ventilation is a common reason for condensation that is mistaken for a leak. A roof that cannot breathe stains the underside of the felt and the timbers, and that can look worse than the fault really is.

MythIf the tiles on a 1960s roof look fine, the roof is fine.

FactThe felt, battens and fixings underneath often fail long before the tiles do.

Do trees near Coate Water change roof care?

The answer

Park South sits close to Coate Water and Liden Lagoon, and green space means leaves, moss and birds. Shaded slopes hold moisture, gutters clog faster in autumn, and nesting season can affect when some work is done. Regular gutter clearing matters more than any roof treatment.

Living near water and parkland is a pleasure, and it does ask a little more of a roof. Nothing here is dramatic. It is a matter of knowing where the damp collects.

Why start with the gutters?

Leaves from nearby trees land on the roof and wash into the gutters, where they rot into a sludge that blocks the outlets. When a gutter overflows, water runs down the wall or sits behind the fascia board, and over a few winters it softens the timber. Clearing the gutters once or twice a year is cheap compared with replacing a rotten fascia, and it is easy to do while you are checking the downpipes after a heavy autumn. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page covers repairs and replacements.

Does moss harm a shaded slope?

A slope that stays shaded, such as one under a mature tree, stays damp longer and grows moss sooner. Moss holds water against the tile and, in frost, can lift edges. It can be scraped off gently, but pressure washing risks damaging concrete tile surfaces and forcing water under the laps. Moss removal is cosmetic until it begins to block the gutters or lift the tiles, so we advise on timing rather than selling a clean for its own sake.

What if birds or bats are in the roof?

Birds nest under eaves and in gaps by the soffit, and bats can use roof spaces. Both are protected, so if we find either in a work area we stop and take advice before going on.

The best protection on a leafy road is a simple routine: clear the gutters, glance at the ridge after a storm, and have anything doubtful looked at before the winter.

What do the flat roofs around Cavendish Square need?

Blocked gutter full of leaves overflowing down a brick wall

Wind-torn membrane peeled back from a wet flat garage roof

The short answer

Flat and low-pitched roofs over shops and garages depend on their waterproof covering and their drainage. Felt, EPDM and GRP each last a different time, and ponding, split seams and blocked outlets are the usual faults. A repair works if the deck beneath is dry and sound.

Cavendish Square has been rebuilt as a smaller shopping area than it once was. A flat roof over a row of shops, or over a row of garages beside the houses, shares a few basic needs: a sound deck, a continuous waterproof layer and a way for the water to leave.

How long does each covering last?

Typical lifespans from published guides run from 10 to 20 years for torch-on felt, up to 30 years or more for EPDM, and 25 to 40 years for GRP, according to Less (updated March 2026) and GreenSpec. Those are ranges, not promises, and a poorly detailed roof of any type fails early. Our flat roofing page explains each covering.

How much fall does a flat roof need?

A flat roof is not flat. BS 6229 recommends designing for a fall of 1:40 so that, after tolerances, at least 1:80 is achieved. Roofs with less than that pond, and ponding water ages the covering faster and finds the seams. Blocked outlets and gutters make it worse.

What if the roof is shared between units?

On a parade the roof is often shared between units, and the leak you see in one shop may start above the next. A survey that photographs the whole roof lets the owners and tenants agree on what needs doing. For larger or multi-unit buildings, see our commercial roofing page.

If the covering is failing across the whole roof, a new membrane is usually better value than repeated patches, and re-covering a flat roof can bring the thermal element under Part L.

Roofing services in Park South

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the estate and the square

Why do so many Park South garage roofs leak at the wall?

Garage roofs on estates of this age are normally felt on a timber deck, and the felt cracks where it turns up against the brick. Water then runs behind the flashing. A new upstand and a continuous covering usually cure it, and we check the deck for rot before deciding between a patch and a re-cover.

Is my Park South garage roof asbestos?

It could be if it is a cement-based sheet and the building dates from before 2000, because HSE guidance is to treat any building from before 2000 as containing asbestos until shown otherwise. Do not drill, scrub or break it. We identify the material at survey and explain the options before anything is touched.

Do you look after the shops at Cavendish Square?

We survey and quote for commercial roofs, including parades with flat and low-pitched sections. For a shared roof we photograph every unit's area so owners, tenants and agents can see the same evidence and agree on one scope of work.

Is Park South in a conservation area?

Park South is not among the conservation areas on Swindon Borough Council's list. A single listed building would still need consent, but a like-for-like roof repair on an ordinary 1960s house is routine maintenance, and we confirm the position with you at the survey.

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