1980s estate houses with brown concrete tile roofs

Roofers in Semington

Roof repairs, stone tile work, lead flashings and re-roofing in Semington, the Wiltshire village beside the Kennet and Avon Canal, from the 1698 stone houses to the former workhouse and the homes built since.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Semington's roofs, from the brook to the canal locks

A stone-tiled roof on a village house — Stone rubble and stone-tiled houses

Semington sits in the valley of Semington Brook, at the eastern end of a low Cornbrash ridge. Among its older buildings is a two-storey house of stone rubble with a stone-tiled roof and mullioned windows, dated 1698. Roofs of that kind are heavy, laid in courses and held on pegs or nails, and they move gently with the timbers beneath them. Semington House and Highfield are three-storey stone houses of the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, so their roofs stand well above ground and need proper access. Slipped stones, tired lead at the stacks and damp timber at the eaves are the usual reasons we are called to houses like these, and each of them can be dealt with without disturbing the whole roof when it is caught early.

Brick gable and chimney on an old village building — Brick, stone quoins and a timber frame

The Somerset Arms is an eighteenth-century building of brick with stone quoins, the stone blocks that strengthen and decorate the corners. Church Farm is partly timber-framed, with an exterior built up in stone over time. Timber framing changes the job for a roofer: the frame moves, joints open and close with the seasons, and flashings and the line where roof meets wall need to allow for that movement. Brick gables and chimneys add their own work, with pointing and flashings that wear out long before the stack does, and on a pub or an inn the roof also has to cope with extra flues, vents and extractor outlets. We look at how the roof meets the walls before we look at the covering, because that junction is where an old building most often lets water in. Where pointing has gone, we tell you even when it is a mason's job rather than a roofer's.

A large roof beside a canal towpath — The canal, the workhouse and the chapel

The Kennet and Avon Canal runs across the north edge of the village, with Semington locks built between 1794 and 1802. The former workhouse, now St George's Hospital, went up in the late 1830s, and the chapel of St George has a fifteenth-century nave and porch and an early-sixteenth-century chancel. The population grew from 265 in 1801, counted with Littleton, to 570 by 1841, and homes of many ages now stand in the village. Larger buildings such as the old workhouse bring bigger roofs, high gutters and long valleys, while lock-side and canal-edge sites often limit where scaffold can be erected and materials stacked. Planning those practical points early keeps a job short and keeps neighbours happy.

From Swindon to the canal and the brook

Distance: 27 road miles south-west of central Swindon
Council: Wiltshire Council
Council: Wiltshire Council
Waterway: The Kennet and Avon Canal, with locks built 1794 to 1802
Setting: A village on Semington Brook between Melksham and Trowbridge

Short answers about Semington's stone and brick roofs

Can a stone-tiled roof like the 1698 house be patched?

Usually. Slipped stones are refixed and broken ones replaced with stone of the same kind, while rotten battens and fixings are renewed, so the covering and its weathered look survive.

What gets a crew safely onto a three-storey roof?

A scaffold is normally the safest route. Its price turns on the height and footprint of the house, so access is worked out during the survey and carried into the written quote.

Is the roof of a listed house on the canal treated differently?

Yes. Listed building consent is needed for works that touch a listed house's special interest, so we keep to the existing covering where possible and put any change to Wiltshire Council first.

How do you look after the 1698 house's stone tiles?

Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing

Roofers on a slate roof along a limestone village street

The short answer

By repairing in place wherever we can. A stone-tiled roof usually fails at its fixings, battens and lead before the stones wear out, so we renew those, refix slipped stones, match any new ones by size and type, and avoid stripping a slope that only needs local work.

Old accounts of Semington mention a two-storey house of stone rubble with a stone-tiled roof, dated 1698, and a roof like that does a lot to give a village its character. Looking after it takes patience, and the sense to leave well alone where nothing is wrong. Our roof repairs approach starts from the same idea.

Why do stone-tiled roofs fail where they do?

The fixings go first. Pegs, nails and battens rot or rust over generations, and the stone itself, thick and heavy, stays sound long after the hold on it has gone. A roof can look intact from the lane and be held up by little more than habit, which is why we always go into the loft. In the loft you can often see daylight at the lap between stones, or stained timber where water has been running.

Is it better to repair or to strip?

A local fault usually needs a local repair, and stripping a whole slope is only right when the fixings have failed over a large area. When we do strip, we number the stones by size, put them back in diminishing courses, and make up any shortfall with matching stone. Our page on Cotswold stone roofing explains the principles, which carry across to other stone-tiled roofs.

What about the lead?

Lead flashings at the stacks and abutments often outlive the stones' original fixings, but they do not last forever. MyJobQuote says correctly fitted lead flashing can last over 80 years, and Leadworx describes Code 4 as the usual pick for ordinary flashings. A tired flashing is a common reason for a leak below an otherwise sound roof, and renewing it is usually far cheaper than any wider work.

What does scaffolding cost for a tall Semington house?

The answer

Taller houses need more scaffold, and the scaffold is often the biggest single cost behind a repair. Typical UK figures are about £850 to £1,200 for a standard two-storey house, rising for three storeys, a full wrap or a chimney. Ask each contractor whether their price already covers scaffolding and VAT.

Semington House and Highfield are three-storey stone houses of the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, and their ridges and chimneys stand a long way up. Reaching them safely is the first question, not the last.

Why is high-level work more expensive?

Because the platform has to be built, inspected and taken down, and the taller it is the more tube, boards and hours it takes. A ladder is not an option for work at height on stone, where tools, stones and lead all have to be carried up. We would rather price access properly than cut it and put someone at risk.

What drives the figure up or down?

Footprint, number of lifts, how much of the building needs wrapping, and whether the ground beside the house is firm and level. Narrow lanes, canal edges and neighbouring walls can make setting up harder, which may mean hand-carrying stone, tile and lead further than on an open plot, and some sites need a pavement or highway licence, which adds a charge. Whoever quotes, ask whether scaffolding and VAT are inside the price, since the answer can shift a total a long way.

Can a chimney be reached without scaffolding the whole house?

Sometimes. A smaller tower or a single-elevation scaffold may be enough for a stack on one gable. We decide that on site after studying the roof from below, and the access we recommend is built into the written quote. Where a stack sits above a complicated roof, a chimney repairs visit often starts with the lead and pointing, because they let water in first.

What it typically costs

Domestic scaffold, one week£300 to £900
Typical two-storey house£850 to £1,200
Scaffold for a high chimney£400 to £900
Two-storey house fully wrapped£1,500 to £2,600

These are national typical ranges, and a taller or tighter site will push them upward. Your own figure is fixed in the written quote that arrives after the survey. MyBuilder, scaffolding cost guide, updated 21 August 2026.

Do roofs in Semington need any council consent?

Terraced house roof stripped to rafters inside scaffolding

Surveyor checking spray foam on rafters with a torch

The short answer

Often not, but it depends on the building. Semington does not appear to be a conservation area, though Wiltshire Council can confirm that for your address. Listed buildings still need consent where the work affects their character, and bigger re-roofs may fall under Building Regulations.

Several of Semington's best-known buildings are protected one by one, even if the village as a whole may not be, and that changes the questions you need to ask before work is priced. Start with the building, not the postcode.

Which Semington buildings are listed?

The chapel of St George is listed at Grade II, as is the former workhouse, St George's Hospital, and the Somerset Arms is listed too. Other houses may be as well. Wiltshire Council can confirm whether yours is, and it is much better to ask before pricing than after.

What if my house is not listed?

Then a repair in matching materials is ordinary maintenance. A new covering that looks different could still be a planning matter, so a quick call to the council is sensible beforehand, particularly because local restrictions can apply to individual properties that we cannot see from a survey alone.

When do Building Regulations come in?

Re-roofing is tested on the Planning Portal against two limits: under 25 per cent of the total building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof means no building control application in the normal course. Exceed either, or fit a covering that is 15 per cent or more heavier, so approval is needed, with possible extra insulation to follow. For stone or heavy coverings the weight check matters, so we look at the structure early.

Where approval is needed, we explain it and handle the notification through Wiltshire Council's building control team or a registered building control approver.

MythA village without a conservation area has no rules for roofs.

FactListed buildings and Building Regulations apply wherever you are, whatever the village's designation.

Roofing services in Semington

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from along the canal and the brook

What should I know about re-roofing a timber-framed house like Church Farm?

Timber frames flex with the seasons, so flashings and the junction between roof and wall must allow for movement. We inspect the joints and eaves before choosing a covering, and we avoid fixings that could split old timber. A survey looks at the roof structure from inside the loft.

Will you take on a roof by the canal locks?

Yes. Plots close to the water often have narrow access and soft ground, so we plan scaffold positions, material deliveries and waste removal before we start. Where a towpath or boundary belongs to someone else, we agree access with them in advance.

Do you cover Semington as well as Melksham and Trowbridge?

Semington lies between those two towns, on Semington Brook, and is inside our Swindon service area. Melksham has its own page on this site. Anyone near the edge of the area can ask us, and we will say plainly whether we reach.

How long will a repaired roof stay watertight?

That depends on the cause of the fault and the age of the roof around it. Our work carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing. It is not insurance, and it covers our work, not the age or condition of the materials we find.

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