Street of 1960s brick bungalows with concrete tile roofs

Roofers in Upavon

Roof repairs, replacements, stacks and flat roofs for Upavon, from the High Street's old houses beside St Mary's church to the twentieth-century homes near the former airfield.

Get a quote Call 01793 626096

Upavon's roofs, High Street to airfield

Thatched and tiled cottages on a high street — The High Street

Upavon appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Oppavrene, and the High Street still carries several buildings from the eighteenth century, many of them thatched. A thatched house is looked after by a thatcher, and the rest of the roofwork around it is where we come in: the stacks that rise through the straw, the slated and tiled outbuildings, the porches, the lead at the junctions and the gutters that take water off a low eave. Houses of this age often have thick walls, deep reveals and rooflines that sag a little, so repairs follow the existing shape of the building and do not try to straighten it. Standing in a conservation area also means a repair is planned with care. We photograph the roof before and after, note every material used and keep the record for you, so any later question from the council or a buyer can be answered from your own file.

Flint and stone walls beneath a tiled roof — Church Street and the older core

St Mary's is a flint church with stone banding, designated grade I in 1964, and the older houses near it share the village's mix of materials and ages. Where a house has tile or slate beneath a pitched roof, ordinary wear shows up in familiar places: slipped tiles around the ridge, hips that have opened, rotten battens, torn felt and flashings that have lifted where a roof meets a wall. The valley setting on the upper Avon means shaded slopes that hold moss, and an overhanging tree fills valleys and gutters with leaves each autumn. Ridges and gables standing on open ground meet the wind first, which is why we look at their fixings before anything else. Our survey covers all of it and comes with photographs. The written quote is drawn up afterwards, from what is actually wrong rather than what looks worst from the street.

Detached homes with plain concrete tiles — Airfield-era and later homes

The airfield, now Trenchard Lines, was built around 1912 as a Royal Flying Corps base, and the Central Flying School opened there on 19 June 1912. A century of building followed, and the homes of the twentieth century in and around the village often have different roofs from the older High Street: concrete tile or slate-effect covering on pitched slopes, while garages, porches and additions sit beneath flat or low-pitched roofs. Their troubles come from age and thin detailing: cracked bonding at flat roof upstands, ridge tiles held only by mortar, rusted fixings and gutters that have sagged on their brackets.

From Swindon to the upper Avon

Distance: 23 road miles south of central Swindon
Council: Wiltshire Council
Council: Wiltshire Council
Conservation area: Upavon, recorded in Wiltshire Council's data
Setting: The upper Avon valley, on the northern edge of Salisbury Plain

Upavon roof questions

Does Upavon's conservation area affect roof repairs?

Matching repairs seldom need consent. Planning to change the covering, or own a listed house? Speak to Wiltshire Council's planning team before a price is agreed.

Do you repair thatched roofs on the High Street?

Thatching is a separate craft. We repair the stacks, lead, gutters and tiled or slated parts around it, and shield the straw while we work.

Is a roof on the Salisbury Plain edge more exposed?

Open ground leaves ridges, verges and chimney tops more exposed to wind than a sheltered street, so we look hard at their fixings.

How are Upavon's thatched High Street roofs looked after?

Roofer repointing a stone chimney stack above lead flashing

Roofer repointing a brick chimney stack from scaffolding

The short answer

By a thatcher for the straw, and by a roofer for everything around it. The High Street has several eighteenth-century buildings, many thatched. Stacks, lead, gutters and the tiled or slated parts of those houses are the roofer's side of the job.

Several eighteenth-century buildings stand along Upavon's High Street, and many of them are thatched. That sets a shape for the village that most owners want to keep. It also divides the roof work between two trades, and it helps to know which one you need.

What does the thatcher do?

Thatch is combed, patched and eventually re-coated by a thatcher, who brings the straw, the spars and the know-how to dress a ridge. We do not pretend to replace that craft. If a thatch is thin, mossed or sliding, a thatcher is the right call.

What does a roofer do beside it?

The chimney is the usual flashpoint. Water finds the gap where a brick stack passes through straw, and cracked pointing or a failed lead apron lets rain into the loft long before the thatch itself is at fault. Our chimney repairs page explains the work: repointing, flaunching, new flashings and, where needed, a rebuild above the roofline. A stack through thatch also needs a sound cap and liner, so smoke and sparks stay where they belong.

Outbuildings, porches and extensions beside a thatched house often carry plain tile, slate or a flat roof. These are straightforward jobs, done with sheeting spread over the straw below so nothing drops into it. Gutters at a low thatched eave need care as well, since a blocked run sends water straight down the wall.

When you ask us to look at a thatched house, tell us at the outset. We will plan scaffold, hot work and debris around the straw, and say plainly which parts are ours and which are for the thatcher. Often the best result comes from the two trades agreeing the order of work, so the stack is sound before the thatch is dressed around it.

Can St Mary's grade I listing affect my roof?

The answer

Only if your own house is listed itself, or the council sees it as part of the church's setting. The church is grade I, designated in 1964, and the village is a conservation area. Matching repairs rarely need consent; changes to how a roof looks should be checked with Wiltshire Council first.

St Mary's Church, built of flint with stone banding, was listed grade I in 1964. Grade I is the highest category, and it applies to the church itself. The church is part of the Vale of Pewsey benefice, so its roof is the parish's concern, and houses around it should not be confused with it. Your own house is covered by listing rules only if it appears on the list in its own right.

What does the conservation area mean?

Upavon has a conservation area, recorded on Wiltshire Council's register. A call or email to Wiltshire Council's planning team, giving your full postal address, will tell you whether your street falls inside the boundary and what to do before changing a roof covering.

What counts as a change?

Putting a tile back for a tile, a slate for a slate, or refixing a ridge in the same style leaves the street unchanged. Changing the material, adding a window to a front slope or altering a chimney are what the council notices. Our roof window pages set out the planning rules for those jobs.

What if the re-roof is a big one?

Where a re-roof reaches 25 per cent of the building envelope, or 50 per cent of the roof, Building Regulations apply, and the loft insulation may have to be upgraded. Wiltshire Council's building control team, or a registered building control approver, handles the approval. We take care of the notification when work is notifiable.

Should your house be listed, the council must consent to work that changes its character, and the covering counts as part of it. We begin with repair in the original material, fixed in the original way.

MythIf the church is grade I, every roof in the village is protected the same way.

FactA listing covers the building named on it, so check whether your own house has one.

What do Upavon's twentieth-century roofs need?

Roofer unrolling EPDM rubber membrane over a new roof deck

Row of flat-roofed brick lock-up garages with worn felt

The short answer

Not what the High Street cottages need: concrete tiles whose ridge mortar fails, felt that tires, and garage or extension flat roofs that want a new membrane. A survey sorts the repairable from the worn out.

The airfield that became Trenchard Lines was built around 1912, and the village grew alongside it. Homes from the twentieth century do not look like the High Street, and their roofs wear in other ways.

How do last century's pitched roofs wear?

Concrete tiles are durable, but the ridge bedding, the underlay beneath and the lead around the stack are the usual weak points. When a ridge is re-bedded we add fixings, since mortar by itself no longer carries the load. Our ridge and verge dry-fix page explains the options, including a dry-fix system tested to BS 8612.

What about flat roofs and extensions?

Garages, porches and rear extensions often sit under flat roofs. The membrane, whether felt, EPDM (synthetic rubber sheeting) or fibreglass, wears out sooner than the pitched roof beside it. Look for blistering, open laps, cracks at the upstand and water that lingers; any of them points to a roof near the end of its life. A repair can bridge a local fault such as a split seam, but a roof with a soft deck or standing water usually needs more.

Repair or renew?

Our advice is the lightest work that cures the fault. Sometimes that means a few new tiles, a ridge bedded again or a fresh membrane laid over a sound deck. Sometimes it is a full re-cover, and the survey photographs show why, so you can judge the reasoning yourself. If a cheaper-looking patch would fail within a season, we say that too.

Lifespans vary with maintenance and workmanship. The ranges in the table above come from published guides and are never promises. Your own roof, once surveyed, gets its own written quote.

Roofing services in Upavon

Nearby towns we cover

Questions from the upper Avon

Why are so many High Street roofs in Upavon thatched?

Thatch was a common local covering in the eighteenth century, and several High Street buildings from that period survive with it. The roof on any given house depends on its history, so a survey identifies the covering and what it needs.

Is St Mary's church roof something you would quote on?

Work on a grade I church is a matter for its parish and the architect who advises it. Our work in the village is on houses, outbuildings, flat roofs and commercial buildings, where we survey, photograph and quote in writing.

Do you work at the Trenchard Lines end of the village?

We work on homes and other buildings across Upavon, including streets near the former airfield. Tell us where you are and what the roof is, and we will arrange a survey. Access to any secured site is for the owner or occupier to arrange.

Are ridge tiles on Upavon's older tiled homes bedded only in mortar?

Many were, since mortar was the normal method for years. Since BS 5534 was revised in 2014 it has not been relied on alone, so re-bedding brings mechanical fixings, or dry-fix ridge units that have passed their tests. It matters on open ground, where wind gets under loose ridges.

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