Roofing Specialists
in Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks sits high, and properties along the ridge and towards Knole take the full run of south-westerly wind. Mortar-bedded ridges and verges are the first casualties — once one bedding joint cracks, wind gets underneath and lifts the run.

We rebed or, where it makes sense, mechanically fix ridge and verge with a dry system so the fixing no longer depends on mortar holding in an exposed position.

The older streets and the surrounding villages carry hand-made clay peg tiles, sometimes over a century old and still perfectly serviceable. What fails first is the oak peg or nail and the batten behind it, which is why tiles slip in ones and twos.

Where the tiles are sound we strip, set aside, rebatten with new breathable membrane and relay, blending in matching salvage where any are lost. It keeps the look of the street and gives a properly guaranteed roof.

Tile hanging on gable walls and long catslide slopes are common around Sevenoaks and Weald. Both put water in unusual places: the hanging sheds onto the roof below, and catslides run enormous volumes into a single gutter or valley.

We check that the abutment detail, soakers and gutter capacity actually match what the roof throws at them, because undersized drainage here shows up as internal damp long before anyone blames the roof.

The plots around Sevenoaks are well wooded, and shaded north-facing slopes stay damp for months. Leaf litter blocks valleys and gutters, and moss holds water at the tile laps until the batten behind it rots.

We clear moss by hand and treat with biocide rather than pressure washing, which strips the fired surface off clay tiles and shortens their life considerably.

Large Victorian and Edwardian houses here have multiple stacks, parapets and secret gutters, most with lead that is now thin, split at the folds or bedded on failed mortar.

Mark and the team dress and weld lead by hand. Correct codes, proper steps and adequate upstands solve these leaks permanently; the mastic smear we usually find over the top does not.

Spray foam has been sold heavily across west Kent and now routinely stalls a sale, because surveyors cannot inspect the rafters and lenders treat it as unacceptable risk.

We remove the foam completely and reinstate the deck so the roof can be surveyed again. Every removal we have carried out has been signed off by building control and independent surveyors without issue.