Tiled roofs, ridge work and tile repairs
Most of the roofs around Chesham are tiled, and most of the calls we get about them come down to a slipped tile, a ridge that has lost its bedding, or a valley that has given up. We do all three, and full re-roofs.
What we do
The detail on tiled roofing
Clay and concrete - and why it matters which you have
Clay tiles weather; concrete tiles erode. A clay peg tile roof at eighty years old often has decades left in it and simply looks better for the age. A concrete tile roof at forty is usually approaching the end - the cement face washes off, the aggregate shows through, they soak up water and get heavier, and they start shedding. If your roof has gone from a solid colour to a patchy grey and feels rough rather than smooth, that's concrete on the way out. We'll tell you which you've got and roughly where it is in its life.
Plain tiles, interlocking tiles and Chiltern peg tiles
Plain tiles are small, double-lapped and take about sixty per square metre - traditional, handsome, and the standard on older Chiltern properties. Interlocking tiles are large, single-lapped and take around ten per square metre, which makes them far quicker and cheaper to lay. You cannot simply swap one for the other: interlocking tiles need a lower pitch tolerance and a different batten gauge, and they look wrong on a period property. Around Amersham, Chesham and Great Missenden a lot of the older stock is handmade clay peg tile, hung on oak pegs rather than nailed, and it needs handling accordingly.
Ridge tiles: re-bedding versus dry ridge
Mortar-bedded ridge tiles have a life of roughly twenty to thirty years before the bedding cracks and lets go, and a ridge tile coming off a two-storey roof is genuinely dangerous. Since BS 5534 was revised in 2014, ridge and hip tiles have had to be mechanically fixed rather than relying on mortar alone - so on any new work we fit a dry ridge system, which clamps each tile down with a screw and a fixing bracket under a ventilated union strip. It costs a little more than re-bedding, needs no maintenance, and won't be blown off. If you want the mortar look kept for appearance we can bed and mechanically fix, which satisfies both.
Slipped tiles, valleys and the usual suspects
A single slipped tile is usually a failed nail or a broken peg, and it's a half-hour job - but it rarely stays a single tile, because the one that slipped was holding its neighbours. Valleys are the other common failure: cement fillet valleys crack, and old lead valleys go thin at the centre where the water runs. We replace them in lead, sized properly, rather than smearing mastic along the crack. Verges are the third - mortar-bedded verges crack and let wind under the tiles, and a dry verge system solves it permanently.
Full re-roofs
When a tiled roof does need doing wholesale, we strip it, replace the battens and membrane, sort and salvage anything re-usable, and re-tile with dry ridge, dry verge and lead valleys as standard. We'll price re-using your existing tiles against new, because on a clay roof salvage is often both cheaper and better-looking.
How it works
Four steps, in this order
01
Free inspection
We come out, get up and look properly, and photograph anything you can't see from the ground. If it turns out you don't need the work, we'll say so.
02
Written fixed quote
You get the price in writing with the materials named and the scaffold and waste included. It doesn't move unless we find something hidden and agree it with you first.
03
Scaffold and works
We book the scaffold, give you a start date and keep to it. The site gets cleared at the end of every day, not just at the end of the job.
04
Sign-off
We walk you round the finished work with the before and after photographs, clear the scaffold, and leave you the details of what was used and where.
What it costs
How we price tiled roofing
A slipped tile or a short run of ridge is a fixed small-works price. A full re-roof depends on the tile you choose, whether the existing tiles can be salvaged, the state of the battens, and the scaffold. We'll measure it properly and give you the number in writing, with re-using your existing tiles priced alongside new so you can see the difference.
Questions
The things people ask
My ridge tiles look loose - is that urgent?
Treat it as urgent. A ridge tile is heavy and it falls two storeys. If you can see mortar missing or a tile rocking, keep people away from that side of the house and ring us.
What is a dry ridge system and do I need one?
It fixes each ridge tile down mechanically with a bracket and screw instead of relying on mortar, under a ventilated union strip. It's what BS 5534 has required since 2014 on new work, it never needs re-bedding, and it ventilates the roof space at the same time.
Can you replace just a few tiles?
Yes, provided the tile is still available or we can salvage a match. On discontinued tiles we'll take spares from a hidden slope - a garage or rear elevation - and put the closest available new tile there instead.
How long does a concrete tile roof last?
Usually forty to sixty years. Clay does considerably better. If yours is rough to the touch and the colour has washed out, it's near the end regardless of what the original guarantee said.
Do you re-use the old tiles?
Where they're sound, yes - especially clay. We sort them on the ground, discard the cracked and laminated ones, and make up the shortfall with matched reclaimed stock.
Where we work
Tiled Roofing across Buckinghamshire and west Hertfordshire
We carry out tiled roofing in Chesham, Chesham Bois, Ley Hill, Hyde Heath, Amersham, Ashley Green, Latimer & Chenies, Little Chalfont, Bovingdon, Great Missenden, Berkhamsted and Chalfont St Giles, and everywhere else within 10 miles of Chesham. See the full list of areas we cover.
Related services
Need tiled roofing doing?
Tell us what the roof is doing and we'll come and look at it. Free inspection, written fixed price.