Roof Structures, Rebuilds
And Loft Conversions
Built, Not Just Covered

A rebuild means taking the roof back to the wall plate and starting again: new wall plates bedded and strapped, new rafters cut and pitched or new trusses set out at correct centres, ridge, purlins, collars and bracing all reinstated to suit the span, then membrane, battens and the finished covering.

We rebuild when repair no longer makes sense: widespread rot, historic fire or water damage, previous alterations that left the roof structurally compromised, or a covering so heavy for the carcass that the timbers have permanently deformed. Where slate is being reused, it is stripped by hand, sorted and stored, then relaid on the new structure so the building keeps its original material.

On new work we build the roof from the wall plate up: cut roofs formed on site where the shape is irregular or the head height matters, or trussed roofs where the span suits them. Hips, valleys, gable ends, verge detailing and eaves overhangs are all set out before anything is fixed, because a roof that is out of square at the plate never comes right at the ridge.

The covering is chosen to match the existing building, natural or reclaimed slate, artificial slate, concrete or clay tile, or a flat system on a low-pitch link, and the junction with the existing roof or wall is formed in lead rather than mortar so it survives the differential movement between old and new.

The roofing side of a loft conversion is the part that decides whether the room is dry, warm and quiet. Openings for stairs, dormers and rooflights need trimming properly, and where purlins are in the way of head height, the load has to be taken somewhere else before anything is removed, not afterwards.

Dormers are built as a complete assembly: framed cheeks and roof, insulated and ventilated, weathered in lead or a suitable cladding, with the flat or pitched dormer roof laid in the right system and the junction back into the main roof detailed in lead. Flat-roofed dormers get a proper falls build-up rather than being laid dead level and left to pond.

Insulation is built into the roof to the depth the construction needs, with a clear ventilation path above it where the design calls for one, because a warm roof with no thought given to moisture is how a brand-new conversion ends up with black mould on the sloping ceilings within two winters.

Not every structural problem needs the roof off. Rotten rafter feet can be scarfed and spliced onto sound timber with a new wall plate beneath. A dropped purlin can be propped, jacked back and supported. Spreading rafters can be pulled back and restrained with new collars or ties. Cracked or split rafters can be reinforced alongside.

We always prefer the repair where the timber above is sound, because it keeps the cost down and keeps the original structure in the building. The survey tells you honestly which side of that line your roof is on, with photographs so you can see it for yourself.