Roofers in Eltham who actually turn up.

Roofing in Eltham

What Eltham roofs go wrong with, and what it costs

Eltham (SE9, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich) is mostly a between-the-wars suburb, and its roofing problems are the problems of 1920s and 1930s houses that are now approaching a century old.

The houses

The bulk of enquiries come from interwar semis and short terraces around Eltham Park, Well Hall, New Eltham and Mottingham: hipped roofs in clay or, later, concrete tile, with bay windows carrying their own small tiled or flat roofs. Then there's the Progress Estate at Well Hall, built in 1915 for Woolwich Arsenal workers and now a conservation area, with steep clay-tiled roofs, dormers and a lot of original detail the council wants kept. Around Eltham High Street and Eltham Palace there are older Victorian and Edwardian houses in slate, and the post-war estates at Coldharbour and Middle Park bring felt flat roofs and concrete tiles.

The jobs we see most

• Hip and ridge tiles working loose. The mortar bedding on a 1930s hipped roof has usually gone by now; after a storm the hip tiles are the first thing on the lawn.
• Bay window roofs. The small flat or lead roof over a front bay is the most common leak point on an interwar semi, and often missed because it's out of sight.
• Chimney stacks that no longer serve a fire but still let water in through cracked flaunching and worn flashing.
• Flat roof replacement on side garages and rear extensions, felt to GRP or EPDM.
• Gutters and fascias, where original timber has rotted behind the paint.

Conservation areas

The Progress Estate is the one to check. Roof coverings, dormers and rooflights there are controlled, and replacements are expected in matching clay tile. Eltham Palace and the area around the High Street also have conservation-area status. Elsewhere in SE9 like-for-like repairs need no permission.

What it typically costs in Eltham

Job	Typical range
Re-bed loose hip and ridge tiles	£250 to £600
Re-cover a bay window roof in lead or GRP	£400 to £900
Chimney repointing and flashing	£500 to £1,200
Replace a garage or extension flat roof	£1,500 to £3,500
Full re-roof of a three-bed semi	£7,000 to £13,000

South-east London prices tend to sit a little below inner-London ones because access is easier: most Eltham houses have a side path or drive, so scaffold goes up quickly. Ranges are a guide, not a quote.

One local tip

If you have a 1930s semi and the ridge tiles haven't been touched, ask the roofer to check the mortar along the whole ridge and hips while they're up there for a repair. Re-bedding it all in one visit costs far less than three separate call-outs after three separate storms.