Roofer in Longlevens, Gloucester

The roofs around Longlevens

Longlevens is largely interwar and post-war housing — bay-fronted semis and detached houses built from the 1930s through to the 1960s, on generous plots with mature trees. That combination sets the pattern for the roofing work we do here.

Most of these roofs went on under concrete interlocking tiles, and a good number are now at or past the age where the tiles start losing their surface finish and going porous. You see it as a patchy, weathered look across a slope, and then as individual tiles cracking after a hard frost. Where the original bitumen felt is still underneath, it will be brittle and often torn along the eaves, which is why a tile slipping on a 1950s Longlevens semi lets water straight in when the same slip on a slated Victorian terrace might not.

The trees are the other factor. Longlevens has more of them than most of Gloucester, and gutters here fill fast in autumn. A large share of what people report as roof leaks in these streets turn out to be guttering that has been overflowing behind the fascia for a couple of winters.

What we get called out for locally

• Ridge and hip tiles – original sand-and-cement bedding on 1930s hipped roofs is usually well past its life and lifts in high winds.
• Concrete tile replacement – individually at first, then as a full re-roof once several slopes are failing.
• Chimney leadwork – cement fillets cracked around stacks, causing damp on upstairs chimney breasts. See leadwork.
• Flat roofs on rear extensions – a lot of Longlevens houses gained a flat-roofed extension in the 1970s or 80s, and that felt is long overdue. See flat roofs and EPDM.
• Gutter clearance and replacement – the single most common call we take in GL2.

Nearby areas we cover

Elmbridge, Longford, Innsworth, Churchdown, Kingsholm, Barnwood and the rest of GL1 to GL4 — plus about twenty miles beyond. Get in touch for a free assessment.