Roof tiling in Bookhamand across Surrey, matched toyour roof and fixed to stay put

Plain tiles are small, double-lapped and common on period Surrey properties. They need the correct lap and a fixing pattern suited to their exposure, and they are unforgiving of being walked on carelessly.

Interlocking concrete tiles cover more area per tile and are widespread on post-war housing. Matching profile matters here, because a non-matching tile will not interlock properly with its neighbours.

Slate is fixed differently again, and slipped slates usually mean corroded nails. Repairs are made with proper fixings rather than by hooking a slate back over a batten and hoping.

Nail corrosion is the most common cause of slipped tiles on older roofs, and it does not affect one tile in isolation; where one nail has gone, its neighbours are usually the same age and condition.

Battens split, rot and pull away from rafters. A tile fixed to a broken batten has nothing to hold, so we replace battens as part of the repair rather than working around them.

Perished membrane is what turns a covering fault into a leak. Where it has split beneath the repair area, we make it good so the secondary barrier is doing its job again.

The edges hold a tiled roof together. Loose or cracked ridge and hip tiles let water into the highest point of the roof and are a wind hazard, so they get made secure properly rather than pointed over.

Valleys concentrate water from two roof planes into one channel, and the tiles either side need cutting and bedding correctly for the valley to work. Where lead is involved, our leadwork guarantee applies.

Verges at the gable end commonly lose mortar, exposing tile ends and letting wind under the courses. Finishing these securely is a small job with a large effect.

Where an elevation has failed but the rest of the roof is sound, re-tiling that section can be the proportionate answer, with battens and membrane renewed behind the new covering.

New tiling on an extension or after alterations has to meet the existing roof, so the junction, valley or abutment detail is as much a part of the job as the tiling itself.

If the fixings and membrane have failed across the whole roof, we will say plainly that a full re-roof is the economical route rather than selling you repeated sections.

Local housing runs from period plain-tiled and slate roofs to interlocking-tiled semis and modern extensions, often on the same street, so matching and correct detailing vary house by house.

Safe access protects the roof as well as the roofer. Tiles and slates crack under careless footfall, so work is set up so we are not creating tomorrow's repairs today.

Moss and blocked gutters keep water sitting against tiles and at roof edges, so those often get looked at alongside tiling work rather than sold as an extra later.