We only have one photo from this Merseyside job, but it says a fair bit about how a terrace roof repair gets done. It shows a row of red brick terraced houses with a grey pitched roof, chimney stacks along the ridge, and two of our roofers working right up at the top of the slope beside a stack.
Down at street level an aluminium tower stands against the front wall, with ladders up to the roof and a trailer parked at the kerb for materials and waste. A person stands at the front door while the work goes on overhead.
Getting onto a terrace roof
Terraced streets bring their own practical puzzles. There is usually a small front garden or none at all, the pavement is right there, and neighbours on both sides share the roof line. A tower is a sensible choice where there is room on the front path, because it goes up quickly, takes up little space and comes down again the same way.
The ridge is a common place for trouble on houses like these. Ridge tiles on older terraces are normally bedded in mortar, and once that mortar cracks and washes out the ridge can work loose, letting rain in at the very top of the roof. Chimney stacks sitting on the ridge add flashings and junctions that also need to stay watertight.
What a repair visit covers
When we go up for a roof repair, we look beyond the obvious spot. On a roof like this that means walking the eye along the ridge, checking the tiles or slates around each stack, and looking down the slope for anything slipped or broken.
- Ridge tiles and the mortar bedding beneath them
- Flashings where the roof meets the chimney stacks
- Slipped, cracked or missing roof coverings on the front slope
- Party wall lines where one house's roof meets the next
Questions About This Kind of Job
Does my neighbour need to know if you are working on a terrace roof?
It helps to let them know. Ridges and stacks on terraces are often shared along the party wall, and we may need to step onto the edge of the next roof to work safely.
Why does the ridge on an older house keep failing?
Mortar bedding dries out and cracks with years of weather, and once it lets go the ridge tiles can rock or lift. Rebedding in fresh mortar or switching to a dry ridge system are the usual fixes.
Do you cover Merseyside as well as Cheshire?
Yes, we work across Chester, Cheshire, the Wirral and nearby areas. Send us your postcode and a note of the problem and we will let you know.
