Brandon Roofers serves Lakenheath and the wider area between Brandon and the Fens, covering all types of roofing work from emergency leak repairs to full re-roofs.
Whether you need a single slipped tile sorted or a flat garage roof stripped and re-covered, we can help.
A leak is rarely where it appears to be. Water entering through a failed flashing or a cracked tile can travel along a rafter or batten before it drips onto a ceiling, which means the wet patch on your bedroom ceiling may be caused by a problem a metre or more away from the point directly above it. Getting into the loft space with a torch during or just after rain is often the fastest way to trace where water is getting in.
On Lakenheath properties, a common source of leaks is the junction between a roof slope and a chimney or parapet, where either the lead has lifted or a mortar fillet has failed. Mid-century houses with flat or nearly flat roof sections on rear extensions are another frequent source of trouble. Identifying the cause correctly before starting work saves both time and money.
Concrete interlocking tiles are common on post-war and later housing, and they become more prone to problems as they age. The nibs that hook over the roof battens can snap, and once a tile drops even slightly it leaves a gap in the waterproof lap. Tiles can also crack under foot traffic if a previous roofer or aerial installer has walked across the roof without roof ladders or boards. Even one cracked or slipped tile in a run can let in enough water to saturate the underlying felt over a winter.
Older properties are more likely to carry clay plain tiles or, on some cottages, Norfolk pantiles. These are thinner and lighter than concrete tiles and need to be handled carefully on replacement. The nailing and mortar bedding on these older roofs is often original and can be fragile.
Flat roofs are found on garages, utility extensions, and some bungalow sections throughout Lakenheath. A standard three-layer bonded felt flat roof typically lasts 10-15 years before it starts to blister, split, or allow standing water to work through. Once the felt is saturated and the deck below has taken in moisture, patching the surface rarely gives more than another season before the problem returns.
EPDM rubber membrane is a practical and long-lasting flat roof system that performs well in the temperature range this part of Suffolk experiences. It is a single layer, fully bonded to the deck, with no seams across the main field and minimal joints to fail. The cost per square metre for an EPDM flat roof in this region typically falls in the range of £70-£120 depending on deck condition, access, and detailing at outlets and upstands. If the existing deck is wet or has softened, that needs to be replaced before any new surface is laid.
The most common result of strong wind is dislodged ridge tiles, which sit on a mortar bed that hardens and loses adhesion over time. A ridge tile that has shifted by even 20 or 30mm may look almost normal from the ground but is no longer providing the seal it should, and the first heavy rain will find that gap.
Hip tiles, verge mortar, and lead flashings can all be lifted or disturbed by wind. After any significant storm it is worth checking your loft space for any sign of water entry and looking at the roofline from the ground for obvious displaced tiles or lifted ridge sections. Catching storm damage early means a small repair rather than a large one.
Torch-on felt is a more durable product than traditional pour-and-roll felt and is now standard for most flat roof work. Even so, it has vulnerable points: the upstand where the flat roof meets a wall, the outlet where water drains away, and any penetration for a soil pipe or waste outlet. These are the areas where splits and failures typically start, because the felt has to change direction and is subject to more movement. Repairing a split upstand or resealing an outlet is a straightforward task if the felt around it is still in sound condition.
Many of the detached garages in Lakenheath have felt roofs that are well past their best, and replacement is often more cost-effective than repeated patching once the surface has begun to crack across a wide area. A strip-and-relay job on a typical single garage takes a day, involves removing the old felt and checking the decking boards for any rot or softening, and then laying new felt or EPDM membrane. If the timber fascia and barge boards are also in poor condition, it makes sense to deal with them at the same time.
Corrugated sheet garage roofs, found on older properties, can develop leaks at the laps and around fixings as the washers and screws degrade. In many cases these can be resealed and the fastenings replaced without a full re-cover.
Lead flashing is used wherever a roof surface meets a vertical element such as a chimney, a dormer wall, or a parapet. On older properties in Lakenheath, original lead may have been in place for 30 or 40 years, and while lead is long-lasting it can eventually suffer from fatigue cracking or oxidisation at the edges. It can also be pulled out of the mortar joints into which it is fixed, particularly if it was only pointed in rather than properly wedged with lead plugs.
Where a flashing has simply lifted or the pointing has failed, it can often be re-dressed and re-pointed. Where the lead itself has cracked or split, the affected section needs to be cut out and new lead let in. The correct width and thickness of lead matters: step flashings and soakers on a chimney return need different gauges from a simple apron flashing at the base of a dormer.
Chimneys are exposed on all four sides above the roofline and are subject to freeze-thaw cycles every winter. Pointing in a chimney stack can fail quite quickly once water begins to get into the joints, because each freeze cycle opens the crack a little further. Repointing a stack involves raking out the failed mortar to a reasonable depth and replacing it with a mix that is appropriate for the age and brick type. Using too hard a mortar on old soft bricks causes the bricks themselves to spall.
Flaunching, the mortar cap at the top of the stack that holds the pots in place, cracks as it ages and allows water into the core of the stack. Renewing it is a relatively minor job if it is dealt with before the stack becomes structurally compromised. Disused chimney stacks that are no longer connected to a working flue are worth capping off to prevent persistent damp tracking down inside the wall.
Some older properties carry natural slate, either original Welsh slate or, on some farm and agricultural buildings, Cornish or reclaimed slate. Slate itself is very durable, but the nails that hold it fail over time through corrosion, and a roof where the slates are nail-fatigued will begin to slip progressively. Single slates can be replaced with a ripper and a new nail or a lead clip, but where a significant number of slates are at or past the end of their fixing life, a full re-slate gives better long-term value than years of individual repairs.
When replacing slates, matching the size, thickness, and colour of the original is important on visible elevations. Reclaimed Welsh slate is the best match for older properties, though it requires careful selection to avoid material with lamination faults.
Many farm buildings, small commercial units, and light industrial premises have large flat or low-pitch roofs. Common maintenance issues on these buildings include failed seams on single-ply membranes, blocked or failed outlets that allow water to pond, and deteriorated flashings at parapet walls. Regular maintenance of a commercial roof is straightforward and inexpensive compared with the cost of water damage to the building's contents or structure.
Where asbestos cement roofing sheets are present on older agricultural buildings, these need specialist removal before any new covering can be laid. We can advise on what needs to happen but licensed removal of notifiable asbestos is a separate specialist task.
Pitched roofs vary considerably depending on when the house was built. The pitch affects both the choice of material and the way the roof is detailed at the eaves, verges, and ridges. A re-tile on a shallow-pitch roof needs tiles with a longer lap than the same tile would require on a steeper pitch, and getting the specification wrong leads to leaks.
If you are getting quotes for roofing work in Lakenheath, it is worth asking any roofer the following before you proceed:
To arrange for us to inspect your roof in Lakenheath or any of the nearby villages, call Brandon Roofers and we will come out to take a look.
Brandon Roofers serves Lakenheath and the wider area between Brandon and the Fens, covering all types of roofing work from emergency leak repairs to full re-roofs.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
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