Roofers in Balham,Between the Four Commons.
Balham sits between Clapham Common, Wandsworth Common, Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common, and nearly all of it went up in the fifty years after the station opened in 1856. That gives us a very particular set of roofs to look after.
Roofing and Guttering in Balham, on the London Line.
Balham was a scatter of country retreats for the well-off until the railway arrived, and most of the housing that fills SW12 today followed the opening of Balham station in 1856. That means street after street of Victorian houses: slate roofs, clay ridge tiles, tall stacks and the back additions that give every terrace its hidden valley gutter.
Two estates give the area its character. The Heaver Estate, built by the Victorian builder Alfred Heaver in the grounds of the old Bedford Hill House, is a conservation area with an Article 4 direction. Hyde Farm, east of Cavendish Road on the Lambeth side, is a conservation area too. Then there is Du Cane Court, the 1930s Art Deco block on Balham High Road, which reminds you that not everything here is Victorian.
The whole of SW12, and the SW4 and SW17 edges where Balham shades into Clapham South and Tooting Bec, is covered on the London line 0208 087 4324.
The Roofs of Balham, and What Goes Wrong With Them.
The Victorian Terraces
Slate over timber battens, with the ridge in clay and a stack at every party wall. Nails rust, slates slip, and the mortar in the ridge and the verge weathers back until the wind gets under it.
The Heaver Estate
Large late Victorian houses with plenty of roof and plenty of lead. An Article 4 direction means some exterior changes need permission; repairs in the same material do not.
Hyde Farm and Nightingale Lane
Two more conservation areas, on the Lambeth and the Wandsworth sides. The houses are Edwardian and Victorian and the roofs are looked at closely by both councils.
Flats and Back Additions
Many of the houses are now flats, and every back addition has a flat roof or a lean-to that was never meant to last this long. Felt and GRP work is a large part of what we do in SW12.
What We Get Called to in Balham.
Roof Repairs
Slipped slates, split flashings and leaking valleys on the terraces, found from the roof and put right the same day where we can.
Roof Repairs explained02Chimney Repairs
Stacks repointed, flaunching renewed and pots re-bedded, with the lead around the base dressed in properly rather than smeared with mastic.
Chimney Repairs explained03Downpipes
Cast iron and plastic downpipes that have cracked, blocked or come away from the wall, replaced and directed properly at the bottom.
Downpipes explained04Flat Roofs
Rear additions and extensions in felt or GRP fibreglass, repaired or renewed with proper falls so water reaches the outlet.
Flat Roofing explainedConservation Areas and Living Between Two Councils.
Balham is overwhelmingly in Wandsworth, with a small part in Lambeth. The Heaver Estate and Nightingale Lane are Wandsworth conservation areas, with the Heaver Estate also carrying an Article 4 direction that limits some exterior works which would otherwise be permitted development. Hyde Farm is a Lambeth conservation area. If your house is inside one of these, a like-for-like repair is usually fine and anything more than that is a check with the right council first, which we will do before pricing.
Most of the housing is terraced, so the practical questions are about access rather than height: whether the rear roof can be reached through the house or the garden, and whether a scaffold on the pavement needs a licence. We sort that out on the first visit.
Where a house is in flats we are happy to deal with the managing agent, the freeholder or the leaseholders directly. One report on the whole roof, one price, and the work done once rather than a patch for each flat.
The fault we are called to most in Balham, lit on the house.
Where We Work in and Around Balham.
SW12 and its edges, covered from the London line.
Balham Town Centre
SW12The High Road, Bedford Hill and the streets around the station.
The Heaver Estate
SW12, SW17Alfred Heaver's late Victorian estate, towards Tooting Bec, a conservation area with an Article 4 direction.
Hyde Farm
SW12The Lambeth side east of Cavendish Road, a conservation area.
Nightingale Lane
SW12The northern edge towards Wandsworth Common, another conservation area.
Clapham South
SW12, SW4Around the tube station, where Balham, Clapham and Battersea meet.
Tooting Bec
SW17The south-eastern edge, towards the common and the lido.
Clapham Park
SW4, SW12The estates and streets on the Lambeth side.
Streatham Hill
SW2, SW12The eastern edge of the district.
Why Two Jobs in Balham Cost Different Things.
We give a written price for the work we have looked at. In Balham these are the things that move it.
Reaching the Back Roof
On a terrace the rear roof and the valley are reached through the house, the garden or a scaffold at the back. Which one it is changes the price more than the repair itself.
The Conservation Area
The Heaver Estate, Nightingale Lane and Hyde Farm keep their slate and their stacks. A like-for-like repair in natural slate costs more than a cheap tile and is the only right answer there.
Whether the Stack Needs a Scaffold
A party-wall stack can sometimes be reached from the roof or a tower; a tall one at the front often cannot. We look before we price, and we tell you which it is.
The Questions We Get Asked in Balham.
All of SW12, from Clapham South to Tooting Bec and from Wandsworth Common to Hyde Farm, plus the SW4 and SW17 streets on its edges. Ring 0208 087 4324.
For a repair in the same material, no. The estate is a conservation area with an Article 4 direction, so some exterior changes that would normally be permitted development need planning permission. We check with Wandsworth before pricing anything beyond a straight repair.
On a Balham terrace that is very often the valley gutter between your back addition and next door's, or the flashing where the addition meets the main roof. Both are hidden from the street. We find it from the roof rather than guessing.
Yes. We repair felt and GRP fibreglass roofs where a repair will hold, and renew them with proper falls where it will not. We tell you which honestly.
Sometimes, from the roof or a tower, depending on where the stack is. We look first and price the access honestly, because it is often a real part of the cost.
Yes. We come out, look at the roof and give you a written price with no charge for the visit and no obligation.
The Other Towns on the London Line.
Balham's terraces, estates and flats are our bread and butter. Ring 0208 087 4324 for a free written quote, or 07377 633898 at any hour if you need us tonight.
Tell Us About the Roof in Balham, and We'll Come and Look.
Your name, a number, the street and what you have noticed. That is all we need.