Roofers in Tooting,From Tooting Bec to Furzedown.
Late Victorian terraces, an Edwardian cottage estate that the LCC built first of all, and a great deal of 1920s and 1930s housing. Tooting has three generations of roof in a single square mile, and we look after every one of them.
Roofing and Guttering in Tooting, on the London Line.
Tooting developed late in the Victorian period, had a spurt in the Edwardian years and then another large one in the 1920s and 1930s. Upper Tooting, or Tooting Bec, was for centuries part of Streatham. Lower Tooting, Tooting Graveney, took its name from the de Gravenel family who once held it. Both are now solidly built up, and both are ours.
The building that sets Tooting apart is the Totterdown Fields Estate: the first cottage estate the London County Council ever built, between 1901 and 1911, influenced by the garden city and Arts and Crafts movements and a conservation area since 1978. Its roofs are as much a part of the design as its front doors, and the council treats them that way.
We cover all of SW17, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway, Tooting Graveney, Furzedown and Amen Corner, on the London line 0208 087 4324, with the mobile answered around the clock.
The Roofs of Tooting, and the Three Ages They Come From.
The Victorian and Edwardian Terraces
Slate and clay tile over timber battens, party-wall stacks, and the back additions that put a valley gutter between every pair of houses. The commonest call we get in SW17.
Totterdown Fields
Arts and Crafts cottages in a conservation area with an Article 4 direction. Roof coverings, chimneys and the look of the roofline are exactly what the designation protects, so repairs are like for like and done carefully.
The 1920s and 1930s Streets
Furzedown and the streets towards Mitcham and Streatham: hipped roofs in clay or concrete tile, with underlay and fixings now approaching a century old.
The Heaver Estate Edge
Alfred Heaver's late Victorian estate sits south of Balham in Tooting, another conservation area with an Article 4 direction, with large houses and a lot of lead.
What We Get Called to in Tooting.
Chimney Repairs
Party-wall stacks repointed and re-flaunched, pots re-bedded and the lead at the base renewed.
Chimney Repairs explained02Gutter Cleaning
Runs full of leaves from the commons and moss from the roof, cleared by hand with the outlets and downpipes flushed through.
Gutter Cleaning explained03Re-Roofing
Terraces and inter-war semis stripped back to the rafters and rebuilt in slate or tile with new underlay, battens and fixings, when a repair has stopped being worth it.
New Roofs explained04Roof Repairs
Slipped slates, cracked valleys and worn flashings, found from the roof and fixed properly.
Roof Repairs explainedTotterdown Fields and Doing the Job the Right Way.
Totterdown Fields and the Heaver Estate are both Wandsworth conservation areas with Article 4 directions. The direction limits some exterior works that would otherwise be permitted development, which on these estates includes the kind of roof and chimney changes that alter the look of the street. A repair in the same material is not normally a problem. We check what applies to your house before we price, and we do not suggest a modern tile on a roof the council will want kept in its original covering.
Elsewhere in Tooting the practical questions are the usual ones for a terraced area: reaching the rear roof, sharing the valley gutter with next door, and licensing a scaffold if it has to stand on the pavement. We deal with all of that on the first visit.
The inter-war roofs to the south deserve a word. They often look fine from the ground while the underlay has gone brittle and the nails have rusted. We lift a few tiles and tell you what is underneath before we recommend anything.
The fault we are called to most in Tooting, lit on the house.
Where We Work in and Around Tooting.
All of SW17, from the London line.
Tooting Bec
SW17Upper Tooting, around the Northern line station, the common and the lido.
Tooting Broadway
SW17The principal shopping area and the streets around it.
Tooting Graveney
SW17Lower Tooting, towards Mitcham, with its own common.
Totterdown Fields
SW17The LCC's first cottage estate, a conservation area with an Article 4 direction.
Furzedown
SW17, SW16The inter-war streets between Tooting and Streatham.
Amen Corner
SW17The junction of Mitcham Road and Southcroft Road and the streets around it.
The Heaver Estate
SW17, SW12South of Balham, in Tooting, a conservation area with an Article 4 direction.
Colliers Wood
SW19The Merton side, by the Wandle.
Why Two Jobs in Tooting Cost Different Things.
We give a written price for the work we have looked at. In Tooting these are the things that move it.
Like for Like on the Estates
On Totterdown Fields and the Heaver Estate the covering and the chimneys stay as they are, so a repair uses matching materials. That costs more than a modern substitute and it is the right answer.
The Shared Valley
A valley gutter between two back additions serves two houses. Cleared and checked, it is a small job; relined, it is a larger one that is best shared between both households.
Moss and the Gutters
A roof that sheds moss into the gutters every winter costs more each year than one cleared once. We price the roof and the gutters together so the problem does not come straight back.
The Questions We Get Asked in Tooting.
Yes. Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway, Tooting Graveney, Furzedown, Amen Corner and Totterdown Fields, which is all of SW17. Ring the London line on 0208 087 4324.
Repair it like for like without difficulty. The estate is a conservation area with an Article 4 direction, so changes to the covering or the chimneys that would normally be permitted development need planning permission. We check with Wandsworth before pricing anything beyond a repair.
Tooting has two commons and a lot of street trees, and moss on a slate or tile roof washes down into the gutter every time it rains. Clearing the gutter and dealing with the moss on the roof at the same time stops it coming straight back.
Only when the underlay, battens and fixings are done, which is what we check first. If the tiles are sound and the underlay is not, a re-roof reuses what can be reused. If it is a few slipped tiles, it is a repair.
Yes. We clear it, check the lead and tell both households what it needs. It is one gutter serving two roofs, so it is best looked at as one job.
No. We come out, look at the roof and give you a written price. There is no charge for the visit and no obligation.
The Other Towns on the London Line.
Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway, Furzedown and Totterdown Fields: we are up on roofs across SW17 most weeks. Ring the London line for a free written quote, or the mobile at any hour.
Tell Us About the Roof in Tooting, and We'll Come and Look.
Your name, a number, the street and what you have noticed. That is all we need.