Roofing in Reepham

Reepham is small, old and largely built in brick and pantile around its market place. Roofs here are often steeper and more irregular than a modern estate roof, with dormers, catslides and awkward junctions that need forming in lead rather than filling with sealant.

Across NR10 that detail work is most of what we do, alongside straightforward re-covers on the newer housing at the edge of the town.

Three parishes and one market place

The centre of Reepham stands where the parishes of Hackford, Whitwell and Reepham meet, and their three churches were built side by side. Hackford's church, All Saints, was lost in a fire in 1543 that also destroyed most of the houses in the town. What you see around the Market Place now is largely Georgian fronts, and behind a good number of them there are older timber frames.

Red and black pantile

Broadland District Council's appraisal describes a short list of local materials: red brick, red and black pantile, flint, render and timber frame, with gault brick from elsewhere in Norfolk and stone and slate kept for the grander buildings. Black pantile was local but cost more, so it tends to mark out the better houses. On a repair that means sourcing the right colour as well as the right profile, and bedding and pointing in a lime based mortar where the building calls for it rather than a hard cement mix that traps water in old brick.

Dormers and catslides

Old Reepham roofs are rarely a simple rectangle. A dormer means two cheeks, a front apron and a small roof of its own, each meeting the main slope at a junction that has to be flashed. A catslide carries the main roof down low over an outshut, often at a shallower pitch than the pantile really wants. Both are where leaks start, and both are where we spend the time on a survey.

The Reepham Conservation Area

The conservation area was designated in 1972, amended in 1978 and later extended to the south and north of The Moor and between School Road and Bar Lane. It is managed by Broadland District Council. The appraisal names changes to roofing materials and poor repointing among the things that damage the area's character. If your property is inside the boundary, or listed, a change of covering can need consent. We check that at survey and price the work accordingly.

Where to go next in Reepham

For pantile and plain tile work, see our tiled roofing page. Leadwork at dormers, valleys and abutments is covered on roof repairs, and old stacks on chimney repairs. For ridges and gables that are losing mortar, see ridge, valley and gable repointing.