Oxford roofers

Roofs we see in Oxford

Oxford’s housing changes from one district to the next. Jericho, Grandpont and the streets off the Cowley Road and Iffley Road are lined with Victorian terraces, many still under natural slate, with chimneys shared between neighbours and valleys over the rear additions. Summertown and north Oxford have larger Victorian and Edwardian houses with plain clay tiles, bays and steep gables.

Headington, Marston and Botley are mostly 1930s semis and post-war houses with concrete or clay tiles and hipped roofs. Blackbird Leys, Rose Hill, Barton and Littlemore have post-war and later estates with concrete interlocking tiles, flat-roofed garages and extensions. Each type fails in its own way, and the survey starts from what your street was built with.

Weather and exposure in Oxford

Oxford sits low between the Thames and the Cherwell, so damp air and river mist hang over the city through the winter. North-facing slopes and roofs under the big trees of north Oxford and Headington stay wet for longer, which feeds moss and blocks gutters. South-westerly storms drive rain under slates and ridges on the more exposed rows at Headington and Botley.

How we work in Oxford

Many Oxford terraces have no side access and parking is tight, so we plan scaffold and skip positions before the job starts. Scaffold on a public pavement needs a licence from Oxfordshire County Council, and that goes into the plan for any front-elevation work. Jericho, Headington Hill and central Oxford include conservation areas where like-for-like materials matter, so slate and tile choices are discussed with that in mind.

Common roofing jobs in Oxford

• Slate repairs and re-roofs on Victorian terraces
• Valleys between dormers and over rear additions
• Chimney flashings and flaunching on shared stacks
• Flat roofs on rear extensions and garages