Roofers in Gloucestershire

Roofing in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire holds one of the most demanding roofing traditions in Britain. On the wolds above Stroud, Cirencester, Tetbury and Chipping Campden, the traditional covering is Cotswold stone slate: split limestone, graded so the largest pieces sit at the eaves and the smallest at the ridge, hung on oak or riven laths and bedded with lime. It is extremely heavy, it demands a steep pitch, and it needs a roofer who understands sorting and salvage rather than one who prices by the square metre. A stone slate roof stripped and re-laid properly will run another century; the same roof replaced with concrete tiles loses its character, often fails planning, and rarely sits comfortably on the original structure.

The Severn Vale is a different world. Gloucester, Tewkesbury and the villages along the river are brick and clay tile, with the added complication of a flood history that leaves rafter feet and wall plates damp for months. Cheltenham brings the Regency problem: elegant stuccoed terraces where the roof is deliberately hidden behind a parapet, drained by internal box gutters lined in lead. When those gutters block with leaves or the lead splits at a joint, water goes straight into the building with no visible warning outside. The Forest of Dean, meanwhile, is stone-built former mining settlements with dense tree cover and constant gutter debris.

Whichever part of the county you are in, ask any roofer directly what they have done before on your type of roof. Cotswold stone, lead parapet gutters and flood-damaged timber are three separate specialisms, and the 124 firms listed here are not interchangeable across them.