Roof repairs in Swanscombe are mostly about small parts failing on old roofs. A ridge tile lifts on Galley Hill Road. A lead flashing tears at a stack off Swanscombe Street. A valley between two terraces silts up and overflows into a back bedroom. None of these needs a new roof. They need someone to find the actual fault, which isn't always where the stain on the ceiling is, because water runs along felt and rafters before it drops. We trace it back, fix the cause, and send you photos so you know it was done. Newer homes up at Castle Hill get repairs from us too, usually loose dry-fix ridges and verges once the warranty years have passed. The survey is free. So is the written quote.
A roofer rings you back to arrange a visit.
Small jobs, done carefully. Here's what that looks like on the roofs we work on in Swanscombe.
01
A damp patch by the window doesn't mean the problem is above the window. We follow the water back through the loft and up the slope, and the repair goes where the fault actually is. Fixing the wrong spot is how people end up paying twice.
02
If three tiles have slipped, you pay for three tiles and the time to fix them properly. We'd rather patch a sound roof than talk you into a new one you don't need yet. When a roof is past saving, we'll say that too, with photos to back it up.
03
On an exposed peninsula, mortar alone isn't always enough to keep ridges and verges where they belong. Where it suits the roof, we add mechanical fixings so the next gale has less to pull at.
04
Terrace roofs run into each other. We repair up to the boundary, tie into next door's covering neatly, and if we notice something on their side that's worth a mention, we'll tell them.
05
Patching an old roof with the wrong tile looks poor and can leak at the join. We match profile and colour as closely as we can, and we'll say plainly if a perfect match doesn't exist. Weathered reclaimed tiles often blend in better than shiny new ones.
06
Photos of the fault, photos of the fix, and a written note of the work. Handy when you sell, handy if your insurer asks questions, and handy for whichever roofer comes after us.
1,000+
Roofs repaired, renewed and rebuilt
10 yrs
Written guarantee on every re-roof
5★
The only rating anyone has left us
£0
For the survey and the written quote
The terraces built for the cement workers are still the core of the town, and some have stood for generations. On roofs that age we often find several rounds of repair stacked on top of each other: a patch of replacement tiles here, a lead flashing swapped for a cement fillet there, a ridge rebedded in mortar that was never quite right. Each fix may have been fine on its own. Together they leave weak joins. When we repair one area, we check the joins around it, because that's where the next leak usually starts.
Castle Hill and the estates towards Ebbsfleet are a different job. The roofs are newer and built to modern details, and the calls we get are for different faults. Dry-fix ridge caps that have worked loose. Verge units that have cracked. A vent tile that was never sealed properly. Small parts, cheap to put right, but they let water in all the same. Because they're mechanical, they're also quick to spot once someone actually goes up and looks.
If a repair keeps coming back, or your roof now has more patches than original covering, read about re-roofing in Swanscombe before you spend more on fixes.
"On Swanscombe terraces, the repair we're asked to do and the repair the roof actually needs are often two different things a few feet apart."
Ring 01322 946667 or use the form. Where is the water showing, when did it start, and does it get worse in wind? Those three answers tell us a lot before we arrive.
We start in the loft if there is one, looking for staining, daylight and wet timber, then go up top. Seeing both sides is how we stop a leak from being guessed at.
You'll get a written quote naming the fault and the repair. If we think the roof has bigger issues, we list them separately, so you can decide without being pushed.
If water is coming in now, we can sheet or temporarily seal the area while materials are sourced. Temporary means temporary. We'll be back to finish the job properly.
Old fixings out, damaged felt or battens replaced where the repair calls for it, then tiles, flashing or ridge put back to a standard that suits how exposed the house is.
Some repairs can be checked with a hose, others only by the next proper rain. We do what's possible on the day, then ask you to let us know if anything shows.
Gutters cleared of anything we knocked loose, debris taken away, and before and after photos sent over, so you can see work you can't reach from the ground yourself.
10
Years' cover on a new roof
1,000+
Roofing jobs finished
Paperwork in your hand on the last day. Not posted out "in due course".
Re-roof a house in Swanscombe with us and you get 10 years of cover on the workmanship. It's a written document. It has your address on it, lists what was done, and is dated the day the roof is signed off. If water gets in because something was fitted wrong - a batten, a fixing, a lap, a flashing - a roofer comes back and puts it right. You don't pay for that.
Why are we happy to promise ten years? Because of how the roof goes on. Every tile or slate is mechanically fixed to BS 5534, the current British Standard. Ridges and hips are fixed too, not just sat in mortar. A breathable membrane goes down first. Where a roof meets a wall, a chimney or the house next door, it gets proper lead or a tested dry system. Shortcuts there are what make a guarantee expensive, so we don't take them.
Tiles, slates and membranes also carry the maker's own warranty. Those vary by product, and your paperwork tells you which ones apply. If a job is too unusual to guarantee in the normal way, you'll hear that at quote stage.
On an older terrace, the honest answer depends on how much of the covering is still original and sound. This table lays out the usual options so you can weigh them up before we visit.
| Comparison point | Targeted repair | Patch-and-seal | Partial re-roof | Full re-roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | £180 - £1,600 depending on the fault | Low, often under £200 | Several thousand, priced by area | £8,000 - £24,000+ by house size |
| How long it lasts | As long as the roof around it, if done right | Months, sometimes a year or two | Decades on the renewed slope | Typically 50+ years, depending on covering |
| Disruption | A few hours from a ladder or tower | An hour or two | Scaffold on one side for several days | Full scaffold, roughly one to two weeks |
| When it makes sense | Sound roof with one clear fault | Stopgap until a proper repair | One slope failed, the other still sound | Battens, felt and fixings failing everywhere |
| Paperwork you get | Written quote, photos and a note of the work | Usually nothing worth keeping | Written quote, building control if over the limits | Written quote and our 10 year guarantee |
| Building regulations | Not needed | Not needed | Needed past 50% of the roof or 25% of the envelope | Building control approval normally required |
Most repairs here are small and priced on the day of the survey. These are the things that move the number.
A low back extension can often be reached from ladders. A tall front on a busy road can't. A tower or scaffold adds cost, and where scaffold has to stand on the pavement a licence from the council may be needed too. We build all of that into the quote.
A valley or stack shared with next door can mean coordinating with your neighbour and repairing a little beyond your own line. On the older terraces off Swanscombe Street and Knockhall Road, that's common, and it's worth allowing for in your budget.
A slipped tile caught early usually costs £180 to £450. Leave it through a winter and the batten under it may have rotted, the felt torn and the ceiling stained. A small job has become a bigger one.
Rebedding or mechanically refixing a ridge costs roughly £450 to £1,200, depending on its length and how many caps need replacing. On exposed Swanscombe roofs we often recommend a dry-fix system, so it doesn't need doing again in a few years.
For an ordinary repair, no. Replacing tiles, ridges or flashings with similar materials doesn't need planning permission. Who your planning authority is only matters for bigger work. The old town falls under Dartford Borough Council, while sites inside the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation's area, including the Swanscombe Peninsula, go to EDC. Listed buildings can need listed building consent even for some repairs, so check first if yours is listed.
Two reasons, usually. Wind is the first: the town is exposed on the Thames and there's little shelter out on the peninsula. Old mortar is the second. Sand and cement bedding cracks with age and movement, and once it lets go, the next storm lifts the ridge. Repointing alone rarely lasts long, because the new mortar sits on top of old bedding that's already failing. Mechanically fixing the ridge, with or without fresh mortar, holds far better against the gusts coming off the estuary.
We're roughly 13 minutes away by road, on the west side of Dartford. An active leak goes to the front of the queue, and a temporary cover stops further damage in the meantime. For a slipped tile with no water coming in, a booked survey within the week is normal. Put a bucket under any drip and keep the loft hatch open so the timber can dry.
Some do. New-build roofs often use dry-fix ridge and verge systems, clipped on rather than bedded in mortar. Fitted well, they last. When a clip was missed or a fixing was short, they can loosen. NHBC Buildmark cover runs for ten years from completion, so if your home is still inside that period, check with the builder or NHBC before paying anyone.
Sometimes. If the slope underneath is sound and the old patches are holding, one more careful repair costs far less than replacing everything. If the felt is brittle, the battens are soft and every repair uncovers another fault, you're paying for the same roof several times over. We'll show you what we see and give you both prices if you want them.
Park on the site of the old Barnfield gravel pit, where pieces of a human skull roughly 400,000 years old were dug up from 1935 onwards. Stone markers and panels along the paths explain the finds.
Learn more about Swanscombe Heritage Park on Google Maps
Marsh, grassland and old industrial ground on the peninsula north of the town. Natural England confirmed it as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 2021 because of the rare insects and spiders recorded there.
Learn more about Swanscombe Marshes on Google Maps
Grade I listed parish church, mostly 13th-century work, built of flint. Its west tower is capped with a tall shingled spire that can be seen across the surrounding streets.
Learn more about St Peter and St Paul Church on Google MapsEvery review left for us so far has been five stars. We're adding them here as they come in.
Reviews only tell you so much anyway. When a roofer comes out to Swanscombe, ask to see photos of a recent job on a house like yours. A good roofer will have plenty and won't mind you asking.
Call 01322 946667 or fill in the form with a short note on the problem. We'll survey it for free and send a written price for the fix it actually needs.
