Roofs in a Low Weald village of tile-hanging and Horsham stone.
Cowfold sits in the Low Weald on clay with bands of Horsham stone, and its old houses are brick-cased timber frames with tile-hanging. We photograph your roof, then quote in writing.
From the 18th century, Cowfold's timber-framed houses were often cased in brick, with tile-hanging or weatherboarding above the ground-floor windows. The old frame still sits underneath, so we check where roof and wall meet.
Brick house with tiled roof
The Victoria County History says most weatherboarding was replaced with tiles in the 20th century. Tile-hung walls meet the roof at flashings and eaves, which is where we look for water working behind the tiles.
Tile-hung wall below a roof
St Hugh's monastery, Parkminster, was built from 1876 to 1883, and the roofs of St Peter's church were renewed in 1928. Large public buildings keep their own routes, so our work here is on homes and outbuildings.
Large pitched roof in clay tile
Map of Cowfold and the neighbourhoods around it, with Crawley for reference.
Cowfold lies in the Weald on Weald clay, crossed by five narrow east-west bands of Horsham stone.
Cowfold, stage by stage
Three short chapters on what Cowfold's ground gave its builders, where tile-hung walls meet a roof and what Horsham and West Sussex expect of a bigger job.
Stage 01 · Background
Cowfold had stone quarries and brickworks within its parish, but that history tells us about the ground, not about the tiles on your roof.
Cowfold lies in the Low Weald, on Weald clay crossed by five narrow east-west bands of Horsham stone. The Victoria County History records Horsham stone quarries working in the parish around 1890 and briefly revived in 1922, with brickworks operating in 1875 and 1909. The ground itself supplied the village with brick, clay and a heavy stone that has long been used to roof old buildings. That is the story of the place, and it is worth knowing, but it does not tell us what covers your roof, and a postcode alone tells us nothing about the tiles.
On a Cowfold first look
We begin by naming the covering: plain clay, interlocking concrete, slate, stone or a mix after past repairs. Then we look at what holds it on. Nails rust and tiles slip, battens go soft where water has been getting in, and underlay can tear at the laps. A roof that has been patched more than once can carry more than one tile in it, and the odd ones mark where trouble has been before. Each finding is photographed and sent to you with a short note in plain words, so you know what is worn and what is failing. The loft gets a look from inside as well, because daylight through the boards or dark-stained rafters tell their own story, and insulation should leave the eaves gap open so air can move through.
Years alone prove little. Marley gives around 60 years for concrete tiles while stressing the figure is no warranty, while the Building Research Establishment sets its floor for clay at 60 years. Clay, slate and stone can outlast those figures when they are well kept. What usually needs attention sooner is everything that surrounds the tile, such as mortar, nails, underlay and lead. Our pitched roofing hub explains those repairs, including a ridge or verge that has lost its mortar.
You then receive a single written price for the repair the survey supports, or a clear case for something larger if that is what the photographs show. Reusable tiles are lifted, stacked and put back; only the ones that cannot be reused are replaced, and we try to match them to the profile and colour already on the slope. Nothing is stripped that does not need to be.
Stage 02 · Details
Many Cowfold houses have brick below and hung tiles above, which makes the line where wall meets roof worth a close look.
The Victoria County History says Cowfold's timber-framed houses were often cased in brick from the 18th century, with tile-hanging or weatherboarding above the ground-floor windows, and that most of the weatherboarding was swapped for tiles in the 20th century. So a brick wall topped with hung tiles, then a roof, is a common sight in this village, and each of those layers is a place where water can slip behind its neighbour.
Because three materials meet. Hung tiles lap over a lead or mortar flashing, which tucks under the roof tiles, which in turn hang over the gutter. If any of those laps fails, the water finds the next layer down. A cracked hung tile lets rain onto the battens behind it. A split in the lead lets it into the wall. A missing soaker, the small lead sheet that is woven in beneath the tiles, does the same at the end of a course. The stain then appears on a ceiling some distance away, which is why we trace the path before touching anything.
Terms for a tile-hung house
On a tile-hung house, water often shows up inside well away from the spot where it got in.
Sometimes a single flashing is the whole answer, and we will say so. Other times the water has been getting in for long enough that battens and plaster need attention too. We show you the damp timber in the photographs before suggesting anything bigger, and we explain which damage came first, because replacing a failed flashing is a very different job from replacing a wall plate. Where lead is the problem, our lead work hub explains the codes and fixings we use.
Where hung tiles themselves have failed, we match their size, colour and profile as closely as supply allows, so the repair does not stand out from the wall. Tiles weather unevenly in sun and shade, which is why a mixed batch of old and new shows so readily, above all in low, raking light. A spare tile from the loft or garage is worth keeping, so tell us if you have one: it gives us an exact match for size, colour and profile, which no catalogue photograph can do. If nothing is spare, we take a sample from a hidden slope and carry it to the supplier.
Stage 03 · Approvals
Horsham District Council covers planning and building control here, and scaffold on the road needs a West Sussex County Council licence.
A repair that keeps the roof as it was needs no form. A bigger job brings in three bodies: the district council for planning, its own building control team for approvals and the county council for anything on the road.
Horsham District Council lists a Cowfold Conservation Area among its conservation areas, with a map and a published appraisal. Inside the boundary the council takes a closer interest in how a roof looks from the street, so the tile colour, the ridge detail and the line of the eaves all matter more than usual. Whether any extra direction affects your road is a question for the council's planning team, so ask it before changing a covering, a ridge or a chimney, and keep the reply. Our guide to re-roofing in a conservation area lists what to ask. Our roof replacement hub covers a full strip.
Before a bigger Cowfold job
The district's team brands itself Sussex Building Control. Under the Planning Portal's rule of thumb, a job touching less than 25 per cent of the building envelope and less than 50 per cent of the roof would not normally need approval; a replacement covering that makes the roof at least 15 per cent heavier is the exception. For stone and clay that matters, since both are heavy. We record the existing covering and any weight change during the visit, and the written price notes whether the roof frame should be checked by an engineer before a heavier material goes on. A like-for-like re-cover usually keeps the weight where it was.
Scaffolding on a public highway in Cowfold falls under West Sussex County Council, which wants 10 working days' notice before the poles go up and charges £266 for one month. A fast-track route exists, for a further fee, if the date is tight. Poles that stand on your own drive or lawn stay off the highway and outside the licence. Where the road is unavoidable, we and the scaffolder deal with the licence together, and nobody climbs until it has come through.
Bats are protected wherever they roost, and the government lists roof repair among work that may harm a roost, so finding one during the survey halts the job while you take advice. If any of this touches your plans, a photo of the area that worries you and your Cowfold postcode are all we need to begin.
Water that gets behind hung tiles or a flashing runs down battens, brick and timber before it appears, often on a ceiling or an internal wall some distance away. So we trace the route from the stain back to the entry point, photographing each layer, before proposing any repair. The written total price follows that survey.
Horsham District Council publishes a map of the Cowfold Conservation Area with its appraisal, and that map is the place to start. Boundaries can cut through a street, so ask the council's planning team about your address, and ask separately about any extra direction affecting your road. Keep both replies on file, since they may be wanted when the house is sold.
The district's own team, which brands itself Sussex Building Control. Approval depends on how much of the building and roof is affected and on any increase in weight, using the Planning Portal's tests. Contact the team before work starts. At the survey we explain which tests your plan might meet, and the written price tells you whether an application is part of the job.
West Sussex County Council asks for 10 working days' notice ahead of erection, charging £266 for a month's licence, and a fast-track route exists for an extra fee. Scaffold that stays on your drive or garden is off the highway and needs no licence. Show us at the survey where it could go, and the start date is set to match.
Send your Cowfold postcode with a photo of the wall junction, ridge or valley you are unsure about, and the survey follows.
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