Roofers in Ferndown

The roofs we see in Ferndown

Ferndown is dominated by mid-century development: 1960s and 70s detached houses and a very high proportion of bungalows and chalet bungalows, mostly with interlocking concrete tiles. It's a young roofscape by Dorset standards, but that's exactly the problem — a great many of those roofs are now 50 to 60 years old, which is precisely when the bitumen underfelt beneath the tiles goes brittle and starts tearing at the eaves.

That single failure explains most of what we're called out to here. Tiles look fine from the road, but the secondary barrier underneath has gone, so wind-driven rain finds its way in. On bungalows there's a second common issue: large single-storey roof areas over relatively small floorplans, which means proportionally huge heat loss through the loft — and a lot of Ferndown lofts still have nothing like the 270mm of insulation they should.

Ferndown and the surrounding BH21 and BH22 addresses are ringed by open heathland — Holt Heath to the north, Slop Bog on the town's edge — and that exposure changes the numbers. Elevated, open plots at Hampreston, Trickett's Cross, Stapehill and Longham see higher wind loading on ridges and verges than a sheltered street would, and the same open ground keeps moisture sitting on north-facing slopes for longer. Both are reasons we favour mechanically fixed dry systems and proper ventilation detailing here.

Questions from Ferndown homeowners