If you’re the owner of a historic property, then one of the worst things that you can see is evidence of a leak – especially during the winter.

Kent, Sussex, and the surrounding areas we work in are now in storm season, which means strong winds and lashing rain will be the norm for a while now. Even the hardiest roof will eventually fail without regular upkeep, but the sudden change in weather makes it all the more nerve-wracking!

Even if you’ve done all the preparation you can, a sudden storm can undo it all in minutes. 

But you might not notice straight away. The first sign of anything being wrong will usually be water stains on the ceiling – sometimes long after the damage has been done. This can quickly escalate into catastrophic damage to timber frames and other historic elements of the building. The cost of delaying repairs is almost always measured by the need for vastly more complex and expensive restoration work down the line. 

You’ve got to act fast, as soon as you notice the damage. But for a listed building, how you go about this might be a little different to other properties.

Emergency listed building repairs guide for home owners

1. Upon discovering damage, take immediate and non-destructive action to make the building safe and weathertight. 
2. Contact your insurer, and if applicable, your home emergency cover provider, to take further action.
3. Write to your local authority’s conservation officer to explain the situation, provide photographs, and get informal advice on the consent process for urgent works.
4. Find an expert in listed building roof repairs, like Tenterden Roofing, in your local area. We work on listed buildings in London, Surrey, Kent and Sussex.

Work together with your heritage roofing specialist and your local conservation officer to develop a repair spec for your LBC application. A proper repair using traditional materials and crafts may take more time and incur higher costs than a normal roof – but it’s an investment in your unique property (and our shared cultural heritage).

Speed is everything

Remember that owning a listed building comes with legal responsibilities – and listed building consent is a statutory requirement for any works?

This still applies in a storm situation – but most local authority conservation officers understand that emergency works are vital, and have procedures in place to deal with them. 

Any significant, irreversible work carried out without consultation is still a big no no. Instead, you must undertake a “minimum necessary intervention”; just enough to make the building safe without compromising a period of correct repair later down the line.

Temporary repairs to limit the damage

The immediate priority is to stop the water ingress and protect the building. You need speed, not perfection – so don’t wait for a historic roofing specialist to become available. Act immediately to limit the damage, either by calling your insurer or home emergency cover provider – or doing the necessary work yourself (at least where you feel safe to do so).

An emergency roofer might carefully lift displaced or broken tiles or slates to stop them blowing away. Next, they’ll likely cover the exposed area with a heavy duty cover – like a tarp or other waterproof sheeting, securely battened down to withstand wind. 

Placing buckets and using waterproof sheeting indoors to protect floors and furnishings is another basic but vital step, too. 

The whole point of these temporary fixes is to buy you time – so you can get the right materials (and the right craftspeople) to carry out a permanent repair under LBC. 

Full roof repairs

Once the property is safe, you need to think about long-term solutions.

A full repair for a listed building roof takes understanding and expertise – working with the original technology and aesthetics. 

A trained heritage roofing specialist needs to inspect and understand the cause of the failure, to see if it was simply caused by a gust of wind, or if there’s something more serious going on under the tiles. This is essential to getting a durable and correct repair that serves you and the building properly.

With traditional materials like slate or Kent peg tiles, there can be a temptation to use more modern methods – for cost, for perceived durability, and for ease of access. But this can be a costly mistake, because your legal obligation as the custodian of your heritage building is to maintain historical accuracy.

This applies to all aspects of listed building roof repairs – but these age-old techniques and materials last hundreds of years for a reason; modern equivalents don’t have the time in yet, but it’s clear they’re not as hardy as traditional materials. It pays in every way to stick to your building’s script; so don’t be tempted by cheaper, quicker ways of fixing your heritage roof.

Read more: UK storms – how to protect your period roofing

Caring for heritage roofing Since 1984

We specialise in listed building roof repairs – for traditional slate tiling, Kent peg tiling, and the historic roofing styles found in Surrey, Kent and Sussex. For a quote, contact us at [email protected].