Wareham Quay
Historic quayside on the River Frome at the heart of Wareham, with riverside pubs and boat hire nearby.
Learn more about Wareham Quay on Google MapsRoofers In Wareham
Is the roof behind your Georgian front older than the front itself?
Slate, clay and concrete tile roofs looked after across Wareham, Stoborough and the streets inside the walls
As roofers working in Wareham, we spend a fair bit of time explaining that the street view of a house here doesn't always tell you what's on top of it. After the fire of 1762 the town was rebuilt mostly in red brick, but on the old street plan, and some of those neat Georgian fronts were put up against buildings that survived. So a parapet on North Street or South Street can hide a roof that's older, lower or simply odder than you'd guess. Out on Westport Road there are slate-roofed brick terraces, and towards Stoborough you get mid-century brick bungalows under tile. We survey each one for what it actually is.
Free Roofing Quote In Wareham
Tell us a little about the roof and we will call you back.
About Wareham
A Saxon street plan with a Georgian skin
Wareham was laid out as a walled town in the 9th century, in the time of Alfred, and the earth banks of those Saxon defences still frame the centre. The church of Lady St Mary has roots going back to around AD 700. What changed the look of the place was the fire of 1762, which destroyed more than half the houses. Rebuilding was regulated by commissioners under an Act of Parliament passed in 1763, and it was generally done in brick, with Purbeck limestone used as well. The streets kept their old lines.
For anyone working on roofs, that history leaves a particular mix. Georgian brick frontages with parapets sit along the main streets, and behind some of them are buildings that came through the fire and were simply given a new face. The old Union Workhouse is roofed in imported Welsh slate, Streche's Almshouse has tile, and around the town you find slate, clay tile and concrete tile side by side. Wareham Conservation Area was designated in 1970 and Stoborough has its own, dating from 1988, so materials matter here.
1,000+
Roofing projects completed
5★
Every review we have is five stars
10 yrs
Guarantee on roof replacements
Free
Roof surveys and written quotes
The roofing work Wareham houses ask us for most
Roof Repairs
Parapet gutters, slipped Welsh slates and tired ridges on Wareham's brick terraces, found at the source and repaired in matching materials.
Learn more about roof repairs in Wareham →
Roof Replacement
Full re-roofs in slate, clay or concrete tile, from Westport Road terraces to Stoborough bungalows, with conservation area questions sorted before we start.
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Lead Work
Behind a Georgian parapet, the lead in the box gutter and the flashings against the wall do most of the work. We renew and dress them properly.
Learn more about lead work in Wareham →More services in Wareham
Why roofs in Wareham need a slightly different eye
Most of what goes wrong on a Wareham roof comes back to how and when the town was rebuilt. These are the things we keep in mind on every survey here.
Fronts that hide the real roof
A Georgian brick elevation can be a later skin on an older building. We look from the back, the loft and the neighbouring gardens before pricing, because the roof you see from North Street may not be the one doing the work.
Parapet and box gutters
Where a parapet runs along the front, rainwater usually drains into a hidden gutter behind it. If that lining splits or the outlet silts up, water ends up inside the front wall. We check these first on any older Wareham house.
Welsh slate done like for like
Plenty of the town's 19th-century buildings, from the old workhouse to the Westport Road terraces, carry Welsh slate. We match size, thickness and colour, and fix with copper nails or hooks so the patch doesn't stand out from the street.
Conservation area awareness
Two conservation areas cover the town centre and Stoborough, and Wareham's carries an Article 4 direction. We'll tell you plainly when a change of material needs checking with Dorset Council before any order is placed.
Wind-driven rain, not volume
The nearest Met Office station, at Swanage, averages about 853mm of rain a year, well under the UK's 1,163mm. What hurts roofs here is rain pushed sideways in a gale, so we pay attention to laps, verges and fixings.
Mid-century tile roofs coming of age
The brick-and-tile bungalows built in the middle of the last century are now at the point where battens, felt and ridge bedding wear out together. We tell you honestly whether a repair or a re-roof makes more sense.
"A lot of the 'mystery' damp we're called to inside Wareham's Georgian fronts turns out to be a blocked or split gutter hidden behind the parapet."
Our guarantee
Ten years on a new roof, written down and signed
When we replace a roof in Wareham, the paperwork you're handed at the end will, on all but a handful of unusual jobs, include a 10 year guarantee on the work. If yours is one of the exceptions, you'll know at quote stage, not after. It names your address, says what was done and is dated the day we sign the roof off. It covers the installation itself, meaning the battens, membrane, fixings, the slates or tiles and the junctions where the roof meets walls and chimneys. If any of that lets water in through a fault in how it went on, we come back and fix it without charging you.
A guarantee that long only makes sense if the roof is built properly underneath, so it shapes the job from day one. Every slate or tile is mechanically fixed to the current British Standard rather than relying on its own weight, which matters on a stretch of coast where the wind arrives with nothing in its way. Breathable membrane goes on before the battens. Valleys, abutments and chimneys get proper lead or a tested dry-fix system, never a smear of mortar that cracks in its third winter.
Materials carry their own manufacturer cover on top, and that differs from product to product. Your paperwork says which one applies to your roof.
10
Year guarantee on roof replacements
1,000+
Roofing projects completed
Signed paperwork at handover, with photos of the roof taken before, during and after.
Our process
How a roofing job runs in Wareham, step by step
- 1
We come and look properly
The survey is free. On a terraced street we look from the front, then get round the back or into the loft, because in Wareham the rear slope often tells a different story from the brick face on the street.
- 2
You get the price in writing
Each item is listed with the material we intend to use, so you can see exactly what you're paying for. If anything needs a conversation with Dorset Council's conservation officer first, that's flagged on the quote.
- 3
Scaffold on narrow streets
Many houses on North Street and South Street front straight onto the pavement. Where scaffold has to stand on the pavement we plan the layout so neighbours and shops keep their doorways.
- 4
Opening up and checking
Once covering is lifted we look at rafters, battens, parapet linings and any older timbers behind the Georgian front. If we find something the survey couldn't show, you see photos and agree any change before we carry on.
- 5
Putting it back to last
Slates and tiles go back with mechanical fixings, and ridges and hips are fixed mechanically as BS 5534 now expects, with mortar only alongside where it's appropriate. Lead is cut and dressed on site to suit the detail.
- 6
Checking our own work
We go over the finished roof from the scaffold, look at every flashing and gutter outlet, and run water through hidden gutters where we can. Anything not right gets put right before the scaffold comes down.
- 7
Tidy up and talk you through it
Old slates, broken tiles and lead offcuts leave with us. We show you the photos from start to finish and explain what was done, so you know what's on your roof next time someone asks.
What to do in Wareham
St Martin's on the Walls
The most complete Anglo-Saxon church in Dorset, a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument on Wareham's town walls.
Learn more about St Martin's on the Walls on Google Maps
Wareham Forest
Forestry England heath and conifer plantation beside the A35, home to sika deer, Dartford warblers and sand lizards.
Learn more about Wareham Forest on Google MapsFind us working in Wareham
Reviews
What customers around Wareham say
More than a thousand roofing jobs finished, and every review customers have left us is five stars.
Those reviews are on their way onto this page. Until they land, ask us for photos of recent jobs near you in Wareham when we come out to quote - seeing a finished roof on a house like yours tells you more than any star rating.
Roofing prices in Wareham
Access is the big swing factor in Wareham. A terrace on a busy town-centre street often needs scaffold on the pavement and careful planning, while a detached bungalow out at Stoborough can be reached from the drive. Natural Welsh slate costs more than concrete tile, and lead-lined parapet gutters add labour. Repairs typically run from £150 to £1,500 and full re-roofs from around £7,000 to £20,000 or more.
Questions from Wareham homeowners
Do I need permission to change the roof on my Wareham house?
Dorset Council is the planning authority. Wareham Conservation Area was designated in 1970 and has an Article 4 direction, and Stoborough has its own conservation area from 1988. Like-for-like repairs usually need nothing, but if you're thinking of changing the roof material inside either area, check with Dorset Council before work starts. Listed buildings need listed building consent for changes that affect their character.
Why does my ceiling get damp near the front wall when the roof looks fine?
On a parapet-fronted house, the roof often drains into a lined gutter hidden behind the brickwork. When that lining cracks or the outlet blocks, water overflows into the top of the wall and shows up indoors. It can't be seen from the street, so we check it from above.
Do you do thatched roofs?
No, we don't work on thatch. We cover slate, clay tile, concrete tile, flat roofs, chimneys and lead work. If your property is thatched, a specialist thatcher is the right person to call.
How long does it take you to get to Wareham?
From Weymouth it's roughly 35 to 40 minutes by road, so Wareham, Stoborough and the villages around are well within our usual area. Surveys are booked at a time that suits you.
Areas we cover from Wareham
- Roof Repairs Dorchester
- Roof Replacement Dorchester
- Roof Repairs Portland
- Roof Replacement Portland
- Roof Repairs Chickerell
- Roof Replacement Chickerell
- Roof Repairs Bridport
- Roof Replacement Bridport
- Roof Repairs Wareham
- Roof Replacement Wareham
- Roof Repairs Wool
- Roof Replacement Wool
- Roof Repairs Swanage
- Roof Replacement Swanage
- Roof Repairs Upton
- Roof Replacement Upton
Get a straight answer about your Wareham roof
Tell us what you've noticed, whether it's a slipped slate or a stain by the front wall, and we'll come and survey it for free. You get a written price and an honest view of what the roof needs.