Re-Roofing Project, High Wycombe

This re-roofing project was carried out on a residential property in Penn, a village on the southern edge of High Wycombe in the Chiltern Hills. The existing roof covering had reached the end of its serviceable life, with tired underlay, ageing timber battens and ridge details that were no longer performing as they should. The homeowner wanted a complete, properly specified re-roof that would protect the property for decades, improve ventilation through the roof void, and refresh the roofline at the same time.

Penn sits within the HP10 postcode area, an exposed stretch of the Chilterns where roofs take the full force of wind and weather rolling in off the hills. A re-roof here is not just a cosmetic exercise; it is a structural decision that has to be made with the right materials, the right sequence of work, and an understanding of how a roof in this location behaves through the seasons. Our brief was to strip the roof back to a sound base, rebuild it with modern breathable components, and finish with a crisp new roofline that would complement the property.

The homeowner also asked us to retain the existing roof tiles where they were still sound, rather than replacing them with new. Reusing serviceable tiles keeps the character of the property intact and reduces waste, but it demands careful handling: every tile has to be inspected, graded and set aside cleanly so that it can be re-laid without hidden defects. This case study walks through how we approached the project, the process we followed, and the finished result we delivered.

Work began with a full scaffold to give safe, compliant access to every elevation of the roof. With the scaffold in place we stripped the existing roof covering back to the rafters, removing the old tiles, the perished underlay and the ageing battens. Each existing tile was lifted, inspected and sorted: sound tiles were stacked cleanly for reuse, and any that were cracked or spalled were set aside for responsible disposal. Stripping back to a bare timber frame is the only reliable way to check the true condition of the structure underneath, and on this project it allowed us to confirm the rafters were sound and ready to receive the new roof build-up.

With the rafters exposed and checked, we laid a new breathable felt across the roof. Breathable membrane is a significant upgrade on the old bitumen felt it replaced: it allows moisture vapour to escape from the roof void while keeping wind-driven rain out, which reduces condensation risk and helps the timber structure stay dry through the winter. Over the membrane we fixed new treated timber battens at the correct gauge for the tiles, giving a solid, level fixing line for the covering. The battens were pressure-treated to resist rot and insect attack, and each run was checked for line and level as it went on.

Where the roof met neighbouring pitches, we formed new GRP valleys. GRP valley troughs are a durable, low-maintenance alternative to traditional lead: they have no joints to fail, they will not corrode, and they carry water off the valley quickly and cleanly. With the valleys in place, the sound existing roof tiles were re-laid across the main pitches, fixed back down in their correct courses. At the ridge we bedded a combination of the existing and new ridge tiles on mortar, matching the original profile so the ridge reads as a continuous, traditional detail. The verges were finished with a dry verge system, which secures the edge tiles without relying on mortar joints that can crack and drop out over time.

Finally, we replaced the full roofline. All new uPVC fascia, soffits and guttering was installed in a rosewood finish, chosen by the homeowner to complement the property. The new fascias are fixed directly to the rafter feet, the soffits close the gap neatly, and the guttering is pitched correctly to carry water away from the building. Replacing the roofline as part of a re-roof is the right moment to do it: the rafter feet are exposed and accessible, so the fixing is sound, and the finished roofline lines up perfectly with the new roof covering above it.