Thornbury has one of the more varied housing stocks in South Gloucestershire. Stone and rendered cottages around the High Street and Castle Street, interwar and post-war housing spreading out from the centre, and modern estates on the edges. Each throws up completely different roofing problems, and a roofer who only knows one of them will struggle here.
We're Multiform Roofing, based in Yate, about fifteen minutes down the road. We've worked on Thornbury roofs for years — repairs, full re-roofs, flat roofing, chimney rebuilds and guttering — on everything from listed cottages to new-build estates.
The older parts of Thornbury have properties with natural slate roofs, stone parapets and original leadwork. These need a different approach entirely from a modern concrete tile roof. Slate can often be repaired rather than replaced if the battens underneath are sound, and it's worth having someone who works with it regularly tell you which it is. See our slate roofing page for more on that.
Some properties in the conservation area and around the High Street are listed. That affects what you can and can't do with the roof, and it's worth establishing early rather than after you've had quotes.
The housing that spread out from the centre through the mid-twentieth century is now at the age where the original bedding mortar gives up. You'll notice it as gaps along the ridge line, mortar fragments in the gutters, or a ridge tile ending up in the garden after a windy night. We can re-bed traditionally or fit a mechanically fixed dry ridge system that won't need doing again.
Newer Thornbury properties tend to have at least one flat roof over a garage, porch or extension, usually originally felt and now past its life. We replace these with Firestone EPDM rubber membrane, which has no joints to fail. Loft conversions with roof windows are also common, and failed flashing kits around them are a frequent cause of ceiling damp.
Thornbury sits fairly exposed on the Severn side, and driving rain is hard on pointing and flashing. Unused stacks on older properties are the worst offenders because nobody looks at them until water appears indoors. Chimney repairs, repointing and rebuilds are one of our most common jobs in the area.
A word on quotes for older Thornbury properties: if a roofer quotes you for a stone or slate property without going up to look, be careful. The difference between a repair and a full strip-and-relay on a period roof is often thousands, and it depends entirely on the condition of the battens and timbers underneath. We'll always look properly first, and if we can't tell from the ground we'll say so.
A full strip and re-tile on a Thornbury property, including new felt, battens and ridge. Scaffolding up, old covering removed and taken away, new roof completed and the site left clean.
Fifteen to twenty minutes from our base in Yate, so for anything urgent we can usually be with you the same day. If water is coming into the house, call 01454 853 487 rather than filling in a form — we run a 24 hour emergency service and it's faster to talk to someone.
We'll come out, look at the roof properly and tell you what it needs. Sometimes that means telling you it needs less than you feared. If a repair will only buy you a couple of years, we'll say that too and let you decide.
If you'd rather see the problem before committing to scaffolding, we can carry out a drone roof inspection and give you clear photographs of what's actually happening up there. Our roof repairs page explains what repairs typically cost and why scaffolding drives the price.
Every quote is free with no obligation, and all work carries insurance-backed guarantees of up to 20 years through the Confederation of Roofing Contractors.
Fifteen minutes from our base in Yate. Tell us your postcode and what's happening.
Call 01454 853 487 Request a Free QuoteYes. It usually means matching existing materials rather than switching to something cheaper, and on listed buildings you may need consent before the work starts. We'll flag it if we think it applies, though you should confirm with South Gloucestershire Council rather than take our word for it.
Often it can be repaired. Slate itself lasts a very long time — what usually fails first is the nails and the battens holding it. If those are sound, individual slates can be replaced. If the nails have corroded throughout, you'll keep losing slates and a strip-and-relay makes more sense. That's what the survey is for.
Yes, along with Tockington, Oldbury-on-Severn, Rockhampton and the surrounding villages. See our areas we cover page for the full list.
For a typical Thornbury semi or detached, usually four to seven days depending on the weather and the size of the roof. Scaffolding goes up beforehand and comes down once we're finished.
Yes. Removal and disposal is included in the quote, and we leave the site clean. That includes asbestos where it's present, which comes up on older garage roofs — see garage roof replacement.
Yes, on shops, offices, agricultural buildings and industrial units as well as houses.
We also cover Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Winterbourne and Bradley Stoke, along with Almondsbury, Pilning and Severn Beach. See the full list on our areas we cover page, or read more about our roofing services across Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
