Roofing in Letchworth Garden City

The first garden city

Letchworth was laid out from 1903 as the world's first garden city, and many of its early houses were designed by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin in the Arts and Crafts style. Steep clay-tiled roofs, deep eaves, gables and dormers are what give the place its look. We cover Letchworth from Bedford, down the A600 through Shefford, and we have worked here.

A roof we replaced here

A customer in Letchworth came to us with a failing roof on a house around 120 years old, with four gables. He asked for a deep repair. When we opened it up, the honest answer was that the whole roof needed replacing, so that is what we did, and we matched it to the original. In his words, an excellent match to the original "is important in Letchworth".

Why matching matters here

The Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation looks after the character of the town, and changes to the outside of many homes need its consent. For a roof that usually means:

• clay tiles chosen to match the colour and shape of the originals
• gables, hips and dormers kept to their old lines
• lead valleys and flashings dressed by hand around the many junctions
• timber soffits and fascias where the house had them, not a quick swap to plastic

If you are not sure whether your job needs consent, ask the Foundation before work starts. We will tell you exactly what we plan to use so you can.

Under the tiles

The tiles get the attention, but the lasting work is underneath: a breathable membrane, new treated battens and counter-battens, and a roof that is sound for a long time.