Denton covers a lot of ground on the western edge of the city. Denton Burn grew up beside the West Road, East Denton has the oldest buildings, and West Denton and Chapel House are mostly later estates running out towards the A1. Hadrian's Wall once ran right through the middle of it all, and you can still see a stretch of it today.
For roofing, that spread of ages matters more than the postcode. A 1930s semi off Denton Road wears out in a different way from a house built in the late 1960s, and both behave differently again from a flat-roofed garage or a block of flats. Newcastle Roofs repairs and replaces pitched and flat roofs, fascias, soffits and gutters across Denton, and we also handle chimney work and loft insulation. Quotes are free, there is no call-out charge, and we run a 24/7 emergency service for leaks that won't wait.
Roman stones and a 1622 hall
The West Road follows the line of the Roman frontier, and at Denton Hall Turret about 63 metres of the Wall survive beside the turret itself, with parking on Turret Road. Nearby stands Bishop's House, a Grade I listed sandstone house dated 1622 over its door. Its listing records a main roof of Welsh slate, with stone slates at the eaves of the porch.
Buildings like these are the exception. Most homes in the area are twentieth-century houses with no listing and no conservation area, and Newcastle's twelve conservation areas don't include any of these neighbourhoods. Everyday roof repairs, like replacing tiles or relaying a ridge, don't normally need permission. If you live close to the Wall and are planning an extension or anything that involves digging, check with the council before you start.
Denton Burn's inter-war houses
Between the wars, farmland either side of the burn was built over with new housing. About 72 acres of Thorn Tree Farm became a private estate taking in Thorntree Drive, Denton Road and Countess Drive, and the original farmhouse, now a restaurant, is Grade II listed.
Houses from this period are now around ninety years old, and most of their roofs have had at least one round of serious work. The things we check first are:
- Hips and ridges. Many semis of this age have hipped roofs, and hip tiles bedded in mortar loosen as the mortar breaks down.
- Bay roofs. The small roofs over front bays are often lead, felt or tile. They're easy to overlook and a common source of damp around the bay window.
- Chimney stacks. Weathered pointing, cracked flaunching around the pots and failed flashings let water into the bedrooms below.
- Underlay. Where a roof was relaid long ago, the felt beneath the tiles can be brittle or torn.
West Denton and Chapel House: post-war roofs
Much of the west side is newer. The privately built Chapel House estate, designed by John T. Bell, went up from 1964 into the early 1970s. In 1967 the Westerhope and West Denton development was approved, including two 14-storey blocks, Denton Park House and Hill Top House. Across the ward as a whole, semi-detached houses are the largest group, followed by terraces, then flats.
Homes of this generation have their own weak spots. Original timber fascias and soffits are often rotting by now, and replacing them with uPVC is a common job. Garages, porches and kitchen extensions frequently have flat roofs, and older felt on these cracks, ponds and lets water creep along the joists. We can repair felt or replace it with EPDM rubber, GRP fibreglass or a single-ply membrane, depending on the deck and what the roof is used for.
For landlords, managing agents and residents' associations, we also take on commercial roofing on larger buildings. Each job is priced after we have seen the roof and the access.
Trees, the dene and blocked gutters
Denton Dene runs south from the West Road towards Scotswood. It is a mix of old woodland and grassland, with oak, elm, sycamore and ash, some of the trees several centuries old. Houses near the dene, and in the many streets with mature gardens, live with falling leaves every autumn.
Leaves and seeds wash into gutters and settle in valleys, and once an outlet blocks, water spills over the front of the gutter or backs up under the bottom row of tiles. Shaded, north-facing roof slopes also hold moss, which lifts tiles and clogs gutters further. Clearing gutters before winter and again in spring prevents a surprising number of leaks. If overhanging branches are rubbing the roof, get them cut back, and check first whether the tree is protected.
From first call to finished roof
When you get in touch, we'll ask what you've noticed and where. We then visit, look at the roof from the ground and, where safe, from a ladder or the loft, and take photos so you can see what we saw.
You'll get a written quote that explains the problem in plain terms and what we propose to do. If there is a cheaper repair and a longer-term fix, we'll explain both. Once the work is done, we clear the site, check the gutters and downpipes run freely, and show you what was replaced.
