Predictable spending
A planned check is a small, known cost. Emergency call-outs, ceiling repairs and redecoration are not, and they always land at the worst time of year.
Roof maintenance in Havant, Portsmouth & Hampshire
Catch the small defectbefore it becomesa full replacement
Planned inspections, small fixes and gutter clearing, with photographs of exactly what we found up there — the cheapest roofing money you will ever spend, and the reason most of our customers never need an emergency call-out.
Free inspection with a photographic report · family-run, owner-led team · £1,000,000 public liability insurance · no pressure, no invented work.
Roof maintenance we have completed
- Team of 6
- Owner-led team maintaining roofs across Hampshire and West Sussex
- Photo report
- Sent after every inspection, no guesswork
- Free
- Inspections and quotes cost you nothing
- £1m
- Public liability insurance
- 24/7
- Phone answered if something does go wrong
What it is
Maintenance is whatkeeps a roof at theend of its design life
Roofs rarely fail suddenly. They fail slowly, through small unaddressed defects, and then reveal themselves in a storm. Maintenance is simply the act of finding those defects while they are still cheap.
A maintenance visit is a structured inspection followed by small remedial work. We check the covering for slipped, cracked and delaminating tiles, look at the ridge and hip mortar, examine flashings at chimneys and abutments, check valleys, look at the verges, clear the gutters and downpipes, and check the loft for daylight, staining and damp battens where access allows.
You then get a photographic report. Not a tick-box sheet — actual photographs of your roof with an explanation of what is fine, what is worth watching and what needs doing now. That distinction matters, because plenty of what a roof shows is cosmetic and does not warrant spending money on.
Small fixes are handled on the visit where they can be: a slipped tile re-set, a loose ridge tile made safe, gutters cleared, a bird guard fitted, debris removed from a valley. Anything larger is quoted as a fixed written price, and you are under no obligation to have it done.
For landlords, letting agents and commercial premises, planned maintenance also produces a documented record of condition. That is useful for insurance, for tenancy disputes and for demonstrating that the building has been looked after — which matters when a claim is assessed.
Who it is for
Homeowners who want to stop reacting to leaks, landlords with several properties, letting agents, businesses with commercial premises, and anyone who has just had a re-roof and wants to protect it.
When it is needed
Annually for most roofs, and after any severe storm. Autumn is the natural time — gutters clear before leaf fall, defects found before the first serious south-westerly.
Why a professional matters
Most roof problems are invisible from the ground, and the ones you can see are rarely the important ones. Knowing which hairline crack matters and which does not is the whole value of the visit.
What is included
Full visual inspection of covering, ridges, flashings, valleys and verges, gutter and downpipe clearing, minor fixes where possible, a photographic report and a fixed price for anything larger.
What ignoring it costs
Neglect is not free —it just delays andmultiplies the bill
Every large roofing job we quote started as something small that nobody looked at. The roof does not care that it was not convenient; it just keeps letting water in.
Cheap fixes become big jobs
A slipped tile is a quick fix. The same tile left through a winter wets the felt, the batten and eventually the rafter, and what could have been a small charge turns into a section strip and timber repairs.
Blocked gutters wreck the roofline
Silt and moss hold water against the fascia, rot the timber and push overflow into the brickwork. Clearing gutters is one of the cheapest things on any property, and skipping it is one of the most expensive.
Neglect weakens an insurance claim
Insurers separate storm damage from gradual deterioration. Without evidence the roof was maintained, a claim can be reduced or refused, and you carry a cost that documentation would have covered.
Mistakes we are called out to fix
- Assuming a roof needs no attention until something appears on a ceiling
- Clearing gutters from the ground with a pole and never actually seeing inside them
- Ignoring moss build-up until it blocks the gutters and lifts the tiles
- Walking on a roof to check it, cracking tiles that were perfectly sound
- Leaving cracked ridge mortar because it is 'only cosmetic' until a ridge tile comes off
- Having no record of condition when it is time to claim or sell
Our process
The same system on everyroof maintenance job we take on
- 01
Inspection
A full visual check of the covering, ridges, hips, flashings, valleys, verges and gutters, plus the loft where there is access.
- 02
Diagnosis
We separate what needs doing now, what is worth watching and what is purely cosmetic — and tell you plainly which is which.
- 03
Small fixes on the visit
Slipped tiles re-set, loose mortar made safe, gutters and downpipes cleared, valleys and outlets freed of debris.
- 04
Photographic report
Photographs of the actual condition, sent to you afterwards, with a fixed written price for anything larger we recommend.
- 05
Ongoing schedule
We agree when the next visit should be — annually for most roofs — so the roof is checked before the weather tests it.
What you get
Concrete outcomes,not vague promises
Full life from the covering
Roofs that are cleared, checked and kept free of moss and blockages reach the end of their design life. Neglected ones do not get close.
Fewer emergencies
Most storm call-outs involve something that was already loose. Fixing it in October avoids a January phone call and an out-of-hours fee.
Documented condition
A dated photographic record supports insurance claims, satisfies letting obligations and reassures a buyer's surveyor.
Honest reporting
If your roof is fine, we will tell you it is fine. We would rather see you again next year than invent work and never hear from you again.
One firm for everything
If the check does turn something up — a chimney, a valley, guttering, a flat roof — the same team handles it, at a fixed price, without another round of quotes.
In detail
What a propermaintenance visitactually covers
Coastal Hampshire roofs face salt-laden wind, heavy autumn leaf fall and long damp spells. The checklist below reflects what actually goes wrong here.
“From start to finish, the service provided was excellent. It is clear that they take great pride in their work and genuinely care about making sure their customers are happy with the finished result. There was no pressure, and I felt confident that I was receiving genuine advice and a fair price. They were also respectful of the property and left everything clean and tidy once the work was finished.”
Covering: tiles and slates
We look for slipped, cracked, chipped and delaminating units, and for the tell-tale pattern of nail fatigue where fixings have corroded and tiles are creeping down in a run. On slate roofs we look for tell-tale 'tenting' and for previous repairs held on with clips that are themselves now failing.
Ridges, hips and verges
Mortar bedding cracks, hollows out and eventually releases. We tap and inspect ridge and hip tiles, check verge pointing at the gable, and identify where re-bedding or conversion to a mechanically fixed dry-fix system is the more sensible long-term spend.
Flashings, chimneys and abutments
Lead flashings lift, split and pull out of chases. Chimney stacks lose pointing and flaunching. These junctions cause more leaks than the open field of tiles does, so they get particular attention — see our chimney work and leadwork pages for the repairs themselves.
Valleys and outlets
Valleys collect leaves, moss and grit, and a blocked valley backs water up under the tiles on both sides. We clear them, check the lead or fibreglass beneath, and make sure water has a clean run to the gutter.
Gutters, downpipes and gullies
Gutters are cleared by hand and flushed, joints and brackets checked, downpipes tested and gullies confirmed clear. Sagging runs and standing water in the gutter are noted, because they usually mean the fascia behind is starting to go.
Moss, algae and organic growth
Moss holds water against the covering, blocks gutters as it sheds and can lift tile edges. Light growth is cleared as part of maintenance; heavier build-up is handled by our dedicated moss removal and roof cleaning service.
Loft inspection
Where there is safe access, the inside tells you as much as the outside: daylight through the membrane, damp or stained battens and rafters, wet insulation, and condensation on the underside of the covering, which is a ventilation problem rather than a leak.
Landlords, agents and commercial premises
For portfolios and commercial buildings, we can schedule visits across multiple properties and provide a photographic record for each. That documentation is what turns maintenance from an expense into evidence, and it is exactly what insurers and surveyors ask for.
Straight answers
Roof maintenancequestions, answered
Anything not covered here, call 07926 240983. You will speak to an owner, not a salesperson, at any hour of the day.
How much does roof maintenance cost?+
Inspections are free, and we quote any remedial work as a fixed written price so you can decide what to do with no pressure. For scheduled maintenance across several properties we will price the arrangement individually after seeing the buildings.
How often should a roof be inspected?+
Once a year suits most properties, ideally in autumn before the worst weather, plus a check after any severe storm. Roofs under trees, with heavy moss, or with a lot of leadwork and detailing benefit from being seen more often.
How long does a maintenance visit take?+
A typical domestic inspection with gutter clearing and minor fixes is usually a matter of hours rather than days. Larger or multi-building sites take longer and we confirm the timing when we book.
Do I get a written report?+
Yes — you get a photographic report showing what we actually found on your roof, with an explanation of what needs doing now, what is worth watching and what is purely cosmetic.
Will you try to sell me a new roof?+
No. If the roof is sound, we will tell you it is sound. Our reputation locally is built on repeat customers and referrals, which does not survive inventing work.
Can you inspect a roof without ladders or scaffold?+
Yes. On steep, high or awkward roofs we use a drone survey to inspect the whole covering in high resolution without access equipment. Drone surveys start from £250.
Is the remedial work guaranteed?+
Yes. Any work we carry out comes with a workmanship guarantee, and because cover varies by job type, the exact terms are confirmed in writing with your quote.
Does maintenance help with insurance?+
It helps considerably. Insurers distinguish storm damage from gradual deterioration, and a dated photographic record of an inspected, maintained roof is exactly the evidence that supports a claim.
Do you maintain commercial roofs?+
Yes, across Havant, Portsmouth, Chichester, Southampton and the wider Hampshire and West Sussex area, including scheduled visits for landlords and letting agents with multiple properties.
What if you find something urgent?+
We will make it safe on the visit where we can, photograph it, explain it and quote it. If it is genuinely urgent, the phone is answered 24 hours a day and we will get back to you quickly.
Related work
Other things we do on the same roof
See every service on our roofing services page, read about the family behind the firm on our about page, or head back to the homepage.
Where we work
Roof maintenance across Hampshire
- Havant
- Emsworth
- Rowlands Castle
- Portsmouth
- Southbourne
- Southampton
- Chichester
- Hampshire
- West Sussex
Free quote
Book the check thatstops the emergencycall-out
Send your details and we will arrange a free inspection, clear what needs clearing, photograph the whole roof and tell you honestly what — if anything — needs spending money on.
- Free inspection and free quote, no obligation
- Photographic report of the actual condition
- Fixed written price, cash or bank transfer
- Workmanship guarantee, varies by job type
- £1,000,000 public liability insurance
S&S Roofing & Building Limited
13 Braishfield Rd, Havant, Hampshire PO9 2HS, UK
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week