Roofers in Havant | CJH Roofing

Roofers in Havant — we cover the whole town and surrounding area across PO9 and PO10 most weeks of the year. From our Drayton yard, Havant is a 15-20 minute run east on the A27 — quick enough that we treat the borough as core territory and don't apply any travel surcharge between Bedhampton, central Havant, Leigh Park, Warblington, Langstone or Emsworth.

The defining feature of Havant's housing is Leigh Park: one of the largest single housing estates in Europe when it was built between 1947 and 1974, and still home to thousands of properties on largely original roofs. Most of the Leigh Park stock is concrete tile on tile battens with bitumen felt underlay, and a generation of that underlay is now failing across the area regardless of what condition the tiles themselves are in. We re-roof and re-felt Leigh Park properties most weeks; we know the layouts, the typical batten centres, and the small variations between the 1950s and the early 1970s phases.

Central Havant and Bedhampton are quite different. Central Havant has a Georgian and Victorian core with hand-made clay tile, natural slate, and the kind of period detailing that needs sympathetic materials and proper lead work — code 4/5 lead, lime mortars where appropriate, hand-made matching clay tile rather than concrete substitutes. Bedhampton, sitting on the southern slope of Portsdown Hill, has a mix of 1930s semis and larger detached property with specific drainage and water-management challenges from the gradient.

Emsworth (adjacent in PO10) has period coastal property — Georgian and Victorian houses around the quay, plus inter-war and post-war stock further inland — where salt exposure shortens the life of lead and mortar. We carry materials and specifications appropriate to all of it.

Leigh Park is the single biggest factor shaping our work in Havant. Built between 1947 and 1974, the estate covers a substantial chunk of PO9 and contains thousands of broadly similar properties. The original roofing specification was concrete tile (mostly Marley and Redland) on softwood battens with bitumen felt underlay. Tiles vary in condition; underlay is almost universally past it. Most Leigh Park houses we attend now need a strip-and-recover with new breathable membrane, new battens where needed, and re-cover in matching concrete tile — typically with a dry-fix ridge upgrade so the new roof doesn't need re-bedding in 30 years.

Central Havant's Georgian and Victorian core is a different specialism. Slate and clay tile work is common; lead flashing on the older property is often code 3 or thinner, originally laid 80+ years ago, and needs replacement in code 4 or code 5. Lime-based mortars matter on the older stock — modern cement-rich mixes are visually wrong and structurally too rigid for soft historic brickwork.

Bedhampton's position on the southern slope of Portsdown Hill creates specific drainage challenges. Properties on the slope frequently have surface-water management issues that become roof problems if guttering and downpipes aren't sized correctly for the volume coming off. We size guttering up where the slope warrants it.

The southern fringe of Havant where it meets the Solent — Langstone, Warblington and the Emsworth side — sees noticeably more salt exposure than inland PO9. Lead and mortar age faster here. We typically specify code 4 lead minimum on coastal jobs and recommend dry-fix details on any re-roof.

The A27 corridor running through northern Havant brings the same vibration and pollution effects we see along the M27 in Fareham — accelerated long-term wear on roofs immediately adjacent to the road.