Roofing at its finest; A new roof goes up in Burnley.

It’s about time for another renovation update for the property on Manchester Road in Burnley. This time we’ll take a look at the roof!

Roof’s don’t sound that exciting do they? But the whole structure depends on a leak proof roof. This building was riddled with damp and mould leading to collapsed ceilings and soggy rotten floors and a host of other problems. So a complete new roof was needed. On an old building that’s not as easy as it sounds. There's a lot of work that goes into a new roof. The old old perhaps didn't look to bad at first, the odd tree growing out of the guttering, but you wouldn't know all the damage occurring inside from a quick glimpse. Here it is, as we bought the property, before any work commenced.

Firstly we had to apply for planning permission, this was due to wanting to add some sky lights. The top floor forms part of the four apartments, and we wanted to allow as much light in as possible.  This obviously takes time for planners etc, but once we received the go ahead, we were all set. The roof was Donne in sections, removing the old waste tiles, lining and felt and where needed replacing the joists and beams, then we could fit the windows in place. Every bit of natural light counts, so having the sky light windows installed was so important to us.

Scaffolding, and a lot of it. Scaffolding is a great expense, the longer it’s up the more it costs and we needed a lot. The entire building is surrounded by scaffolding, three stories high so the quicker we can get it down the better! Of course our roofers safety comes first and its a necesaity, the job couldn't get done without it.

The type of roof tiles we needed to use. To keep in style with the building, planners requested that we used stone tiles, these are huge, without seeing them its hard to picture, but they measure 24 inches wide x 36 inches high x 2 inch thick, lets like tiles and more like stone flags. Each one has to be carried up 3 floors and then taken out onto the scaffold to be used. They are then cut to shape and put in place. The roofers certainly got fit on this job.

Of course there are always unexpected problems that crop up once work comnmences. When a building is as neglected as this one was, there are bound to be hidden faults. For instance joists and supporting beams that we thought were fine ended up collapsing or not being sound once they were exposed, so they had to be replaced. All these extra jobs cost us money and time, but to have the jobs done, and know everything is perfect, safe and just how we want it is a weight off the mind.

The chimneys have also had work done, some were being removed as they were no longer needed, so they were taken down. The others we have had rebuilt in stone. As far as chimneys go we think these look great now, in keeping with the building and most importantly they are sound, and wont lead to any leaks or issues in the future.

As of today the roof is now complete! Perhaps a bit of a clean up is needed, but the majority of grafting is done! The scaffolding has mostly come down now but will still be up for a while at the back of the building, as it is needed for other work, but we are one step closer to completion. The roofing team has worked tirelessly in all weather conditions, its a mucky messy gruelling job for sure, and we're very greatful for all of their hard work.

It’s been great to see the views from the roof top, Burnley from another perspective, definitely a highlight for our photographer! So we'll leave you with some of the views that we wont get the chance to see again now the roofs complete.