Red-brick houses and cottages
The 1923 county history called Burghfield's houses and cottages red brick and, apart from a few larger ones, modern.
Roofers in Burghfield Common
Red-brick houses on the high ground above the Kennet valley
Burghfield Common sits on high ground above the Kennet valley, a village whose brick houses were largely modern by 1923. We survey each roof on its own evidence.
Burghfield Common's roofs, on clay and above the Kennet
School and mission-hall roofs
The same history records parochial schools and a mission hall on the Common, built by Dr Bland.
Homes on London Clay
The parish lies in the Kennet valley on London Clay, rising to 302 ft in the south-west.
Map of Burghfield Common with Mortimer, Theale, Calcot, Silchester marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Burghfield Common, south-west of Reading's edge
Mortimer lies to the south, Theale to the north, Calcot to the north, Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross to the east, and Silchester and Pamber Heath to the south-west.
About 21.6 road miles north-west of Farnborough · West Berkshire Council (unitary).
Fixes and replacements in Burghfield Common
Burghfield Common, the working record
Burghfield Common's roofs, from council to clay soil
Which bodies stand behind a roof job in this West Berkshire village, what the older record and the 2021 Census say about the place, and which heritage checks to make for your address.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | West Berkshire and a shared building control team | BCS serves West Berkshire and Wokingham |
| 02 | A village on clay and brick by 1923 | 6,214 residents in the built-up area |
| 03 | Heritage checks for a Common address | Check the council's heritage map |
Chapter 01 of 03
West Berkshire and a shared building control team
| Role | Body for Burghfield Common addresses |
|---|---|
| Council and planning authority | West Berkshire Council (unitary) |
| Building control | Building Control Solutions, run by West Berkshire Council and Wokingham Borough Council together |
| Highway authority | West Berkshire Council, as a unitary council |
| Private alternative | A registered building control approver, in force since 6 April 2024 |
Burghfield Common has one local authority above it. West Berkshire is a unitary authority, so planning applications and the roads outside your house sit with the same organisation. Building control is a shared service: Building Control Solutions, known as BCS, is a joint service of the two neighbouring councils, West Berkshire and Wokingham. The Common is 21.6 road miles north-west of Farnborough by the A325, and a survey here is a planned visit, with the access questions settled beforehand.
Where the Planning Portal draws its line
Neither West Berkshire nor BCS gives its own percentage for re-roofing, so we begin from the Planning Portal's national test. A re-roof normally needs no building control application where under 25 per cent of the building envelope is affected and under 50 per cent of the roof. Refixing a run of slipped tiles or repairing one valley sits far inside both limits. Stripping a whole pitch goes beyond them, and then a BCS officer or a registered building control approver, the private option, registered since 6 April 2024, has to be involved.
The figure50%of the roof, alongside under a quarter of the envelope, is the Planning Portal's re-roof limit25% of the envelope50% of the roofSource: Planning Portal, building regulations for re-roofing
The measuring is ours to do. On the survey we record the area of each slope that the repair would touch, set it against the whole roof, and tell you which side of the line the job falls before any date is promised. A house with a rear extension or a flat-roofed garage is measured as one building, so those roofs count too, and the report shows it.
Scaffold on a Burghfield road
Scaffolding on the highway is licensed under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 by the highway authority, which for a Burghfield Common address is West Berkshire Council. Fees and who lodges the form vary by council, so we ask who is applying and settle the licence with the scaffolder at the survey. Scaffold on a private drive does not stand on the highway. For a small repair a ladder or a tower may be all that is needed.
If you are buying or selling, the survey report doubles as evidence. It records the extent of any work, the area of roof it covered and what was found beneath, which is what a conveyancer or a building control officer asks about when a roof has been re-covered in the past. Keep it with the deeds, next to the written price.
Chapter 02 of 03
A village on clay and brick by 1923
The record for Burghfield Common
- 21.6 road milesnorth-west of Farnborough, from the A325
- 6,214residents, ONS Census 2021, Burghfield Common built-up area
- 302 ftheight the parish rises to in the south-west
- 1923year of the county history's description
The Census counted 6,214 usual residents in the Burghfield Common built-up area in 2021. The county history of Berkshire, published in 1923, said that apart from a few larger houses the houses and cottages of Burghfield were of red brick and for the most part modern. It also records parochial schools and a mission hall on the Common, the hall built by Dr Bland, with a large Japanese bell he had brought to England standing in the school playground.
What a 1923 description does and does not tell a roofer
It tells us the brickwork of the older houses is red and that the village was young then. It says nothing about what covers them now, and we never fill that gap by guessing from the street. A century of repairs, extensions and re-coverings means a Burghfield roof can carry one material on the front slope and another behind, or tiles from several decades on a single pitch. Our survey records the covering on every slope, judged from the tiles we lift, and the match for any repair follows from that.
The parish lies in the Kennet valley on London Clay, rising to 302 ft in the south-west, and the Common sits on the higher ground. Clay soil holds water, and that makes the drains at the foot of the house matter: a downpipe discharging beside a wall can leave damp where the wall meets the ground, which then looks like a roof leak from inside. We trace a stain upward before recommending a roof repair, and say plainly when the fault is lower down.
A village that grew in stages has roofs from several periods side by side, and each period has its own weak points: older roofs at the valleys and chimneys, later ones at the flat-roofed extensions and garages added to them. We list these junctions on the survey sheet and photograph each, because a leak often starts where two periods of building meet, and the water seen inside can be a metre or more from where it got in.
Schools and halls, such as the ones the history records, have larger roofs and longer gutter runs than a house, and the same principle holds: slope by slope, run by run. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page explains how outlets, falls and brackets are checked, and our pitched roofing page covers tile and slate repairs.
Chapter 03 of 03
Heritage checks for a Common address
| Question | Where to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Is the house listed? | Historic England, National Heritage List for England | Works affecting character need listed building consent |
| Is it in a conservation area? | West Berkshire Council's planning map | The look of the roof becomes a planning matter |
| Does an Article 4 direction apply? | West Berkshire Council planning team | It can withdraw rights that otherwise apply |
| Is it a flat? | Your lease and the council | Flats have no permitted development rights |
The national conservation-area dataset does not place a conservation area on the centre of Burghfield Common, and we do not read that as an answer for your address. Boundaries run through villages in odd shapes, and whether an Article 4 direction applies to a particular house, and what it would cover, is a question for West Berkshire Council's planning team to answer for that address. So the checks in the table are for every address, and we run through them with you before a price is written.
Listed, conservation area, direction
A listed house needs listed building consent for works that affect its character, on top of the permitted development rights it keeps. A conservation area, if there is one, makes a change in the roof's appearance a planning matter, though a like-for-like repair of a building that is not listed generally is not. An Article 4 direction can withdraw rights that would otherwise apply, and West Berkshire's planning team is the body that can confirm whether one covers an address. Our planning permission guide explains how the routes fit together.
Flats and shared roofs
Flats have no permitted development rights, so changes that alter the building's appearance need planning permission from the council, and only like-for-like replacement is simple. In a block, the roof is often the freeholder's responsibility, so the first call is to the managing agent, and the survey photographs give you something concrete to send them.
A house with a loft room often has a roof window or a dormer from an earlier conversion. We check the flashing and seal around each, since that junction is one of the places water can get in, and our roof windows and skylights page covers fitting and replacing them.
Whichever way those checks come out, the work on the roof is the same: refixed tiles, renewed flashings, a cleared valley, a re-bedded ridge. What changes is the paper trail. We record the roof before the job starts, keep the photographs for the finished work, and hand you both with the written price, so the council, a buyer's surveyor or an insurer can see exactly what was there beforehand and what was done to it afterwards.
Burghfield Common questions on brick, clay and consent
Why does my Burghfield Common ceiling stain appear when the roof looks sound?
The village sits on high ground above clay, and a stain can come from a gutter outlet or downpipe rather than the tiles. We trace the water path from the stain upward, photograph the gutter, flashing and tiles in turn, and tell you which part is at fault before recommending any repair to the roof itself.
Does re-covering part of a Burghfield Common roof need building control?
Normally not, if under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof is affected, which is the Planning Portal's test. A whole-roof re-cover goes past that. Building Control Solutions or a registered building control approver then comes in, and you hear that before the job is booked.
How do I find out if my Burghfield Common house is in a conservation area?
Ask West Berkshire Council's planning team, or use its planning map, and check Historic England's list for any listing. The national dataset does not map one on the centre of the Common, but boundaries and Article 4 areas near it need confirming for your address. We wait for that answer before pricing any change of appearance.
Who licenses scaffolding on a public road in Burghfield Common?
The highway authority, which for this address is West Berkshire Council, under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980. We ask who is applying and settle the licence with the scaffolder at the survey. Scaffolding on a private drive does not stand on the highway, and a small repair may need only a ladder.
Roofs we survey from Mortimer to Theale
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