Homes on high chalk ground
The village lies on high chalk ground on the A31, between Alton and New Alresford.
Roofers in Four Marks
Roofs on high chalk ground between Alton and New Alresford
Four Marks grew on high ground near the old Medstead station, between Alton and New Alresford. We survey each roof here slope by slope, whatever its age.
Four Marks roofs, from the Windmill to the station
Near the old Medsted station
The 1908 county history put the Windmill inn about five minutes' walk from Medsted station.
Each slope read on evidence
We assume nothing about a roof's age or covering here, so each slope is read on its own evidence.
Map of Four Marks with Medstead, Ropley, Alton, Selborne marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Four Marks, on the A31
New Alresford lies to the west, Selborne to the east, Ropley to the south-west, Medstead to the north-west and, further out, Alton and Holybourne to the north-east.
About 23.6 road miles south-west of Farnborough · East Hampshire District Council and Hampshire County Council.
Tiles, flat roofs and gutters in Four Marks
Four Marks, the plain record
Four Marks roofs: council, station and what sits beneath
Who inspects roof work in Four Marks, how the 1908 county history places the village by Medsted station, and what ventilation, wildlife and the planning checks mean for a repair, each figure with its source.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | East Hampshire, Hampshire and a private approver | The district council takes reversion applications |
| 02 | High chalk ground and the Medstead station | 4,726 residents in Four Marks parish |
| 03 | Checks before work: designations, bats and neighbours | Ask East Hampshire about your address |
Chapter 01 of 03
East Hampshire, Hampshire and a private approver
| Role | Body for Four Marks |
|---|---|
| District council and planning authority | East Hampshire District Council |
| County council and highway authority | Hampshire County Council |
| Building control | East Hampshire District Council, its own team |
| Private building control | Registered approver; reversion to the district council possible |
| Scaffold standard | BS EN 12810 and 12811, or TG20:13 guidance, per Hampshire County Council |
Four Marks sits in East Hampshire, where the district council plans and runs its own building control team, and Hampshire County Council looks after the highways. The village is 23.6 road miles south-west of Farnborough, reckoned from the A325, so we book the survey for a fixed time and photograph every slope in a single visit, with measurements, so you can compare the written findings with your own roof. A survey is also the moment to decide whether the job is a repair or a re-roof, because the evidence on the roof, not an assumption about its age, settles that.
When the private approver steps back
A registered building control approver, a status set up under the regime that began on 6 April 2024, can do the job of the council's inspector. East Hampshire's own page makes a point few councils do: if a registered approver, which it describes as a private building control company, is no longer able to carry out that function, a reversion application may be made to the district council. On a re-roof that runs over several weeks, that matters. We ask at the start which route you want, and tell you what each one needs before a date is set.
Most Four Marks repairs need neither route. The Planning Portal's test is under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof, so a few slipped tiles or a re-bedded ridge sits well inside it. A re-cover of the whole roof goes past those limits. So does a new covering that adds 15 per cent or more to the weight, which brings approval and a structural check, and we measure the existing covering at the survey to settle the question.
Rules to plan around
6 April 2024date the registered approver regime began
10 daysclear working days Hampshire asks for before a scaffold
Scaffold built to a standard
On the highway, scaffolding is licensed by Hampshire County Council, whose page expects the structure to meet BS EN 12810 and 12811, or the TG20:13 guidance, and it makes the scaffolding company the applicant, with 10 clear working days between the application and the start. Scaffold inside your own boundary needs no licence. We confirm at the survey whether your scaffold would stand on the road frontage or on private ground, and we book the roof work around the licence so the crew is not kept waiting.
Chapter 02 of 03
High chalk ground and the Medstead station
Four Marks in published figures
- 4,726residents, ONS Census 2021, Four Marks parish
- 1908year of the county history's account
- 5 minuteswalk from Medsted station to the Windmill inn
- 23.6 road milesfrom Farnborough, measured from the A325
The 1908 Victoria County History describes Four Marks as a place on high ground with an inn called the Windmill, about five minutes' walk from Medsted station. It says the place lay partly in Ropley and partly in Medsted. The volume also records that the station, on the Alton line, stood near the spot locally known as Four Marks. The 2021 Census counted 4,726 usual residents in the Four Marks civil parish, which makes it a sizeable village with roofs to match, so every address is looked up on the council's map and on the Heritage List as part of the survey.
What sits under the tiles
Roofs of any age share one need, because the part we most need to see is the part under the covering. Underlay decides how a cold roof breathes. With a non-breathable HR underlay, Marley says the eaves need ventilation 25 mm along their length for pitches of 15 degrees or less, and 10 mm for pitches above 15 degrees. Where the ceiling is well sealed and the underlay is a breather LR type, ordinary eaves construction gives 3 mm and may do, provided third-party certification supports it.
The figure10mmof eaves ventilation where the pitch is above 15 degrees with HR underlay10 above 15 degrees25 15 degrees or lessSource: Marley, how to ventilate a cold roof
So we look at which underlay is in place, whether insulation has blocked the eaves, and whether the loft shows condensation: dark timber, damp insulation, rusting nail heads. Approved Document C says cold deck roofs should be ventilated, while a small roof over a porch or bay may not always need it, and it asks for an effective draught seal on a loft hatch. BS 5250 is the code that deals with moisture in buildings, and it is the reference we work to.
Flat roofs, lofts and heat loss
A hatch that leaks warm air feeds condensation above it, so the seal is part of a roof survey. In a loft conversion the roof window has to achieve 1.4 W/(m²·K) or Band B of the Window Energy Rating scale, with the existing roof improved under the renovation rules. Our roof windows and skylights page explains how to choose one.
A flat-roofed extension or garage follows different numbers from the pitched roof above it. BS 6229:2025 sets a minimum finished fall of 1:80 for membrane roofs, and IKO advises aiming for 1:40 in the design, so that the roof still drains once it has settled. We take levels along the roof and note the outlets, then show you the readings. Our flat roofing page explains the choice of covering.
Chapter 03 of 03
Checks before work: designations, bats and neighbours
| Check | Who to ask | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area | East Hampshire District Council | Changes to the look need the planning team first |
| Article 4 direction | East Hampshire District Council | Confirm the classes at your address |
| Listed status | National Heritage List for England | Listed building consent if listed |
| Bats and nesting birds | GOV.UK guidance | Roof repair can affect roosts and nests |
| Party wall | A party wall surveyor | Two months' notice for some cutting-away |
East Hampshire District Council publishes its conservation areas and its Article 4 directions, and the answer for your address comes from its map, not from how the street looks. Ask whether your house sits inside a conservation area and whether any direction applies. An alteration that changes the appearance of the roof is seen by the planning team before a price is written. Our planning permission for roof work guide sets out the question to put to the council.
Listed status and consent
Every address is checked against the National Heritage List for England before pricing, because a listed house needs listed building consent for works that change its character, on top of any Building Regulations route. If your house is listed, the roof is not touched until consent is granted, and our pictures accompany the application to show the council the roof as found, with a copy kept for you. The same pictures can be shown to a neighbour or a bat adviser.
Bats, birds and the roof
GOV.UK says every bat species, with each place it breeds or rests, is fully protected by law, and lists roof repair among the works that may affect them. A person who disturbs a roosting bat intentionally or recklessly commits an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and under the Habitats Regulations 2017 damaging a roost is an offence even without intent. Section 1 of the 1981 Act also makes it an offence to intentionally damage or destroy a nest while it is being used or is half built. On finding droppings, staining or an active nest, we pause and contact you before anything is lifted.
A terrace or a semi shares a party wall with next door. If a projecting chimney breast has to be cut away from that wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires a notice served two months before the work begins, and questions go to a party wall surveyor, not to building control. Removing a chimney breast also brings Building Regulations approval, because the breast is part of the structure. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page covers the roofline work that so often goes with a roof repair.
Eaves, conservation areas and bats: Four Marks questions
Does a Four Marks loft need ventilating at the eaves?
With a non-breathable HR underlay, Marley says a cold roof needs 25 mm of eaves ventilation along its length at 15 degrees or less, and 10 mm above 15 degrees. Where the ceiling is well sealed and the underlay is a breather type, normal eaves construction may do, subject to certification. We check which underlay you have and whether the vents are blocked.
Who handles building control for a Four Marks re-roof?
East Hampshire District Council runs its own building control team. A registered building control approver is the private option, and East Hampshire says that if an approver can no longer act, a reversion application may be made to the council. The survey tells us whether your job needs either one, and we explain it before work is booked.
Is my Four Marks house in a conservation area?
East Hampshire District Council publishes its conservation areas, and the answer for your address comes from its map, not from how the street looks. Ask the council, and ask whether an Article 4 direction applies. Our survey photographs can go with your enquiry, so the planning team sees the roof as it is.
Could a Four Marks roof hold bats or a nest in use?
It can. GOV.UK notes that bats and their roosts are legally protected in full, and that roof repair is among the work that may affect them. On finding droppings, staining or an active nest, we stop and tell you before anything is lifted, because the law covers roosts and nests in use, and the next step is then yours to decide, with our advice to hand.
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A roof survey in Four Marks
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