Drone roof inspections in Plymstock

A suburb built in a few decades

Plymstock was a rural parish of separate villages, among them Hooe, Oreston, Turnchapel, Pomphlett, Elburton, Billacombe, Goosewell and Staddiscombe, until it grew rapidly just before and after the Second World War as a residential area for Plymouth. It joined the city in 1967 and is now a mostly owner-occupied suburb.

That history shows in the roofs. Much of Plymstock's housing is inter-war and post-war semis, bungalows and estate houses, typically roofed in concrete tiles with mortar-bedded ridges and hips. Many have since gained loft conversions, dormers and flat-roofed extensions. The weak points are predictable: cracked ridge mortar, tiles slipped at the eaves, tired felt on flat roofs, and the joint where an extension roof meets the original wall. Bungalow roofs look easy to check from a ladder, but walking on concrete tiles can crack them, and the back slopes and valleys stay out of sight. A full roof visual inspection shows which of these problems, if any, applies to your house before you commit to any work.

Waterside homes on the Cattewater and the Sound

Plymstock wraps around the Cattewater, Hooe Lake and the eastern side of Plymouth Sound. Turnchapel is one of Plymouth's 15 conservation areas, with older cottages and slate roofs packed along the waterfront, and Oreston and Hooe have similar pockets of older housing. Homes looking out towards Mount Batten and Jennycliff take south-westerly gales coming straight across the Sound.

Wind and salt air work on a roof in particular ways: slates and tiles lift at the verges and ridge, lead flashing fatigues, and metal fixings corrode faster than they would inland. On steep waterside plots, ladders and scaffolding can be awkward to set up at all, which is where a drone earns its keep. If your house is listed or in the Turnchapel conservation area, the inspection itself needs no consent, but repairs may need permission from Plymouth City Council. Our photos give you a clear record to discuss with them, and with your roofer. For roofs that have just been repaired, a roof work check confirms what was done.

Typical jobs in Plymstock

• Checking ridge and hip mortar on a post-war concrete-tiled roof
• Inspecting a flat-roofed extension or dormer for standing water and failed felt
• Storm checks on waterside homes in Turnchapel, Hooe and Oreston
• Photographing a bungalow roof before selling or after buying

Questions from Plymstock homeowners