Victorian Terraces — Albert Hill, Eastbourne, North Road
The railway terraces typically have short front runs and a longer rear elevation with the back-addition wing, so metreage is lower than people expect — often 14 to 20 linear metres in total. That puts a full replacement in the £1,400 to £2,600 range on product cost alone.
Access is what moves the number. No rear vehicle access, narrow back lanes and shared yards mean scaffold has to be hand-carried in, and a pavement stand at the front needs a licence from the council's highways team. Budget £400 to £900 for scaffold on these properties rather than the £250 to £400 you would pay on an open plot. Original cast iron guttering, where it survives, is heavy, and removal is a two-person job.
Interwar Semis — Harrowgate Hill, Mowden, Carmel Road
This is the classic Darlington roofline job. A 1930s semi with a gable, a bay and often a later rear extension runs 24 to 32 linear metres, which at £100 to £150 fitted puts most full replacements between £2,400 and £4,000 all in.
The specific issue on this stock is that the original softwood fascia has usually had sixty to ninety years of repainting, and the rot is behind the paint film rather than visible on the face. This is the housing type where capping is most often offered and most often the wrong call — a probe with a screwdriver at the joints and behind the gutter tells you within a minute whether the timber is genuinely sound. Insist that someone does it before accepting a capping quote.
Post-War Estates — Firthmoor, Skerne Park, Branksome, Red Hall
Estate housing from the 1950s to 70s is generally straightforward: simple rectangular plans, low eaves, minimal detailing and 18 to 26 linear metres. Full replacement typically lands at £1,800 to £3,200, and scaffold requirements are modest because much of it is two-storey with clear access on all sides.
Two local cautions. First, a proportion of this stock has asbestos cement soffit boards, which must be identified before work starts and handled accordingly — a good contractor will raise it, and one who says nothing may simply not have looked. Second, many of these roofs have no eaves ventilation whatsoever, and combined with modern loft insulation depths that is a condensation problem waiting to happen. The roofline replacement is the right moment to fix it.
Detached and Village Properties — Hurworth, Sadberge, Coniscliffe, Whinfield
Larger detached houses and village properties carry 30 to 50 linear metres and often have dormers, bay roofs, porches and multiple gables, each of which adds trims and labour disproportionate to its length. Full replacement commonly runs £3,000 to £6,000 and can exceed that where there is significant detailing.
Modern estate housing at Whinfield, West Park and Great Burdon is different again — the original roofline is already uPVC and typically 20 to 30 years old. Replacement there is usually driven by discolouration, brittleness and failed gutter joints rather than rot, the timber question does not arise, and jobs tend to fall at the lower end because removal is quick and clean.
