Houses across the suburb
No two Holway roofs are assumed alike; each house is read on its own evidence.
Roofers in Holway
A Taunton suburb with a conservation area and flood-mapped ground nearby
Holway is a Taunton suburb, with the South Road conservation area within about 0.75 km of its centre. Each roof is surveyed first.
Suburb houses, South Road and the wet ground
The South Road conservation area
Designated 15 January 1975 and revised 26 April 2007; its boundary lies within about 0.75 km of the centre.
Flood Zone 3 land
Parts of the land within about 250 m of the centre lie in Flood Zone 3 (Flood Map for Planning).
Street map of Holway with Blackbrook, Halcon, Haydon, Bathpool marked around it, and Taunton.
Holway's neighbours: Blackbrook, Halcon and Haydon
Blackbrook lies to the north-east of Holway, Halcon a little further north-east, Haydon to the east, and Lyngford lies north-west of Holway.
About 1 miles east of Taunton, Somerset Council (unitary).
Four stops on a Holway house
Looking over a Holway roof, from the conservation edge to the gutters
Four checks for a Holway house, covering consent, wet weather, flat roofs and which council office to ask.
Check 1 of 4South Road conservation area edge
Is your house inside the line?
The South Road conservation area lies within about 0.75 km of the centre of Holway. That does not put every Holway house inside it. The boundary is a line on a map, and your address sits on one side of it or the other. Finding out takes a few minutes with Somerset Council's conservation area maps, and it should happen before a covering is chosen, not after the first delivery of tiles.
What changes for a roof inside a conservation area?
Putting back what was there is rarely the difficulty. The questions start once the roof begins to look different from the street. A new dormer, a change of covering, a window in the front slope or a new ridge style can each bring an application. Our guide to conservation areas in Taunton shows what to ask, and the planning team gives the answer for your address.
How do I know which side of the line I am on?
Start with the council's published map for the South Road area, then check the street name and house number against it. If the house sits close to the edge, ring the planning team and ask them to confirm it in writing. Neighbours' roofs are not a reliable guide, because an older neighbour may have been done before the area existed, or may have been approved after an application.
For our part, the survey records the covering slope by slope, with photos, so that any conversation with the planning team starts from facts. Where an old covering has to be replaced, we say whether a close match can be sourced and what that does to the lead time. If the survey finds the street view of your roof stays unchanged, you will know that too, and the job can go ahead as a repair.
Look for
- Original covering still on the slope
- Roof windows facing the street
- Chimneys with old detailing
Check 2 of 4Gutters, fascias and wet ground
Keeping rain off walls and ground
- Sound: dry joints, water reaches the downpipe
- Needs work: overflow stains below the joint
Parts of the land within about 250 metres of Holway's centre lie in Flood Zone 3 on the Environment Agency's Flood Map for Planning. That map describes ground, not roofs, and it cannot tell you anything about one house. For your own address, use the Check your long term flood risk tool on GOV.UK. A roof cannot change a flood map. It can, though, get rain away from the walls and the soil around them, which is the work of the gutters, downpipes, fascia and soffit.
What decides the price
- Metres of gutter that need renewing
- Whether fascia boards have rotted
- Height and reach of the eaves
- Moving a downpipe outlet
Why does my gutter spill over at one spot?
One spot that keeps spilling usually points to leaves packed in the run, a leaking union between lengths, or a section now tilting back on itself. Brett Martin advises 1mm of fall for every 600mm of gutter, so one bracket that has dropped can leave a pool. Gutter brackets are screwed into the fascia, and the soffit is the flat panel you see when you stand under the eaves and look up. After a season of overflow the timber goes soft and the screws pull. We look at both before pricing, because new gutters on soft boards would fail in the same place.
Should the downpipes discharge somewhere else?
Sometimes. A pipe that empties against a wall or across a path puts water where it does harm. Moving the outlet to a working gully is a small change, and we point it out when we see it. Where a pipe joins the drain, we also check the shoe and the first metre of run for blockage, since a clogged pipe backs water up into the gutter above.
Near wet ground, the aim is that no water stands against the house. Cleared outlets, sound joints, correct falls and downpipes that run clear of the wall do most of that. If boards are rotten, you see the photos at the survey. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page covers the materials.
Check 3 of 4Garage and extension flat roofs
Is it draining or ponding?
Rain has to go somewhere, and on a flat roof it goes where the surface slopes. That slope is called the fall. On a Holway kitchen extension or garage, most flat-roof trouble comes down to the fall: it was too shallow, or the deck has dipped, or an outlet has clogged. Water still lying there two days after rain is the plainest sign. BS 6229:2025 asks for a finished fall of at least 1:80 across general roof areas, and IKO advises designing to 1:40 so that the roof still drains if the build comes out a little flat.
From the ground
- Water lying two days after a shower
- Brown marks on the ceiling under it
- Blistered or lifting covering
Leave to a roofer
- Testing the fall along the deck
- Clearing and re-seating the outlet
- Resealing the edge trim and upstands
Is standing water a leak waiting to happen?
Not always, but it speeds up wear, since dirt and moisture sit on one patch of the covering. A deck that has sagged between its joists is different, because a new covering laid on top simply copies the dip. We measure the fall at the survey and tell you which case you have before a price is given.
How long should the covering last?
Cost guides publish lifespans and they differ. For EPDM, a synthetic rubber sheet, GreenSpec gives 20 to 30 years and Less gives 30 to 50. GRP, a glass-reinforced plastic coating laid wet, is put at 25 to 40 years by Less, while Less lists torch-on felt at 10 to 20. Less adds that good felt work can reach 20 years but a poor job may not see 10, so the fitting matters as much as the material. None of these ranges is a promise about your roof.
Where the covering is sound and only an edge trim or outlet has let go, we repair that and leave the rest alone. Where the whole membrane has tired, our flat roofing page sets out the options. HSE's rule of thumb for a building from before 2000 is to assume asbestos is there, so an older garage roof is checked before anyone touches it.
Check 4 of 4Which council office to ask
Old district names, new single council
Older paperwork for a Holway house may mention Somerset West and Taunton, the district council. It no longer exists. Since 1 April 2023 one council, Somerset Council, has covered the whole county, and it decides planning applications in Holway. Building control sits with Somerset Building Control, which works across all four former districts, Somerset West and Taunton among them. The telephone line is 0300 303 7790, and it accepts applications online, by email, or posted to Bridgwater House.
What decides the price
- Whether an approval is needed
- Access to the eaves and ridge
- Size of the area to be covered
- Temporary make-safe before the repair
Who do I ring about my roof?
Ring planning when the roof's appearance will change, and building control if the structure, the insulation or the weight of the covering will. A new covering that is 15 per cent or more heavier needs Building Regulations approval, and the Planning Portal advises a structural check before work begins. A notifiable re-roof falls under the renovation of a thermal element heading in Somerset Building Control's fee calculator. A plain repair needs neither call. After the survey you hear which of these applies, and nobody asks you to ring about work that needs no approval.
Water coming through today?
Stopping it comes before anything else. A tarpaulin, a patch or a cleared outlet can stop the damage while the proper repair is planned. Our emergency roof repair page explains how that works. If an insurer needs to hear about it, tell them first, photograph the damage and hold on to the receipts. The Financial Ombudsman handles complaints if a claim goes wrong.
Photographs of your own slopes come with the survey, then one written figure covering the whole job. Send your Holway address and a few pictures of any damp patch or overflowing gutter, and we will arrange that visit.
Walked the roof?
- 1 read
- 2 not read yet
- 3 not read yet
- 4 not read yet
When you have read the checks, we walk the roof and show you the photos.
Holway roofs, from Flood Zone 3 to the flat roof
Does a roof in Holway need different treatment near the South Road conservation area?
Only if the house is inside the boundary, which the council's map shows. Inside it, a matching repair is rarely the problem, while a new dormer, a different covering or a window set into the front slope may need an application. Houses outside the line follow the ordinary rules. Check the address with Somerset Council's planning team.
Will new gutters help a Holway house that sits near flood-mapped ground?
They help the roof do its part, which is shedding rain and sending it away from the walls. They cannot change a flood map, and they do not make a house safe from flooding. Check your own address on GOV.UK, then let us check the falls, the joints and the downpipe outlets so water leaves the house cleanly.
How can I tell whether a Holway garage roof is ponding or just damp?
Look two days after rain. If water is still sitting in a shallow pool on the covering, the fall has failed or an outlet is blocked, and the roof is ponding. A damp patch with no standing water may be the covering weathering. Photos taken from an upstairs window help us judge it before the survey.
Which council decides planning for a roof in Holway?
Somerset Council. Since 1 April 2023 it has covered the whole of Somerset and decides planning applications in Holway, in place of the old Somerset West and Taunton district council. Paperwork that still names the old district should go to Somerset Council now. The planning team can confirm whether your roof needs an application.
Book a look at a Holway roof
Send your Holway address and a few photos of the trouble, and a survey date follows.