7 miles from New Pitsligo
Roofers in New Deer
New Deer runs along the top of a ridge with the land dropping away on both sides. There is a reason the wind is the first thing anybody mentions about the place.
Built on a ridge
The village sits high, with Culsh Hill and its monument above it and open farmland falling away on either side. Roofs here are hit from both flanks depending on the wind direction, and the long straight run of Main Street acts as a funnel. It is one of the few places locally where we regularly see damage on both slopes of the same roof rather than just the exposed one.
Ridge tiles are the recurring casualty. Bedded mortar on a ridge that takes wind from both sides works loose far sooner than the same detail in a sheltered village, and a loose ridge tile above a pavement is a genuine hazard. Where we are re-bedding a ridge in New Deer we clip it mechanically as well, which costs very little while the access is there.
The terraces and the steadings
Two quite different kinds of work come out of this village. In the village itself there are the granite and harled terraces of an early-1800s planned settlement, roofed in slate, with shared stacks and long uninterrupted runs of roof. Outside it, it is farming country, and the buildings are steadings, stores and sheds — some still slated, more of them sheeted, and most of them older than their last repair.
On the terraces, the thing worth knowing is that a shared gable stack belongs to both properties. Work on it usually needs agreement with your neighbour, and it is far cheaper done once, together, than twice. We are happy to quote for both halves and let the two of you settle it between yourselves.
Frost, not salt
Seven miles inland and up on a ridge, New Deer gets less salt than the coast and considerably more frost and lying snow. Saturated stonework and cracked flaunching that freezes and breaks up is the pattern here, along with heavy moss on north-facing pitches that never see enough sun to dry out. Both are worth catching before they turn into water in the house.
- Ridge tiles re-bedded and mechanically clipped
- Slate terrace repairs and full re-roofs
- Shared gable stacks repointed, quoted for both properties
- Farm and steading roofs across the surrounding parish
Ridge tiles working loose?
It is the commonest fault up on the ridge here, and a loose one over a pavement is worth dealing with quickly. Free quote either way.