Ash · north of Folkestone by 18.2 road miles
Roofers in Ash
A village of 3,337 residents, with a Grade I church, listed houses including Grade II* Chilton House and conservation areas of its own. Before we price a repair, re-cover or replacement here, we establish which of those layers your address falls under, since each one sets a different rule and a different person to ask.
- St Nicholas, the Grade I church
- St Nicholas, Grade I, a Church of England place of worship in use
- Guilton, Street End, The Street
- Guilton, Street End and The Street, held by Dover District Council
- Re-roof approvals for Ash
- Dover District Council's own team
- Scaffold over the pavement
- Kent County Council; we arrange it with our scaffolder
Ash survey notes: three findings and the verdict each earns
What we found
Hip tiles loose at the end of a run
What it fairly needs
Refix the run and check the bedding.
What we found
Foam sprayed onto the roof timbers
What it fairly needs
Look closer before any work is priced.
What we found
Underlay torn and tiles slipping everywhere
What it fairly needs
Strip the slope and start again.
The fair ledger
A Grade I church, Ash's designations and foam under the tiles
Ash raises three questions before a roof is priced: who gives permission when a listed building is involved, which of the village's conservation areas your road belongs to, and whether spray foam has been applied under the tiles. Each entry ends on a verdict.
Entry 01St Nicholas
St Nicholas's church: Grade I, and a faculty rather than council consent
Ash's parish church holds the highest grade, Grade I, and is still in use for worship. That decides who gives permission for work on it, and who does not.
Church, houses and who consents
The Church of St Nicholas is list entry 1363280 on Historic England's list, first listed on 11 October 1963. Because it is a Church of England church in use, work on it is controlled by the Church of England's faculty system. Listed building consent from the council does not apply to a church in that position, and the 2010 order that keeps the exemption names churches within the faculty jurisdiction.
Houses are on a different footing. Chilton House is listed Grade II*, entry 1054893, first listed on 11 October 1963, and Bank House is Grade II, entry 1045803, first listed on 26 November 1987. A listed house does need listed building consent from the council before any work that touches its character, and that holds for roof work as well as anything else.
None of these entries tells you anything about your own roof unless your address is named in one, so we start by finding out. The check is quick, and it keeps a rule that belongs to someone else from being applied to you. An unlisted house is plain pitched roof work. If your house does carry an entry, we keep the plan small and take it to the council, and our planning guide covers what the rules allow around it.
Grade I
the grade Historic England gives the Church of St Nicholas, list entry 1363280
Highest of three grades
Who consents to what
Church in use, Church of England
The faculty system
Listed house, work touches character
Listed building consent
Unlisted house in the same road
Ordinary rules apply
Does the Grade I church mean my Ash roof needs special consent?
No. The listing rests on the one building the entry names. Your roof comes under listed building consent only if your own house is named, and that is easy to look up. We run the search at the survey, record the answer in your notes and carry on with the ordinary rules if you are not on the list.
Entry 02Boundaries
Guilton, Street End and The Street: Ash's conservation areas
Ash has conservation areas called Guilton, Street End and The Street, and Dover District Council holds the rules for them. Its building control page adds a rule for every re-roof.
Which line your road sits on
The conservation areas in the middle of Ash are Ash - Guilton, Ash - Street End and Ash - The Street. Dover District Council says there are 57 conservation areas in its district and publishes a list, so the council's own records settle whether an address is inside one. A road that looks central can still fall outside, and one on the edge can fall in. We would rather read the list than rely on how the street looks from the pavement.
Inside a conservation area, putting new tiles on a house remains normally permitted development. What changes is the attention paid to design, and the possible presence of an Article 4 direction, which removes further rights across a defined area. Dover District Council is the body that knows whether one reaches you, and we ask it and note the answer.
Building control follows its own logic. Dover District Council's building control page says replacing roof coverings "even if this is just like for like" needs approval, as does "installing roof lights". That puts even a plain re-cover in front of Dover's own team. The work is our roof replacement service when the whole covering is renewed.
Myth: Swapping tile for tile counts as maintenance, so no approval applies.
Fact: In Dover District Council's area, even swapping a covering like for like is on the building control page's list of work needing approval, so the route is confirmed before a re-cover is priced.
What sets the price
- Whether the address is on the list
- Re-cover, repair or roof lights
- Which council route applies
- How we reach the hip and ridge
One written total price
Which route an address takes
Inside a named conservation area
Council list checked first
Outside all three boundaries
Ordinary rules apply
Whole covering renewed, any address
Dover building control route
Foam, timbers and lenders
Spray foam comes in two main types, closed-cell and open-cell, according to the Energy Saving Trust. Closed-cell foam, in the Trust's words, has one main drawback: it is not vapour permeable. Foam bonded straight to the underside of the roof partly seals the timber, and with open-cell foam, the Trust adds, that risk should be much lower, though the foam still has to be identified. So it matters which kind is up there before anything else is decided about the roof.
RICS makes a second point. Once the rafters have been foamed over, it says, they cannot be fully seen or inspected, and its guide tells householders to ask their mortgage provider whether the lender's policy allows such products. RICS said in March 2023 that parts of the lending market, equity release mortgages among them, had raised concern. Concern is the word it used, and nothing stronger.
At the survey we look from the loft for foam on the rafters, and for staining or softness in the timber we can reach. We note and photograph what we see. After that the decision is yours, made with the facts on the table and a photograph of each finding beside it. The work involved is described on our spray foam removal page, and nothing is started until you have agreed it.
Entry 03Spray foam
Foam on the roof timbers: what the survey looks for
Foam bonded to the rafters hides the timbers from view. If a survey finds it, the sensible questions are which type it is and what a mortgage lender thinks of it.
Should I check with my lender before foam goes into my Ash loft?
Yes. RICS advises asking your mortgage provider whether its policy allows the product, and said in March 2023 that parts of the lending market had raised concern. A short call or email before any foam goes in costs nothing, and it can spare you an awkward conversation when you sell or remortgage.
What sets the price
- Type of foam found, if any
- How much of the roof it covers
- Access from the loft
- What has to be exposed
One written total price
Where foam meets the build-up
- Tile or slate on top
- Batten carrying the covering
- Underlay beneath the battens
- Rafter, where foam may sit
Foam on the rafters hides the timbers beneath the underlay.
Does one of these Ash entries sound like your roof?
Photographs make a good first step, and a visit is easy to arrange. Expect a written verdict, then one written total price.
The road from Folkestone to Ash
Ash is 18.2 road miles north of Folkestone, about 28 minutes by road. At the 2021 Census Ash parish had 3,337 usual residents, and each roof is surveyed at its own address, with photographs taken before a price is written. We photograph first, so the written total price rests on what is there.
Ash householders' questions, answered with sources
How can I tell if there is spray foam under my Ash roof tiles?
Look from the loft. Foam sprayed onto the underside of the roof coats the rafters and the timbers behind it, and RICS notes that once timbers are foamed over they cannot be fully seen or inspected. At the survey we look for it directly, note whether it seems to be closed-cell or open-cell, and photograph what we find so you have a record of it. If foam is present we explain what it means for the timbers before any price is written.
Does a re-roof in Ash need Building Regulations approval?
Dover District Council's building control page says replacing roof coverings "even if this is just like for like" needs approval, as does "installing roof lights", so a re-roof in Ash goes to Dover's own building control team. The Planning Portal's national guide gives under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof as the usual no-application range, and a covering 15 per cent or more heavier needs approval. We write down the route.
Does St Nicholas's Grade I listing affect my house nearby?
No, not by itself. The listing sits on the church, which is in use as a Church of England church and so goes through the faculty system. Your house is affected only when its own address appears on Historic England's list. In that case listed building consent applies to work that touches its character, and we ask Dover District Council before a price is set. It is a short check. Nothing in that search costs you anything.
Which conservation areas does Ash have?
Guilton, Street End and The Street are the ones near the middle of the village. Dover District Council says there are 57 in its district and publishes a list, so a particular address is checked against that list, not guessed from the postcode. We do the check at the survey and write the council's name beside the answer, so it is clear who said what. It takes a few minutes. If your road is near an edge, that is stated in the notes.
Who applies for the scaffold licence on an Ash street?
Kent County Council issues licences for scaffolding on the highway, at £52 per week for 2026 to 2027. According to Kent County Council, it is the skip or scaffolding company that should apply for you. We arrange it with our scaffolder. The scaffold's position and how many weeks it stands are fixed at the survey and carried into the written total price, so nothing is added later. Renewals need booking ahead of the day.
Could an Article 4 direction touch my Ash roof?
Perhaps, and only Dover District Council can say. A direction removes specified permitted development rights across an area it defines, so something normally allowed may need an application there. Check with Dover District Council about your own road. We raise it at the survey, and the council's reply goes into the notes before any price is written, which keeps the quote fair and complete.
Something wrong with your Ash roof? Tell us
You'll get one written total price.