Every Cornerstone roofing project carries a 10-year insurance-backed warranty, alongside the relevant material guarantee from the manufacturer.
Reliable, high-quality work before, during, and after the scaffold comes down.
Ardingly is a High Weald village on higher ground north of Haywards Heath, known for its college, the South of England Showground and the reservoir in the valley below. Its housing leans toward larger, older country properties and Wealden cottages spread along the ridge and the wooded lanes around it, much of it the kind of substantial period roof that rewards being looked after properly. Cornerstone Roofing has worked on roofs across Ardingly for 35+ years, all backed by our 10-year insurance-backed warranty.
We handle pitched and flat roofs, roof repairs, fascias and soffits, guttering, leadwork and chimney work across Ardingly. The older village stock carries clay tile, natural slate and tile-hanging, with heavy Horsham stone slabs surviving on a few of the oldest buildings, while later housing runs concrete and clay tile, so much of our Ardingly work is matched repair and re-cover on substantial period roofs. Site visits to look over a roof are free and come with no obligation.
Pitched roofs make up almost all of Ardingly. The older houses carry clay tile, natural slate and tile-hanging, and the oldest can still hold heavy Horsham stone slabs that need experienced handling and a structure built to take the weight. On the higher ground around the village these roofs are also more exposed to wind. Our pitched roof team specs each roof around its existing covering, and where original slate, handmade tile or stone can be salvaged we sort and re-lay it on new battens with breathable underlay and fresh lead flashings.
Shingles are an overlapping, single-thickness covering laid in courses across a sound deck. They depend on the underlay, the deck condition, and a ventilated batten cavity behind the visible covering. Get any of those wrong and the lifespan drops sharply.
Natural slate is a generational roof covering. Properly laid on fresh battens, with a breathable underlay and sound lead flashings, a slate roof will outlast most owners. We cover slate repairs, slate replacement, and full re-slate work across Mid Sussex.
Stone is a heavy traditional roof covering. The slates are graded by size and laid in diminishing courses (largest at the eaves, smallest at the ridge), which loads the supporting timbers significantly more than a tiled equivalent. Any stone-roofed enquiry calls for a structural survey of the deck and timbers before a quote.
Tile is the most common pitched covering across Sussex. Clay tile (handmade or machine-made) and concrete tile (interlocking or profile) both feature widely on the local stock. Tile lifespan is generally longer than the underlay beneath it, which means a roof can still look sound from the street while the underlay has reached the end of its life. We cover tile repairs, re-bedding of ridges, tile replacement, and full re-covers across Mid Sussex.
Flat roofing in Ardingly often covers more ground than people expect. Plots here run larger than in the towns, so alongside the usual rear extensions and porches there are garage blocks, workshops, annexes and garden rooms, and those roofs tend to be wide, shallow and a long way from the nearest gutter. A wide flat roof is a drainage problem before it is a covering problem.
Get the falls and the outlets right and a flat roof earns its keep. Get them wrong and water sits in the same place every winter until it finds a seam. On the bigger spans we look at where the water is supposed to go, whether the existing falls actually take it there, and whether one outlet is being asked to clear more roof than it can manage once the leaves come down.
What we check before quoting a flat roof in Ardingly:
Where the water goes once it leaves the roof matters as much as the roof itself, so we look at the guttering and rainwater goods at the same time. Our flat roof specialists work in EPDM, GRP, built-up felt, single-ply and liquid systems, and specify on the evidence of the survey rather than out of habit.
Modern reinforced multi-layer torch-on felt is a long way from the single-layer felt that gave the material its older reputation. Properly specified, with metal trims and drips at every edge, it gives a watertight finish well into 20-year territory. Felt remains the most economical like-for-like replacement for an existing felt flat roof.
EPDM is a synthetic rubber membrane sold by the roll and laid as a single sheet across most domestic flat roofs. One sheet means no overlaps and no welded joints to fail later. Lifespan comfortably reaches 25 years and beyond on a properly prepared deck.
Green roofs turn a flat surface into planting, additional thermal insulation, and drainage attenuation. They need a sound waterproof base underneath (typically EPDM or a bituminous build-up), proper drainage outlets, and a structural assessment of the supporting joists or deck because the loaded weight is significantly higher than a standard flat finish.
GRP (glass-reinforced plastic, often called fibreglass roofing) is laid wet over a sound deck and cures into a single seamless skin. It’s strong enough to be walked on and available in a range of finishes. Lifespan typically reaches 25 years and beyond on a properly prepared substrate.
Liquid coatings give a continuous, joint-free skin across complex roof details, including parapet cappings, roof-light or vent penetrations, and abutments where a flat meets a pitched tile. They can also be applied as a recoat over an existing failing membrane that’s otherwise structurally sound, which extends the roof’s life without a full strip-out. Most modern liquid systems are vapour-permeable and UV-stable.
Single-ply membrane comes as factory-made synthetic sheets, fixed mechanically, fully bonded, or held in place by ballast, with joints heat-welded on site. Long sheet widths reduce the number of seams on larger flat areas. Lifespan is comparable to EPDM when properly installed.
The roof repairs we are called to most in Ardingly are slipped or cracked tiles, slate slip on the older stock, worn lead around chimneys and valleys, and ridge tiles loosened by wind on the higher ground. On substantial period roofs, repair is usually the right answer over re-cover while the timbers and battens underneath are sound. We survey honestly and quote for the specialist roof repairs the roof actually needs, and an active leak is made safe first so the inside stays protected until the proper fix. All repairs carry our 10-year insurance-backed warranty.
Alongside main roof work we handle leadwork (chimney flashings, valleys and parapet cappings), guttering renewal, fascia and soffit replacement, and chimney repointing or rebuilds. On the larger older Ardingly properties the leadwork and chimneys are frequently what needs attention first, and that is often the job that prompts a wider look at the roof. While the scaffold is up we will flag anything else that needs doing, since bundling the work costs less than coming back to it later.
The substantial period roofs you find across Ardingly deserve a roofer who will match what is there and handle heavier traditional coverings properly. Cornerstone has worked on roofs across Mid Sussex for 35+ years, with a UK Roofing Awards 2025 Finalist project to its name and a 10-year insurance-backed warranty on every job. Knowing how to repair an older roof rather than rip it off is what sets our work apart.
Ardingly is a High Weald village on higher ground north of Haywards Heath, best known for Ardingly College, the South of England Showground and the reservoir in the valley below. Its housing leans toward larger country properties and older Wealden cottages along the ridge and the lanes around it, with a few Horsham stone roofs surviving on the oldest buildings. Roofs of that age and size need proper, sympathetic maintenance, which is much of the roofing work we do across the village.
