Chimney repairs, fascias and soffits, emergency callouts and commercial roofs across Alwoodley, from the 1930s semis on King Lane and Alwoodley Park to the Buckstones, Primley Park and the Golf Course Estates. Every roof gets a free survey and a fixed, written price.
Houses of the 1930s and 1950s, which make up much of Alwoodley, were generally built with brick chimney stacks, often shared by a pair of semis or built up a gable wall. Plenty of those flues haven’t carried smoke since central heating went in, and a chimney that isn’t used tends not to be looked at until it leaks. The faults we look for:
Taking a redundant stack down is sometimes an option. If it means removing a chimney breast inside the house as well, that is structural work needing Building Regulations approval, and with a shared stack your neighbour needs to be involved. As a guide, repointing starts from £350, lead flashing from £450, a partial rebuild from £600, a full rebuild from £1,500 and scaffolding from £400. The final cost depends on access and on the stack’s condition, and is fixed in writing after a free survey, which can include a free drone survey of the stack top. More detail in our chimney repair costs guide and on the chimney repairs page.
Alwoodley only became part of Leeds under an Act of Parliament in 1927. The Alwoodley Neighbourhood Plan describes private housing arriving soon after: a 1929 brochure for the Alwoodley Park Estate promised semi-detached houses, bungalows and detached ‘villas’, and by 1938 much of western Alwoodley Park and the west end of Alwoodley Lane had been built, with the Primley Park estate going up in the same decade. After the war, the 1950s and 1960s brought The Avenue, the Mounts, the Buckstones and the Meadows. The Golf Course Estates (the Sunningdales, Birkdales, Turnberrys, Wentworths and St Andrews) were built by Wimpey in the 1970s after Moor Allerton Golf Club moved away. According to the plan, homes are mostly brick, local stone and render under pitched roofs, covered in slate, clay or concrete tiles depending on their age.
On a 1930s or 1950s house the original fascias, soffits and barge boards were painted timber, and after decades of weather many are rotten behind the gutter line. Typical signs are peeling paint, soft wood at the joints, gutters dipping or dripping at the brackets, and gaps where birds get into the eaves. Replacing them in uPVC ends the repainting; on a distinctive house, such as the white rendered properties the Neighbourhood Plan picks out on Alwoodley Lane and King Lane, we can match the existing profile and colour so the look doesn’t change. We usually renew the gutters at the same time, since the scaffold or access is already in place.
Trees add to the load. The plan notes grass verges and trees on many roads, garden trees grown to maturity, and mature chestnut trees along the west side of Harrogate Road. Leaves block gutters and outlets, and water spilling over the front soaks the fascia boards. Read more about fascias and soffits and gutter repairs.
Alwoodley sits high. The Neighbourhood Plan describes Alwoodley Lane running along the ridge of the watershed between the Aire and Wharfe catchments, and from the northern edge you can see three National Parks. Exposed roofs like these take the full force of a gale: ridge tiles lift, concrete tiles slip, and loose flashings and pots come away. We take emergency callouts 7 days a week. The first job is making the roof safe and keeping the rain out, then we give you a fixed written quote for the permanent repair. If you plan to claim on insurance, take photos before anything is moved. See emergency roof repairs.
Leeds City Council’s list of conservation areas doesn’t include one in Alwoodley, so like-for-like roof repairs here rarely need permission. Two things do matter if you’re changing the shape of the roof. The first is the national permitted development rules for lofts and dormers. The second is the Alwoodley Neighbourhood Plan, which passed its referendum on 28 June 2018 with 92% of voters in favour and became part of the Leeds development plan in July 2018. The plan notes that attic conversions are common in Alwoodley’s two-storey houses, with dormers usually facing the rear, and that some Buckstones bungalows have become dormer bungalows.
Permitted development rights can be removed by conditions on an original planning permission so check with Leeds City Council before committing. We handle the roofing side, and at the survey we’ll tell you if anything looks likely to need an application.
Inter-war semis in Alwoodley Park and along King Lane, many on large plots and extended to four bedrooms. Chimneys, fascias and re-roofing the original tiles are the usual jobs.
Clay or concrete tiles · shared brick stacks · timber or uPVC fasciasIndividually designed houses at the east end of Alwoodley Lane and on Sandmoor Drive and Sandmoor Avenue, in brick or stone, plus the white rendered houses at the west end of Alwoodley Lane. Bigger roofs mean more valleys, hips and stacks.
Tiled pitched roofs · brick or stone stacks1950s bungalows on the Buckstones, many backing onto Adel Woods, plus others scattered through Alwoodley Park and Primley Park. Dormer cheeks, flat dormer tops and low eaves gutters are typical repairs.
Tiled pitched roofs · felt or membrane flat dormersWimpey-built brick houses, maisonettes and semis on the Sunningdales, Birkdales, Turnberrys, Wentworths and St Andrews, with grey-brick 1970s houses in Primley Park.
Concrete tiles · uPVC fascias · flat-roofed garagesAlwoodley’s shops are in small groups: parades at the top and bottom of The Avenue and the King Lane shops. There are also the low-rise apartment blocks the Neighbourhood Plan describes, including the flat-roofed blocks at Blackmoor Court off King Drive. Roofs like these are often flat, and leaks tend to start at outlets, upstands and parapet copings. We repair and re-cover flat roofs, clear and reline gutters, and make safe after storm damage. Quotes are written so a landlord, managing agent or residents’ committee can approve them. More on our commercial roofing page, and on flat roofs.
Flaunching, repointing, lead flashing and caps on shared semi stacks and disused flues.
Learn More →Rotten 1930s and 1950s timber boards replaced in uPVC, gutters renewed at the same time.
Learn More →Gale damage on the exposed streets along the ridge, made safe 7 days a week.
Learn More →Flat roofs and gutters on The Avenue and King Lane shops and apartment blocks.
Learn More →Dormer bungalow tops, garages and rear extensions re-covered.
Learn More →Slipped tiles, ridges, verges and valleys on semis, bungalows and estate homes.
Learn More →From our base in Kirkstall (LS5) we cover Alwoodley streets including Alwoodley Lane, King Lane, King Drive, The Avenue, The Drive, Nursery Lane, Harrogate Road, Windermere Drive, Buckstone Avenue, Buckstone Crescent, Buckstone Drive, Buckstone Oval, Buckstone Way, Buckstone Road, Sunningdale Drive, Sunningdale Avenue, Wentworth Way, Primley Park Avenue, Primley Park Lane, Primley Park View, Sandmoor Drive, Sandmoor Avenue, Sandmoor Lane and the surrounding streets of LS17.
See every area on our coverage map.
Free survey, fixed written price, fully insured, with a 10-year workmanship guarantee on major work.
