What It Takes to Raise the Roof of a Country House

Raising the roof of an existing country house is not a small undertaking. The building has to stay standing while a large part of it is removed and rebuilt above.

On one of our current projects, an additional storey is being created within a completely new roof structure. It is a good example of the planning and coordination required before work of this scale can begin.

The starting point is structural. Adding a storey adds load, and that load has to travel somewhere. Foundations, walls and existing timbers need to be assessed for what they can carry. On older or listed buildings, this can also uncover issues that predate the project and need resolving first.

The existing roof must then come off before the new structure can go up, leaving the house particularly exposed.

Here, the solution was full scaffold encapsulation: a temporary roof and weatherproof enclosure built over the entire structure before the original roof was touched. It protects the building and allows work to continue in a controlled environment, whatever the weather.

Inside, chimneys and existing masonry are retained and built around, while the new structure goes up through a carefully planned order of works.

Planning and design considerations run alongside the construction. Changes to the roofline, windows and overall proportions all need to be resolved before work reaches this stage, particularly on listed or sensitive buildings.

This is where Manton Property adds real value. We sit across the whole project, coordinating the professional team, managing the order of works, protecting the existing building and making sure decisions are taken at the right time.