REFURB CASE STUDIES Private Dwelling Baron’s Mead [Winner - 2002 CRTC Clay Roofing Awards’ Best Refurbishment Clay Roof – Housing Category] Roofer (and recipient of Award): Mr. Paul Swetman (Paul Swetman Roofing) The Client: Mr. Cliff Charlesworth Project Duration: Sandtoft Roof Tiles Ltd Clay Tiles Used: TBA

Having spent a large part of his working life as a mechanical engineer for Mobil Oil in the Middle East, Mr Cliff Charlesworth, the owner of Barons Mead, was used to handling unusual and often complicated construction projects. His extensive knowledge and enthusiasm for “Do It Yourself” (DIY) projects meant that he adopted a 'hands-on' role when he employed roofer Paul Swetman to help him rebuild the roof of his home in Dorking.

The project did have its challenges, one of which was the close proximity of the roof to the ceilings below. This meant that one third of the battens had to be screwed. All of the lead flashings were replaced using new sheet lead in varying thickness from code three to code six.

The wide ranges in pitches also made it necessary to take particular care with setting out the batten gauges, especially where the eyebrows merged into swept valleys; also, there were no stretched gauges. Lime mortar was used for all verges, bonnets and ridge tiles.

The completed project received praise from the 2002 CRTC Roofing Awards Judges, who were impressed by the way in which the technical challenges had been addressed to faithfully recreate a practical and aesthetically pleasing roof. Chairman of the CRTC judging panel, Kevin Farrell said: “The work demonstrates exceedingly good craftsmanship with sensitivity to the technical and aesthetic challenges taken into account.”

He applauded the roofer for re-creating a charming array of eyebrows, swept valleys, gables and vertical hanging and cited the Barons Mead project as a “text-book example of special features using clay roof tiles.”