Where Are Squirrels Getting Into the Roof of My Great Shelford Home?

We are not suggesting period property is a problem. What is true is that certain traditional details create openings that a modern roof simply does not have.

Open Eaves

The biggest single difference. On a good deal of pre-war property the eaves are open — there is no soffit closing the gap between the wall head and the underside of the roof, and the rafter feet are visible from below.

That is a continuous opening along the whole length of the eaves, and it needs no gnawing at all. It is also usually there for a reason, so the answer is meshing it rather than boarding it up, which would create a ventilation problem.

Mortar Bedding

• Verges bedded in mortar, which cracks and falls out over decades and leaves a gap under the tile course
• Ridge and hip tiles bedded in mortar, the same
• Failed pointing at a gable or where a roof meets a wall
• Torching — the mortar under the tiles on an unfelted roof — which crumbles with age

No Underfelt

Many older roofs have no sarking felt beneath the tiles. Where a tile is lifted or missing, there is nothing at all behind it, so a gap in the covering is a direct opening into the roof space rather than an opening into a layer of felt.

The Rest of the List

• Bay and porch roofs, where the junction with the main wall is frequently imperfect
• Barge boards that have weathered or come away at the ends
• Gable apex vents and open brickwork
• Disused chimney stacks, and the flashing around them
• Outriggers and rear additions with their own roofs and their own junctions
• Later extensions where the new roof meets the old wall
• Mature planting. Older properties tend to have older trees and established ivy, which is the route up

Proofing an Older Roof

• Mesh rather than board, particularly at open eaves, so ventilation is kept
• Fix at the edges properly. A mesh held on at one corner is not fixed
• Expect more points than on a modern roof, which means a longer job
• Some of it is roofing work. Repointing a verge, rebedding ridge tiles and replacing rotten barge boards are a roofer's job, and getting that done usually solves the route permanently
• Be careful with listed or conservation-area property, where what may be fitted externally can be restricted

Proofing is priced by time rather than by room, precisely because a building like this has a different number of openings from a modern one.