Gable parapets - keep or remove?

[skygliderjack]

We recently moved into a detached house (~1967) and have two leaks: one behind the chimney at the rear (there's no lead back gutter/pan), and one at the front-right, in the bottom corner of the gable parapet. It looks like the previous owners also had a leak in the opposite corner (again, the bottom corner of the gable parapet), but that had been repaired before we moved in.

I've had a few roofers out and most recommended a full re-roof, the underlay is old bitumen felt that's torn in several places, and some battens are completely rotten.

There are two schools of thought on the parapets:

1. Remove the gable parapets, roof over them, and finish with a dry verge system (~£2k more), getting rid of the leaking area entirely.
2. Keep the parapets but re-roof with proper lead flashing between the tiles and parapets.

A fair number of houses around here have had the parapets removed, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra £2k, or whether it genuinely lowers the risk of future leaks.

A few specific questions:

- Is removing the parapets + dry verge worth £2k over re-roofing with proper lead?

- Does proper lead flashing reliably stop parapet leaks long-term, or are parapets always a weak point?

- Any downsides to losing them — kerb appeal, character, anything structural?

- We're considering solar later — would losing the parapets give meaningfully more usable roof / less edge shading?

- The quotes for re-roofing without parapet removal are coming in between £9k and £15k. Does this sound about right cost wise? The inside dimensions are 7 x 5.6m, the roof pitch is about 27deg, they are concrete tiles and we are in the midlands (England, UK).

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Also considering if we should keep or remove the chimney if anyone has opinions on that!

 

[noseall]

We recently moved into a detached house (~1967) and have two leaks: one behind the chimney at the rear (there's no lead back gutter/pan), and one at the front-right, in the bottom corner of the gable parapet. It looks like the previous owners also had a leak in the opposite corner (again, the bottom corner of the gable parapet), but that had been repaired before we moved in.

I've had a few roofers out and most recommended a full re-roof, the underlay is old bitumen felt that's torn in several places, and some battens are completely rotten.

There are two schools of thought on the parapets:

1. Remove the gable parapets, roof over them, and finish with a dry verge system (~£2k more), getting rid of the leaking area entirely.
2. Keep the parapets but re-roof with proper lead flashing between the tiles and parapets.

A fair number of houses around here have had the parapets removed, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra £2k, or whether it genuinely lowers the risk of future leaks.

A few specific questions:

- Is removing the parapets + dry verge worth £2k over re-roofing with proper lead?

- Does proper lead flashing reliably stop parapet leaks long-term, or are parapets always a weak point?

- Any downsides to losing them — kerb appeal, character, anything structural?

- We're considering solar later — would losing the parapets give meaningfully more usable roof / less edge shading?

- The quotes for re-roofing without parapet removal are coming in between £9k and £15k. Does this sound about right cost wise? The inside dimensions are 7 x 5.6m, the roof pitch is about 27deg, they are concrete tiles and we are in the midlands (England, UK).

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Also considering if we should keep or remove the chimney if anyone has opinions on that!

View attachment 417460

Parapet roofs are the devil's work.

 

[ree]

OP,
FWIW: why not keep the parapets - back in the day we would have charged about £4000 to do what you suggest.
Installing correct lead parapet flashing for profiled tiles would be swifter and cheaper than demolition etc.
Leadwork for the chimney stack could be done at the same time but at a further cost. Always try & keep chimney stacks.
Kick-Outs at each parapet flashing discharge to gutter positions should be installed.
Far more info & pics would be needed to be able to advise you much further.

 

[^woody^]

Parapets are not the problem. It always tends to be the people that work on them, and their lack of skill and experience.

 

[noseall]

Parapets are not the problem

They are - really. It's a stupid concept when you think about it. Who thought it a good idea to continue the walls above the shelter of the roof?

It always tends to be the people that work on them, and their lack of skill and experience.

True. Many don't understand the cav tray and damp implications that are needed for such a stoopid unnecessary position for a wall.

Virtually all the modern parapet gables I have seen (brick facade not render), have efflourescence blooming underneath the copings. The drip grooves only work to an extent and always fail at the mortar joints.

Utterly pointless concept.