Hounslow’s roofs have been dealing with British weather for generations, but some now sit directly beneath Heathrow’s approach routes. For a local roofing firm, that means a routine call about missing tiles can sometimes turn into a question about aircraft, insurance and whether the airport should be paying for the repair.
The houses around Cranford were not designed with Heathrow in mind. On a westerly wind, aircraft descend overhead in a steady procession, with roughly a minute sometimes separating arrivals. Heathrow is subject to a limit of 480,000 flights a year, or about 1,300 a day, and arrivals pass over this part of west London on approximately seven days out of ten.
People who have lived beneath the approach for years may barely register the noise anymore. Their roofs can still reveal what is happening above them.
Homes that predate the airport
The growth of Hounslow between the wars was closely linked to new roads and industry. The Great West Road opened in 1925, factories developed along the Golden Mile and housing expanded alongside them.
The properties were built before Heathrow became a civilian airport in 1946. Many of their roofs still reflect the construction standards of that period.
Traditional tiles were commonly attached to timber battens, with some roofs built without underlay. That construction has had to cope with decades of rain, wind and seasonal changes. For many properties, age is now the most obvious explanation for deterioration.
“The planes get the attention, and fair enough, they’re the interesting bit,” says Charlie, from Watertight Roof Repairs Hounslow. “But most weeks what we’re actually looking at is a roof that’s older than the airport and has just had enough.”
When turbulence reaches the rooftops
The air behind an aircraft does not immediately become still. Each aircraft produces wake vortices, rotating columns of air that normally weaken as they descend.
Near the ends of runways, however, aircraft are flying low enough for a vortex to occasionally retain sufficient strength to disturb a roof. In some cases, tiles can be lifted from one property while nearby houses remain unaffected.
Such incidents are unusual for an individual homeowner but have been recognised by Heathrow for decades. The airport has operated its Vortex Protection Scheme since 1993. Heathrow says airlines retain legal liability, while the airport pays for verified repairs. Qualifying homeowners do not have to cover those costs. In the areas closest to runway ends, where historical incidents have been concentrated, Heathrow also provides blanket protection and preventative roof work.
Verification is the important part. Heathrow needs to establish that the damage was caused by a vortex before it qualifies.
That can put roofers in an unusual position. Their first instinct may be to replace damaged tiles, but doing so before an assessment could remove the evidence needed to establish the cause.
“It’s about the only job I know where the best advice can be ‘don’t let us fix it yet’,” Charlie says. “If it’s a vortex strike, the airport pays. If somebody’s tidied it all away first, that money’s gone.”
Three routes to paying for the same repair
A hole in a roof does not necessarily mean the same person or organisation is responsible for fixing it.
If Heathrow confirms a vortex strike, its protection arrangements apply. Storm damage will usually be considered by the homeowner’s insurer, subject to the policy conditions and excess. A roof that has deteriorated simply because it is old is generally the owner’s responsibility.
The distinction can make a significant difference. An insurance claim based on ordinary wear and tear can be rejected, while a homeowner who pays for a suspected vortex incident without checking could be covering a cost that might otherwise have been met by Heathrow.
For local roofers, knowing the difference is therefore part of the job.
“Sometimes the honest answer is that it’s the airport’s job, not ours, and we lose that work,” Charlie says. “But people round here talk over the fence. You tell next door the truth and it saves them a lot of money, and that tends to come back round.”
Why homeowners should resist pressure
Roof damage can also attract opportunistic doorstep sales. Someone passing a property may point out a loose tile and offer to carry out the repair straight away.
Advice from Trading Standards and Citizens Advice remains consistent: homeowners should not feel pressured into agreeing to building work at the door. Getting several quotes and taking time to consider the options can help avoid an expensive decision made under pressure.
Watertight says its own service is based on giving customers information before work begins. It offers free surveys, photographs of the roof, written quotations and a ten-year workmanship guarantee.
“None of that’s clever,” says Charlie. “It’s just what people ask for after they’ve had the other sort of visit.”
What expansion could mean for roofs
The possibility of Heathrow expansion adds another layer to the issue. The government has backed expansion, while a draft Airports National Policy Statement has been before Parliament since June, with scrutiny continuing until 26 November. Heathrow has said it is aiming for planning permission by 2029 and that a new runway would not be operational until around 2039.
For roofing companies, the question is how aircraft routes would change.
A north-western runway could bring low aircraft approaches over streets that currently experience much less direct overhead traffic.
“If it goes ahead, there’ll be roads that go from never thinking about this to living with it,” says Charlie. “Fifteen years sounds a long way off. It isn’t, if you’re putting a roof on this year and expecting it to still be there.”
Existing blanket vortex protection areas are informed by previous incidents. New approach routes would not necessarily have that same history, leaving some properties potentially facing aircraft-related considerations for the first time.
Two very different histories overhead and underfoot
Heathrow is now part of the fabric of Hounslow. It employs local people, supports surrounding businesses and has been a constant presence for generations of residents.
The roofs below it have their own history. Many were completed before Heathrow’s civilian era and have survived far beyond the lifespan their original builders may have expected.
Most repairs remain straightforward. Tiles age, battens weaken and weather causes damage.
But every so often, a call from a house with tiles scattered across the garden tells a different story. If the weather is calm and the neighbouring roof is untouched, the first question may not be how quickly the tiles can be replaced. It may be whether Heathrow needs to send someone to look at them first.
