Timber roof structures & traditional carpentry
Alpilles Rénovation builds, strengthens and replaces timber roof structures in the Alpilles: traditional solid-timber work, industrial trussed rafters, exposed structures. Extension, added storey, infested or distorted timber: in every case the survey is done on site, and we tell you what we see. We reply within 48 h; the quotation, free and with no obligation, follows the visit.
What we offer
New traditional roof structure
For an extension, an added storey or a new build; solid-timber joints (Douglas fir, spruce or oak), seasoned and treated.
Exposed roof structure
When the structure becomes the character of the room: chosen sections, careful finishing.
Industrial trussed rafters
The economical, quick solution for unused lofts.
Strengthening
Clamped braces, steel reinforcement, repair of sagging purlins or tie beams under strain.
Replacing infested timbers
After treating the roof structure, members too far gone are replaced like for like.
Loft conversion
Altering or replacing trussed rafters to make the volume habitable.
Traditional structure or trussed rafters?
A traditional solid-timber structure frees up the volume under the roof and can be left exposed: the choice for habitable loft space and fine living rooms. Industrial trussed rafters, triangulated and set in series, cost less but take up most of the volume: perfect for unused lofts.
The right choice depends on your project. Might you live under the roof one day? Traditional, or trussed rafters designed for conversion. Covering a garage? Standard trussed rafters. Renovation in an older building usually calls for traditional work, to stay in keeping with the house, and because an old Alpilles dwelling deserves better than a visible industrial grid.
If you are working with an architect or a project manager, we are happy to fit in with the existing drawings.
Our method
Survey
We sound tie beams, purlins and rafters; we look for deflection, damp and insects.
The right solution
We repair what can be repaired and replace what must be replaced; a well-fitted reinforcement often saves a full replacement.
Making and fitting
Timber selected, cuts and joints prepared, raising and fitting done properly.
Handover
Checking the structure, the fixings and the finishes together.
Timber in the climate of the Alpilles
Between very dry summers, sustained autumn rain and the mistral bearing down on the roof, a Provençal roof structure works hard. Species, seasoning and bracing count all the more for it.
And in the region's older buildings, wood-boring insects (house longhorn beetles, woodworm) are frequent visitors. Hence the value of preventive timber treatment while the work is under way, and of a well-ventilated roof covering that keeps the timbers dry, since structure and roof are thought through together.
In pictures
Our advice on the subject
Wood-boring insects in the roof structure
Recognising a roof structure attacked by house longhorn beetles, woodworm or termites, and understanding a roofer-carpenter's treatment.
Grants & VAT for your roofing work
What is subsidised (insulation) and what is not (roofing, timber structures), the 10 % VAT rate, the local schemes in departments 13 and 84, and the scams to avoid.
Tile types: tuile canal, interlocking, flat
The three tile families and their NF DTU, the pitch each one demands, terracotta or concrete, the vent tile and the mechanical ventilation outlet, and what can be changed during a renovation.
Mechanical ventilation outlet through the roof
What a badly made mechanical ventilation outlet does to a roof structure, from discharge banned into the roof space to an uninsulated duct and an undersized vent tile, and the marks that should raise the alarm.
Insulating an unconverted loft
Two crossed layers, which way the kraft facing goes, an OSB floor that does not crush the wool, and the five mistakes we most often find from the roof.
Inspect your roof without climbing on it
From the ground and from the attic: the ten-minute walk-around, the photo record, the check after a mistral episode and the five signs that justify a call.
Where we work
Based in Maussane-les-Alpilles, we work throughout the Alpilles range (roofer in Maussane-les-Alpilles, roofer in Le Paradou, roofer in Fontvieille, roofer in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence) and, further north, in the Vaucluse around Avignon: Avignon, Cavaillon and L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Browse our service area, from the Alpilles to the Vaucluse.
A roof or timber structure project?
Free quotation, no obligation, answered within 48 h. We climb onto the roof and really look; our roofing and timber work is covered for ten years by our garantie décennale.