Norman & Underwood

Norman & Underwood is one of the UK's most established roofing, structural glazing and building conservation contractors, working nationally and internationally on new build, refurbishment and restoration projects. Our clients range from the largest construction companies to private individuals, in sectors including education, commercial, retail, leisure, healthcare, ecclesiastical and residential. Established in 1825, we have worked on some of the most prestigious historic buildings both at home and overseas, using the same traditional craft skills and materials for almost two centuries.

Originally specialising in general plumbing and glazing, the company has evolved to provide architectural and structural glazing, metal roofing and cladding, and building conservation services including leadwork and stained glass restoration. We also manufacture sand cast sheet lead to traditional methods from our production facility in Leicester. Our back catalogue includes many of the UK's most famous churches and palaces, such as Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral or Hampton Court Palace and Chatsworth House.

We have experience in installing and replacing all types of slates and tiles including stone slates, interlocking clay tiles and Welsh slates. On heritage and conservation projects, we work closely with English Heritage to ensure the best possible match, returning to original quarry wherever possible. We will plan the use of new tiles carefully, moving and refitting some of the existing tiles, if required, to reduce the impact of any colour variations.

We work closely with structural engineers, designers, architects and developers to help turn concepts into reality.

A long lifespan and low maintenance have made copper a common roofing material for thousands of years. Today, the increasing demand for natural materials is ensuring it retains its popularity. Norman & Underwood has undertaken many copper roof restoration projects on cathedrals, churches and stately homes. We also installed new copper roofs and facades on buildings ranging from prestigious civic centres to private swimming pools.

Many parish churches have replaced their traditional lead roofs with stainless steel because it has little scrap value and is much more difficult for thieves to remove. As experts in both modern metal roofing standards and traditional techniques, Norman & Underwood can provide a complete package for roof replacement and associated restoration works. We've also carried out new build and repair projects on other buildings requiring stainless steel roofs, facades or cladding, such as colleges, theatres and even band stands.

With more than 180 years' experience, we have the expertise and resources required for specialist refurbishment projects or major new builds. Working with leading developers, architects and builders, we've successfully tackled every type of project from restoring stained glass windows in historic churches to installing curtain walling and glazed roofs in futuristic technology centres. We also provide an emergency and replacement glazing service for local companies. We were one of the founder members of the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) and have been fitting glazing systems since they were invented.

On restoration projects, it is vital to use traditional sand cast lead to match the existing roofing and cladding materials. In most cases, we actually remove and recast the existing lead. But many architects and clients still prefer sand cast to milled lead on new build projects because of its more attractive sheen and colour. At Norman & Underwood we have been sand casting lead to order in the same way for almost two hundred years. The casting table is filled with a mixture of two types of sand - sharp white sand which allows the steam created by the molten lead to pass through the sand bed, and pulverised red moulding sand to hold the grains of together.

While zinc has been widely used in mainland Europe for roofing, cladding and rainwater goods since the 19th century, in the UK it is usually associated with modern and new build projects. It has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its low costs, ease of maintenance and environmental advantages. More than 90{5ef27786c4b3db579c1d5be622f60536c46554a6b0249463ff14b2f00e21690c} of roofing zinc is recycled and it has a life expectancy of at least 100 years. Using the same traditional skills and expertise, Norman & Underwood has completed many zinc roofing contracts on private and public buildings, and even on our own offices.

Whether windows are damaged or broken as a result of accident, vandalism or break in, the priority is to secure the property, make it safe and minimise the disruption to its use. Our emergency glazing team is able to carry out immediate repairs, only boarding up premises if this is not possible. Repairs and replacements are carried out by fully qualified glaziers, experienced in the use and installation of safety, fire resistant and other specialist types of glass and the latest PVC-U frame repair techniques.