About Us - Hellings Brothers Roofing Specialists
Our Story
Our Dad Thomas started his own roofing company in 1961. He had learnt his trade as a roofer with the council and then became self-employed. He went on to teach his brothers Joe and Brian roofing as well, and they began trading as Hellings Brothers. They went their separate ways a few years later, however this was not the end of the family business.
After leaving school, Leigh and Glen both decided that they wanted to learn roofing, so they asked Dad if he could teach them. He was more than happy to do this, so they both began an apprenticeship with him.
He encouraged them to learn another trade as well, so both Leigh and Glen enrolled at Nescot College and completed a two-year City and Guilds course in bricklaying, whilst working with Dad. Both of them passed with distinctions, and some of their early self-employed jobs included laying patios, building front garden walls, and small extensions. But they both knew roofing was what they enjoyed most.
Leigh did a five-year apprenticeship, as he finished school a year before Glen, and Glen did a four-year apprenticeship. Dad very graciously allowed the brothers to take over a few of his local adverts in Parish magazines and Residents Associations. They went on to make their own trade boards and brought Hellings Brothers back to life.
They started working out the back of Leigh’s old pick-up truck until the bottom dropped out of it. Then, they bought an old BT Van which they lettered up themselves with fablon. This van eventually decided it wouldn’t let them use the reverse gear! So, after a couple of embarrassing pushes out of cul-de-sacs, they upgraded to a van with a functioning reverse gear.
Fast forward a few years, our younger brother Sam had left school and asked to join the business. Leigh and Glen had him apprenticed to them for four years, and then brought him in as a Partner. Sam also enrolled on a plumbing course alongside his apprenticeship with Hellings Brothers, which taught him guttering and lead work.
Since then, we have also trained two of Leigh’s sons, one of whom now runs his own roofing business in Cornwall, and the other more locally. Glen’s son Will began his roofing apprenticeship with Hellings Brothers in September 2024, alongside doing a sheet lead welding/bossing course at college.
We now run two vans (both with working reverse gears) and cover all aspects of roof repairs, with a wide range of experience from a combined 90 years plus of roofing. We carry on the Hellings Brothers business our Dad started all those years ago, using everything he taught us, to provide five-star service to our customers.