Roofing
Slate roofing
Natural and fibre cement slate, laid to the correct lap for your pitch.
Slate is the covering that outlives everything else on a house, and on a lot of Norfolk properties it is the only thing that looks right. Laid well it will still be there in a hundred years. Laid badly it will let water in by the second winter.
What we do with slate
Natural slate roofing
Welsh and Spanish natural slate, holed and nailed to the correct head lap for the pitch of your roof. On a shallow pitch the lap matters more than the slate does.
Fibre cement slate
A lighter, lower cost alternative that keeps the look of slate. Useful where the existing timbers will not carry the weight of natural slate without strengthening.
Slate repairs and re-hooking
Slipped slates refixed properly rather than mortared in place. We match reclaimed slate where we can so a repair does not stand out from the road.
Full slate re-roofs
Strip, timber repairs, breathable membrane, new battens and a full new covering, with all the leadwork renewed at the same time.
Our process
- Assess the existing slate. Some old slate is worth salvaging and relaying. Some has delaminated and is finished. We will tell you which you have.
- Set the lap for the pitch. This is the detail that decides whether a slate roof works, and the one most often got wrong.
- Nail, do not clip. Every slate fixed as it should be, not hooked back with tingles unless we are repairing rather than relaying.
- Renew the leadwork. Valleys, soakers and abutments formed in new lead as part of the job.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a slate roof last?
Natural slate itself lasts well over a century. What normally fails first is the nails and the battens holding it up, which is why a re-roof using salvaged slate on new timbers is often the sensible job.
Can you match my existing slate?
Usually. Slate varies by quarry in colour and thickness, so we take a sample and match it as closely as we can. On a patch repair we will use reclaimed slate where it is available.
Is fibre cement slate any good?
It is a genuine option, not a cheap fake. It weighs a lot less than natural slate, which matters if your timbers are marginal, and it costs less. It will not last as long as natural slate and up close it does look different.
My slates keep slipping. Why?
Almost always nail sickness. The nails have corroded through and the slates are no longer held. Once it starts happening across the roof rather than in one spot, patching stops being worth it.
Recent work
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