St Bees: specify it for the sea, or do it twice.
Red sandstone, the Priory and the Head, with weather straight off the Irish Sea — roofs here need better fixings than roofs inland. A family firm of 20 years. Free quotes, 24 hour call-outs.
Get a free quote.
No call-out charge, and no obligation.
Written prices
the quote is the price, agreed before we start
Free quotes
no call-out charge, and a written price before anyone starts
24 hours
someone answers the phone, storm or shine
Fully insured
every job covered, from a single slate to a full re-roof
01/
Roofing in St Bees.
St Bees takes more weather than anywhere else we work. The village sits behind the beach with the Head to the south, and the prevailing wind comes in off the Irish Sea carrying salt and rain and hitting the roofs at an angle rather than falling on them. A roof that would last sixty years in Cockermouth will not do it here unless it was built for the exposure.
What that actually means is fixings. Ordinary galvanised nails corrode in salt air, and when the nail goes the slate goes with it, however good the slate is. On this coast we use stainless or copper, and we mechanically fix the ridge and hip tiles rather than relying on mortar bedding, because bedded mortar in a salt-laden gale is a slow-motion failure. It costs a little more on the day and saves an entire re-roof later.
The village itself is red St Bees sandstone, which is the stone half of West Cumbria was built from, and that has its own consequences. Salt spray gets into porous stone, and the chimneys and gable copings here weather harder than anywhere inland. Getting the lead right at those junctions matters more here than it does anywhere else on our patch.
There is a mix of property: the old village core around the Priory and the school, Victorian and Edwardian houses along the road down to the beach, and newer housing behind. The front row gets the worst of it, and we quote it accordingly rather than pretending it is the same job as one at the back of the village.
02/
What the weather does here.
This is the most exposed part of our patch. There is open sea to the west for a very long way, so gales arrive at full strength with salt in them, and driving rain comes horizontally rather than vertically. Water is pushed up under slates and into laps that would never be reached inland.
Salt corrodes fixings, mortar and metalwork. Galvanised nails go, bedded ridges loosen, and cast iron gutters and brackets rust from the coastal side first. It is not gradual on a bad winter — it can be one storm that finishes something that was already half gone.
So the specification changes. Stainless or copper nails, mechanically fixed dry ridge systems, proper lead rather than cement, and a verge detail that gives the wind nothing to lift. That is the whole difference between a roof that lasts here and one that does not.
03/
What we do most of in St Bees.
Every town on this coast wears its roofs out differently. These are the jobs that come up here — but we do the lot, so if yours is not on the list, ring and describe it.
Storm damage
The most exposed village we cover, and the one that rings first after a gale.
Storm damage in St Bees
Roofing materials
Which slate and which fixings actually survive salt air.
Roofing materials in St Bees
Chimneys and leadwork
Sandstone chimneys and copings need lead doing properly here.
Chimneys and leadwork in St Bees
Slating and tiling
Re-slating specified for coastal exposure rather than to a generic price.
Slating and tiling in St Bees
04/
What people round here say.
“Bryan and his team fitted a new slate roof on my house and did a fantastic job. Brian explained fully what the work entailed and answered all of my questions. They are professionals and I would highly recommend them.”
Amanda Wright
New slate roof — , 30 November 2020
“I contacted Riverside roofing with an emergency issue at my holiday let. He ( Bryan) returned my call immediately, offered to go to the property in less than an hour to assess the problem, without any charges for looking at the problem. Absolutely fantastic service, with customer service to match, reliable with a positive attitude. I thoroughly recommend Riverside Roofing.”
lisa McAleavey
Emergency call-out to a holiday let — Google, 24 August 2024
“Excellent service. I phoned on Monday & they were able to start work on my badly leaking roof on the Friday. Job finished on the Saturday. Thank you to Brian & the lads. Highly recommend this company.”
Joanne Whitehead
Badly leaking roof — Google, 21 November 2022
“Fantastic service. Prompt, friendly and 100% professional. Explained everything clearly and got job started and finished with remarkable quality. ( a visiting friend is a roofer and ‘remarkable quality’ are his words) left yard clean and tidy. Team singing and happy on job- really cheered us up. CWould recommend to anyone. Thanks guys!!!”
Lucy Wills
Roof damage repair and installation — Google, 28 November 2022
“Great job done on guttering, quick and efficient, very friendly”
malcolm cavanagh
Guttering — Google, 22 November 2019
“Top service! Came out after some storm damage to my roof by storm Eowyn. They were there within the hour from me making contact and carried out a temp fix and make the roof watertight whilst i logged a claim with my insurers. Once my insurance claim was authorised they came straight back out to do the permanent repairs and even waited for the insurance payout to hit my bank before I paid them. All done in good faith and nothing was too much trouble. Would definitely recommend.”
Wayne McCarron
Storm damage and insurance repair — Google, 10 February 2025
“Bryan and his team did an excellent job replacing my roof, facias and guttering, leaving everything clean and tidy when they finished. I would have no hesitation in recommending Riverside Roofing.”
diane harrison
New roof, fascias and guttering — Google, 6 July 2024
“Great response, only a small job but done within 24 hours of the initial enquiry.”
Kevin Howland
Small repair — Google, 12 February 2025
“Would highly recommend, very professional and all work completed on the agreed time. Exceptional work!”
Mark Gillgrass
Roofing work — Google, 25 June 2025
100%
of the 15 reviews on our page recommend us, and Google has us at 4.7 out of 5. Every word of them is somebody else's, so go and read them there rather than here.
Get the St Bees roof done for the weather it gets.
Coming out to look costs nothing and there's no call-out charge. You get a written price before anyone lifts a slate.