Workington: four generations of housing, four different roofs.
Victorian terraces, 1930s semis, post-war estates and a working port. More kinds of roof than anywhere on our patch. A family firm of 20 years. Free quotes, 24 hour call-outs.
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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 Workington.
Workington grew as a steel and shipping town and it kept growing, which is why it has a broader spread of housing than anywhere else we work. In one town you have Victorian terraces built for the works, whole streets of 1930s bay-fronted semis, large post-war and 1960s estates, and modern housing on the edges. Each of those was roofed in a different way to a different standard, and each fails differently.
The 1930s semis are the ones worth calling out, because there are so many of them and they nearly all have the same problem. They were built with hipped roofs and clay or early concrete tiles, and the timber fascias and soffits behind the gutter are now ninety years old. Water gets in behind a rotten fascia, the gutter starts to sag because it has nothing solid to hang from, and the rafter feet go soft. It is one of the commonest jobs we do in this town, and it is a good deal cheaper than the roof people assume they need.
The Victorian terraces are the familiar West Cumbrian story: sound slate, dead nails. The post-war estates are typically shallow-pitched concrete tile with underfelt that has perished and ridge bedding that has let go. And around the port and the industrial estates there is a lot of commercial flat roofing, which we do in fibreglass, EPDM rubber or torch-on felt depending on what the building is for and how much foot traffic the roof gets.
Workington is about twenty minutes up the road from us. It is a regular run rather than a daily one, so for a small repair we may fold it into a day we are already up there — we will tell you when that is, rather than leaving you wondering.
02/
What the weather does here.
Workington is on the coast, so there is salt in the air, though the town is big enough that streets away from the front are noticeably more sheltered than the ones facing it. The wind comes off the sea and up the Derwent, and the exposed northern and western edges of town take it hardest.
The wet is what does most of the damage here rather than the wind. Persistent rain plus a hundred-year-old gutter that has dropped at one end will soak a wall all winter, and on a 1930s semi that ends up in the rafter feet and the wall plate. Sorting the rainwater goods is usually the cheapest roofing money anyone in this town can spend.
03/
What we do most of in Workington.
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.
Gutters, fascias and soffits
The 1930s semis and their ninety-year-old fascias — the town's standard job.
Gutters, fascias and soffits in Workington
Flat roofs
Commercial units around the port, and extensions everywhere else.
Flat roofs in Workington
Slating and tiling
Re-slating the Victorian terraces built for the steelworks.
Slating and tiling in Workington
Roof inspections
A big enough range of housing that it is worth knowing what you have got.
Roof inspections in Workington
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 Workington roof priced.
Coming out to look costs nothing and there's no call-out charge. You get a written price before anyone lifts a slate.