What goes on the roof, and how long it lasts.
Slate, tile, stone, fibreglass, rubber, felt and lead. What each one suits, and how long you should expect it to last before anybody has to touch it again.
No call-out charge, and the phone is answered 24 hours.
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
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Roofing materials.
People ring us about a problem rather than a material, and that is the right way round. But once the problem is understood there is usually a choice to make, and it is easier to make when somebody has set the options out plainly instead of steering you towards the dearest one.
The short version: natural slate on a pitched roof you would rather forget about, concrete or clay tile where the pitch or the budget calls for it, stone where the house already has stone, fibreglass on a flat roof you will walk on, rubber on a big flat span you would rather had no joints in it, and felt where a garage needs twenty good years rather than forty.
We buy through the local merchants and you are welcome to see the delivery notes. Materials go on the quote at what they cost plus a stated margin rather than being buried in one figure, so if you would sooner supply something yourself, you can.
What we lay
- Natural slate — Spanish, Welsh and Burlington
- Reclaimed slate, sorted and graded to match an existing roof
- Cumbrian stone slate and Westmorland green
- Concrete interlocking and plain tile
- Clay plain tile and pantile
- GRP fibreglass, EPDM rubber and torch-on felt for flat roofs
- Code 4 and code 5 lead for valleys, flashings and soakers
- Breathable membranes, treated battens and dry-fix ridge systems
Also called Roofing material · Roofing supplies
Want a price for this?
Describe what you can see from the ground and we'll tell you what it is likely to be. Coming out to look costs nothing.
What the work looks like.
Our own photographs, taken on our own roofs — not a stock library.
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Roughly how long they last.
- Natural slate
- Eighty years and well beyond on a good Welsh or Burlington slate. The nails give out long before the slate does, and that is what a re-roof is actually putting right.
- Concrete and clay tile
- Fifty to sixty years. Concrete goes porous and loses its surface towards the end of it; clay tends to spall in a hard frost if it was underfired to begin with.
- Stone slate
- Centuries, genuinely. It is the timbers underneath and the mortar around it that need the attention, not the stone.
- Flat roof coverings
- Fibreglass and rubber twenty-five to thirty years, torch-on felt around twenty. All three depend far more on the falls and the edge details than on which one you pick.
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The other things we do.
Most jobs turn out to be more than one of these at once. If you're not sure which you need, describe what you can see and we'll work it out.
Slating and tiling
Nearly every pitched roof on this coast is slate. Stripping them, re-covering them, matching them to the terrace next door and putting stone back on the ones that had it.
Flat roofs
Fibreglass, EPDM rubber and torch-on felt for extensions, dormers, garages and porches. Laid to falls so water actually leaves the roof.
Repairs and leaks
Slipped slates, cracked tiles, failed valleys, damp patches on the ceiling. We find where the water is getting in before we quote for anything bigger.
Chimneys and leadwork
Repointing, flaunching, chimney removal and rebuilds, plus lead flashings, valleys and soakers cut and dressed on site.
Gutters, fascias and soffits
The cheapest part of the house to look after and the one most often left. Clearing, repairing and replacing gutters, downpipes, fascias and soffits.
Storm damage
Emergency call-outs, tarpaulins and temporary covers when the weather comes in off the Irish Sea. We work with insurers and can supply photos and reports.
- Roof maintenanceGeneral maintenance · Annual roof check · Roof survey · Moss removal
- Commercial and industrial roofingIndustrial and factory roofing · Factory roofing · Farm building roofing · Warehouse roofing · Commercial roofer
- Roof windows and glazingRooflights · Sky lights · Roof glazing · Daylight into a loft
Still not sure which to pick?
Coming out to look costs nothing and there's no call-out charge. You get a written price before anyone lifts a slate.
Fill this in and we'll come back to you the same day, usually within a couple of hours. If water is coming in right now, don't type — phone.
07743 455071- 01We ring you back to talk through what you've got.
- 02We come out and look at the roof properly, free of charge.
- 03You get a written price with nothing hidden in it.