Natural slate is the covering most period and listed properties were built with, and the one planning departments usually want them re-covered in. You get an honest inspection of what your roof needs, a fixed price to do it in matched slate, and a 10-year workmanship guarantee on re-roofs and new roofs.
Traditional materials specialists · Specialism in period, listed and conservation-area roofs · Fixed-price quotes, never a day rate
15+ years
Experience, with 30+ combined years across the team
£2 million
Public liability insurance cover
10-year guarantee
Workmanship guarantee on re-roofs, new roofs and major works
Fixed price
Quoted work only, never a day rate
Photo report
Photographic evidence with every inspection
Recent work
Service overview
Natural slate is quarried stone split into roofing units, and it behaves differently to manufactured tiles: it varies in thickness and texture even within the same batch, it is hung and fixed with different techniques depending on whether it is being repaired, re-hung or laid new, and it needs to be matched carefully by size, colour and thickness to sit correctly within an existing roof. Work on a natural slate roof ranges from re-hanging a handful of slipped slates on tingles, through repointing ridges and repairing valleys and flashings around a slated roof, to stripping and re-covering a whole roof in new or reclaimed natural slate.
Most natural slate roofing work in this region involves period and listed properties, where the roof was originally covered in slate, commonly Welsh, but also other regional slates depending on the building's age and origin, and where planning conditions or simple sympathy for the building mean any re-covering has to stay in natural slate rather than a slate-effect substitute. Matching existing slate on a repair means finding units of the right size, thickness and weathering to sit invisibly among the surrounding coursing, which is a different skill from laying a uniform new slate roof from scratch.
Slate's advantage over most other coverings is longevity: correctly hung natural slate with sound fixings can perform for many decades, often far longer than the battens, felt or nails originally used to hang it. That means a large proportion of slate roofing work is not the slate failing at all, but the fixings failing beneath sound slate, nail sickness, corroded fixings and perished underlay letting good slate slip or lift. Recognising the difference between failed slate and failed fixings is central to specifying the right repair or re-roof.
The cost of leaving it
Natural slate itself is durable, but the systems holding it in place are not permanent, and once fixings start failing the deterioration accelerates because every slate that slips exposes battens and underlay that were never meant to be uncovered.
Once the original fixing nails begin corroding, slates on the same slope tend to fail at similar rates, because they were all fixed at the same time with the same materials. A handful of slipped slates is often the first visible sign of a fixing problem affecting the whole roof, not an isolated defect.
Slate removed carelessly during a repair or partial strip is frequently broken in the process, even where the slate itself had decades of life left. Sound natural slate is a limited and increasingly expensive resource, and losing it through poor handling adds avoidable cost to future work.
Replacing lost or broken slates with the wrong size, thickness or colour creates a visibly patched appearance and can also disrupt how water sheds across the roof, since slate coursing relies on consistent overlap.
On older slate roofs, the felt or underlay beneath the covering often reaches the end of its life well before the slate does. Left unaddressed, torn or perished underlay lets wind-driven rain past sound slate and into the roof void.
Re-covering a listed building or one in a conservation area with a non-matching material, without the correct consent, can result in enforcement action requiring the work to be redone in natural slate at the owner's cost.
Our process
We inspect the slate itself, the fixings, the underlay condition where accessible, and the surrounding leadwork and ridges, and record the whole survey photographically. Free in most cases; jobs needing special access to inspect safely may differ and we tell you before we attend.
One figure for the specified work, whether that is re-hanging individual slates, repairing a slope, or a complete re-roof, with the slate type, thickness and source specified in writing. No day rates.
Typically two to three of our tradespeople on site. Slate is re-hung on copper or stainless tingles for isolated repairs, or fully stripped and re-covered with new membrane and battens where a slope's fixings have failed. Slate is matched or sourced to sit correctly within the existing or specified coursing.
We check coursing, laps, ridge and hip details, valleys and flashings, and confirm the roof is weathertight before clearing the site.
We walk the finished roof with you and provide a photographic record. Our 10-year workmanship guarantee applies to re-roofs and new roofs; for smaller slate repairs we confirm in writing what is covered for your specific job.
What you get
Diagnosing nail sickness rather than repeatedly re-hanging individual slipped slates stops the same slope failing again the following winter.
Careful stripping and handling means reclaimable natural slate is reused where it still has life in it, reducing both cost and material waste on the project.
Slate matched for size, thickness and colour keeps period and listed roofs consistent, avoiding the patched appearance that mismatched replacement creates.
Every slate job, from a single re-hung slate to a full re-roof, is quoted at one fixed figure in writing. No day rates, no surprises on the invoice.
Underlay and battens are specified and replaced where needed, rather than fixing new slate to a failing base that will let the whole repair down early.
Natural slate specified and sourced correctly for listed and conservation-area properties, matching what planning conditions typically require.
The detail
Slate roofing problems are rarely about the slate failing on its own terms; they are almost always about fixings, underlay, or mismatched replacement material, and specifying the right response depends on telling those apart.
Natural slate varies by quarry origin, thickness, colour and texture, and matching it correctly means identifying what is already on the roof before sourcing replacement units. Reclaimed slate is used where matching an existing roof's weathered appearance matters, particularly on period and listed buildings, while new slate from an appropriate quarry source is specified where a full re-roof allows a consistent new covering.
Fixing components matter as much as the slate itself: copper or stainless steel nails and tingles are used rather than materials that will corrode within the roof's lifetime, since fixing failure rather than slate failure is the most common cause of slate roof problems.
Individual slipped or damaged slates are re-hung using copper or stainless steel tingles hooked over the batten below, avoiding the need to lift surrounding slates. Where a slope's fixings have failed generally, the slate is carefully stripped, sorted for reuse, and the slope re-covered with new breathable membrane, correctly gauged battens, and the slate re-laid with the correct headlap and side lap for the pitch.
Ridges and hips on slate roofs are bedded and pointed in a correctly gauged mortar or formed in lead depending on the building, and valleys are formed in lead rather than mortar-filleted, since mortar valleys on slate roofs are a common and avoidable point of failure.
Work ranges from re-hanging a small number of individual slipped slates, through slope-by-slope repair where fixings have failed in one area, to a complete strip and re-roof in matched or new natural slate. The right scope depends entirely on whether the problem is isolated or affects the roof's fixings generally, which the inspection is designed to establish.
Beyond straightforward repair and re-roofing, natural slate work applies where a previous owner or contractor has covered part of a slate roof in a mismatched material and it needs correcting, where planning requires a non-slate covering to be replaced with natural slate, and where a loft conversion or extension needs new slate coverage to match the existing roof.
On homes, slate work is generally about repair, re-hanging and re-roofing on domestic pitched roofs, planned around protecting the household during the works. On commercial and mixed-use buildings with slated roofs: often period buildings converted to shops or offices: the same slate-matching principles apply, with added coordination around occupied premises and, on larger roofs, more extensive access planning.
Natural slate is frequently a planning requirement on listed buildings and in conservation areas, and getting the slate type, thickness and coursing correct is often assessed by conservation officers as part of any consent. We specify slate to match the building's original covering wherever it can be identified, using reclaimed material where matching an existing weathered appearance is important, so the finished roof reads as consistent with its history rather than as an obvious modern intervention.
Questions
Something not covered here? Call 07711 933023 and ask. We would rather answer it honestly on the phone than have you guess.
It depends on whether the work is a repair, slope re-covering or full re-roof, and on the slate source specified. We inspect first and quote a single fixed figure in writing rather than giving a number over the phone.
Quotes and inspections are free in most cases. Jobs needing special access to inspect safely may differ, and we tell you that before we attend.
A handful of re-hung slates can be a day's work; a full re-roof in natural slate depends on the roof's size and complexity. We give you an expected duration with the written quote.
Our 10-year workmanship guarantee applies to re-roofs and new roofs. Smaller slate repairs are not covered by that guarantee unless we confirm otherwise in writing for your specific job.
Correctly hung natural slate with sound fixings can perform for many decades. In practice, most slate roof problems come from failed nails and underlay rather than the slate itself reaching the end of its life.
Yes, matching slate by size, thickness and colour, and using reclaimed slate where appropriate, is central to keeping repairs on period roofs consistent with the surrounding coursing.
Emergency repairs are available for storm damage and leaks affecting slate roofs. We do not promise a fixed response time, but we will give you an honest answer on when we can attend.
Frequently, yes, planning conditions on listed and conservation-area properties often specify natural slate for any re-covering. We specify and source slate accordingly and can discuss the requirements relevant to your property.
Yes, correcting mismatched or non-original replacement slate to restore consistent coursing is a common part of our work on period roofs.
We work from Maidenhead across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, including Reading, Windsor, Slough, High Wycombe and Henley-on-Thames. Just outside that? Call and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
Where we work
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Next step
Book an inspection and you will get a photographic report of your slate and its fixings, and one fixed price for whatever work it actually needs. Free in most cases, and no obligation to proceed.
151 Larchfield Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2SJ · Mon–Sat, 7am–10pm
