Slate Roofing & Slate Repairs

Slate is one of the most common roofing materials on the older housing stock around Coventry, Leamington Spa and Kenilworth, and it lasts well when it's laid and maintained properly. Whether you've got a full house of natural slate or you're after fibre cement slate on a re-roof, the job needs care because slates are heavier and less forgiving than tiles if they're hung wrong.

Natural slate, whether Welsh, Spanish or Cumbrian, is nailed at the head using copper or stainless nails so it doesn't corrode over time, with each course lapped correctly to keep water running off rather than under. Getting the gauge and lap right matters more with slate than almost any other covering, because a slate laid too flat or with too little lap will let water in during driving rain.

Fibre cement slate gives a similar look for a lower cost and is a common choice on full re-roofs where budget matters, particularly across Nuneaton and Rugby where a lot of housing stock is from the same era. It's laid in a similar fashion to natural slate but is more uniform in size, which can make the finished roof a bit quicker to lay.

Older slate roofs sometimes have torching underneath, a mortar coating applied to the back of the slates from inside the loft to stop wind driven rain and snow getting through. Where torching has crumbled or fallen away we can re-torch or fit a modern membrane instead, depending on the roof and what the homeowner wants.

Slipped or cracked slates are one of the most common call-outs we get, often after high winds or an aged nail failing. Where the roof is otherwise sound we'll replace individual slates using a slate ripper to avoid disturbing the surrounding courses, matching the size and colour as closely as we can.

Valleys, abutments and chimneys on slate roofs need proper leadwork, usually code 4 lead, dressed carefully so water is directed away from joints rather than pooling. This is often where slate roofs actually fail, not in the slates themselves but around the details, so we pay close attention to these areas on every job.

Whether it's a single repair or a full slate re-roof, we'll give you a free written quote after checking the roof properly, and any guarantee is confirmed in writing alongside it. We cover Coventry, Solihull, Warwick and the surrounding towns and use our own team throughout, not subcontractors.