Slate Roofs in Cheadle Hulme

Most often the nails have corroded, which is called nail sickness. The slate is fine but has nothing holding it. Occasionally a slate cracks or a batten has rotted. A handful can be refixed with tingles, but slipping in several places points to fixings failing across the roof.

It can be. Natural slate looks smart and lasts a very long time, and it's often lighter than concrete tiles. It needs careful laying and costs more in labour than interlocking tiles, so it's a choice of appearance and longevity versus budget. We'll quote both if you'd like to compare.

Most slate roofs have open lead valleys: a lead-lined channel with slates cut to a neat line either side. Some older roofs have mitred or swept valleys, which are more specialised. We renew the lead in correctly sized sections with proper laps, and recut the slates where needed.

Yes. Some homeowners re-slate the most weathered slope first and the rest a year or two later. It's sensible if the budget is tight, though doing everything at once avoids paying for scaffolding twice. We'll tell you which slopes are most urgent.

We strip them carefully and sort them. Sound slates are stacked and reused on your roof. Cracked, delaminating or very thin slates are discarded, and the shortfall is made up with reclaimed or new slate of a matching size. Waste is taken away as part of the job.