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Canterbury · Tile and slate roofing
Natural slate re-roof with dormer, Canterbury
A long single slope in Canterbury re-covered in natural slate, including the dormer section. Fully re-battened over new breathable membrane, slates laid to a consistent gauge, and vents flashed in as the work progressed.
- Covering
- Natural slate
- Underlay
- New breathable membrane
- Battens
- Fully re-battened, gauge set from the eaves
- Dormer
- Slated in with the main slope
- Ventilation
- Vent flashed in during laying
Why slate roofs usually fail before the slate does
On most of the Victorian and Edwardian slate roofs around Canterbury, the slate itself is still sound when we get to it. What has failed is the nails. They corrode, the slates slip, and you end up with a roof that looks like it is falling apart when the material is fine. That is why a slate roof is often re-laid rather than replaced with something else, and it is worth asking any roofer who tells you the slate is finished to show you why.
Battens and gauge
Slate is unforgiving about setting out. The gauge has to be right and consistent or the headlap goes wrong, and headlap is what actually keeps the water out. Re-battening the whole slope rather than patching in around old battens is what lets you set that out properly from the eaves up.
The dormer
Dormers have more junctions per square metre than any other part of a roof, which is why they tend to leak first. Slating a dormer section in as part of the main roof, rather than treating it as a separate repair, means the junctions get formed once and properly instead of being patched to meet the existing work.
The job, in order
Got a roof like this?
We quote in writing with the work broken down, and prices for this kind of job are published on our costs page.
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