Natural Welsh slate
The traditional choice for many period homes, with a premium price.
Portslade-by-Sea · BN41 2
Slate Roofs in Portslade-by-Sea
Slate is one of the longest-lasting roof coverings, but it relies on its fixings, battens and leadwork. Many older slate roofs fail not because the slate is worn out, but because the nails holding it have corroded. Knowing which situation you have decides whether repair or re-slating is the better route.
Signs you may need slate roofs
- Slates slipping out of line or hanging by a single nail
- Lead tingles (small clips) across the roof from previous repairs
- Delaminating or flaking slate surfaces
- Cracked mortar on ridges or failing lead on hips
- Damp patches near chimneys, dormers or valleys
How we approach it
What slate roofs involves
Assess the slate
We check whether the slates themselves are sound and whether fixings or battens are the real problem.
Repair or re-slate
Isolated slipped slates can be refixed. Widespread nail fatigue usually means stripping and re-slating.
Leadwork and detail
Dormers, valleys, chimneys and abutments need properly dressed lead to work with slate.
Ridges and finish
Ridges and hips bedded or dry-fixed, and the site left tidy.
Options
Choices worth understanding
Spanish slate
Natural slate at a more accessible cost, quality varies by quarry.
Man-made slate
Consistent and lighter, suited to some modern homes and budgets.
Reclaimed slate
Useful for matching repairs on older roofs.
Your Portslade-by-Sea property
Check before work starts
- If your home is listed or in a conservation area, the type of slate used may need consent to change.
- If you have dormers, their leadwork is often worth renewing during re-slating.
- Check whether neighbouring roofs share a party wall detail that affects the work.
FAQs
Slate Roofs questions
- Over 30 years
- Mike Bishop founded the business around 30 years ago and still runs it from Hove.
- 99% priced by Mike
- Mike personally prices almost every job, so the person quoting understands roofs.
- Four vans
- A settled team with four vans working across East and West Sussex.
- GRP and leadwork
- GRP fibreglass trained, with traditional leadwork and Velux installation in-house.
- Drone inspections
- Drone inspection and certification for roofs that are hard or unsafe to reach.
- FMB, TrustMark, Trading Standards
- Member of the Federation of Master Builders, TrustMark registered and Trading Standards approved.
- Insured
- Public liability £5m including heat work; employer’s liability £10m.
Can good slates be reused?
Often yes. Sound slates can be re-holed and refixed, sometimes topped up with matching reclaimed slate.
What is nail fatigue?
When old iron nails corrode, slates slip. It tends to affect the whole roof, not just one area.
Is man-made slate acceptable on older homes?
That depends on the property and any planning constraints. We will advise honestly.
Other services in Portslade-by-Sea
Talk to us about slate roofs in Portslade-by-Sea
Free site visit and written quote. Call 01273 819808, mobile 07956 998 965, or email mbroofing@hotmail.co.uk.