Complete Roof Replacement
Rochestown, Co. Cork · Detached house
A 1960s detached house with nail sickness across the whole roof — sound slate held on by fixings that had rusted through.
- Roof area
- 185 m²
- Material
- Natural slate
- Duration
- 5 days
- Project value
- €24,000 – €27,000
- Property
- Detached house
The challenge
The owners had paid for four separate repairs in three years, each time to a different area. Every slipped slate was being blamed on wind, but the pattern — failures spread evenly across both pitches — pointed at the fixings rather than the weather.
What we did
We stripped the roof and salvaged 70% of the slate, which was in good condition. New breathable membrane, treated battens and stainless fixings went on, with the shortfall made up from a matched Spanish batch. All lead flashings were renewed rather than reused, and the ridge was dry-fixed to remove the mortar that had already cracked in three places.
Result
Two winters on with no callbacks. Salvaging the existing slate took about €4,000 off the material cost and kept the roof looking like the rest of the road.
The condition, and the finish
