Roof repair

Most roofs do not need replacing. They need the one or two things that have failed put right, and then they are good for years. The common repairs on Irish houses are simple: slates that have slipped because the nail has rusted through, tiles cracked by a storm or by someone walking on them, ridge tiles rocking because the mortar bedding has perished, verges at the gable ends where the mortar has fallen out, and lead or mortar flashings that have lifted at a chimney or a wall. We fix each with the right method: slipped slates refixed with copper or stainless clips, cracked tiles replaced with matching ones, ridges rebedded or mechanically fixed with a dry ridge system, verges repointed or fitted with dry verge, and flashings recut and dressed down properly. We match the materials to the roof, since a new tile that does not match is obvious from the street for years. Access is part of doing it safely: roof ladders on small jobs, towers or scaffolding where the work or the height needs it. And because you cannot see your own roof, we photograph what we found and what we did.

When a repair stops making sense

If slates are slipping all over the roof, it is usually nail fatigue, and every slate is on borrowed time. At that point repeated repairs cost more than stripping and relaying. We tell you when a roof has reached that point, and just as clearly when it has not.