Roofing materials · 01
Slate.
The covering most of the city was built with.
Thin, crisp and blue-grey, slate is the covering York's streets were designed around, and what conservation officers expect.
Natural slate is the covering most of York's Victorian and Georgian streets were built with, and it is still the benchmark for a period roof. It splits thin, lays crisp and lasts 80 to 100 years or more.
It is also lighter than it looks. At 25 to 30 kg per square metre it is one of the lighter coverings, so it rarely troubles the timbers. The covering usually outlives its fixings, the nails, battens and underlay beneath it, which is why an old slate roof can fail while the slates themselves are still sound and worth reclaiming.
A slate roof fitted properly outlives the person paying for it.
Graded slate laid to an even gauge and fixed to BS 5534, the British Standard for fixings. Lead valleys and flashings dressed in, and the finished roof photographed before we leave.
Is slate right for your roof?
For it
Best for period and conservation homes: Victorian and Georgian terraces, listed buildings and conservation areas, and any roof at 25 degrees or steeper where a thin, crisp blue-grey covering belongs.
Against it
Not for low pitches or tight budgets. Below about 25 degrees slate struggles, and on a modern estate built in concrete tile the cheaper covering is often the sensible call. Poor slating shows from the street, so skilled fixing is not optional.
What a slate roof costs.
It is the dearest common covering, about 60 per cent more than concrete tile to buy and to fit. The life and the look are what you pay for. In natural slate, indicative reroof bands run:
A free survey turns the band into a fixed written quote within 24 hours.
Price your own roof in about two minutes →“Got 3 quotes in total — EJL were by far the most competitive and had been recommended by someone I trusted. Communication was excellent throughout and the finish on the roof is faultless.”
Rachel K · New roof, Wetherby · Checkatrade, 10/10
Matched to the street, not just to the roof.
A large share of our slate work sits in York's conservation areas and period streets, around Bootham, the Mount and Bishophill, and out through the older parts of Acomb, Clifton and the surrounding villages. For these roofs we prefer reclaimed Welsh slate, weathered stock that sits flush with the neighbours rather than beside them looking new. We fit slate roofs across York, Clifton and Acomb, and on listed work the conservation leadwork matters as much as the slate.
The slate itself
Welsh slate from the Penrhyn and Ffestiniog quarries is the benchmark, consistent and the period standard for York's streets. Spanish slate costs less but quality varies batch to batch, so we grade every pallet before it goes up.
On a conservation roof we use Welsh, new or reclaimed. The full choice runs new Welsh, reclaimed Welsh and Spanish, plus look-alikes.
Surveyed, stripped, underlaid, slated
- Send a photo or ring. WhatsApp a picture of the roof and the street. We can often read the conservation context before we visit, free.
- Free survey and listing check. We assess the existing slate, the pitch and the timbers, and check the listing where the building is period or in a conservation area.
- Strip, check timbers, re-underlay. Old covering off, timbers checked and made good, then new breathable underlay and treated battens before a single slate goes up.
- Slated and detailed. Graded slate laid to even gauge, lead valleys and flashings dressed in, and the finished roof photographed before we leave.
Every slate roof carries our 20-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.
Slate roofing questions
How much does a slate roof cost?
How long does a slate roof last?
Is slate heavier than concrete tile?
What is the difference between Welsh and Spanish slate?
Can I put a slate roof on a house built for concrete tile?
Period roof to put right?
Ring Elliott, or message on WhatsApp with a photo of the roof and the street. Fixed quote in 24 hours, no pestering afterwards. Or get an instant estimate in about two minutes.
07500 544781 WhatsApp a photo