Slate and tile roofing

Slate, and what “matching” really means

Older houses in this part of Wales were often covered in Welsh slate. Remaining slates can be thin, hole-worn or a size that is no longer standard. A careful repair reuses sound slates where we can and sources an honest match where we cannot. Fibre-cement slates are sometimes the practical choice on a full recovering, but they are not the same material as natural slate, and we will not describe them as if they were.

Concrete and clay tiles

Interwar and later estates across the area commonly have concrete interlocking tiles; some houses and extensions use clay. Both can break, slip or lose their nibs, and both fade or grow moss in this climate. Replacement means paying attention to profile, colour range and the fixing method — nail, clip or a mix — so the new work does not stand out as a different system halfway down a slope.

Ridges, verges, valleys and hips

The covering is only as good as the edges. Ridge tiles bedded on old mortar that has wasted, dry verge boards that have come adrift, and valleys that have silted or perforated are frequent sources of water. We repair or renew those details as part of slate and tile work rather than treating them as optional extras.

Listed and older buildings

In older centres — Kidwelly, Tenby, parts of Carmarthen and Cardiff terraces among them — the covering may be subject to planning or conservation expectations. We do not invent a list of approved specifier badges. We do look carefully at what is there, and we will say if a proposed change ought to be checked before anyone strips a visible roof.