Rotten rafters replaced and a new slate roof laid

Why the timbers had gone

Water had been getting past the old covering for years. It does not take a dramatic leak to do this. A slow drip through a worn slate or a tired flashing keeps the timber damp, and damp timber eventually gives. You only find out how far it has spread when the covering comes off, which is why we never price the timber work blind.

Building it back up

New rafters went in where the old ones had rotted. Then underfelt across the whole roof, then new battens set to the slate gauge so the courses land right at the ridge. Slates were laid from the eaves up, and the ridge was bedded and pointed to finish.

The part you cannot see is the part that matters

From the ground a roof is slates. What decides whether it lasts fifty years or fifteen is the felt, the battens and the timber underneath them. Those are the cheapest materials on the job and the most expensive thing to get wrong, because putting them right means taking the whole covering off again.

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