Slate roofing in Hull

Slate roofing in Hull

Slate roofing in Hull, carried out by our own directly employed roofers. Free survey, photographs of the problem, and an itemised quote in writing before the work is booked in.

It covers the HU1, HU2, HU3, HU4, HU5 and HU9 postcode districts. Hull is in the middle of our Hull patch, covered by the Hull team on 01482 424 674, and the survey is free whether or not you go ahead with the work.

The roofs in Hull

Hull is the most mixed roof stock we work on. The Avenues and the terraces off Beverley Road and Newland Avenue are largely Victorian and Edwardian, which means natural slate, lead valleys and party wall abutments shared with the house next door. Move out to Bransholme, Sutton and the west of the city and it is post war concrete interlocking tile on felt underlay, most of it laid within the same twenty year window and now arriving at the end of its fixings together.

Hull's housing runs from the Avenues and the terraces off Beverley Road through to the post war estates north and east of the centre, and the roofs change completely as you move between them.

Slate roofing in Hull means the Victorian and Edwardian terraces, where the slate itself is frequently sound and the nails have corroded through. A strip and re-lay with the existing slate on new membrane and battens is often the right answer and a very different price to full replacement.

Keeping Hull's Boulevard slate roofs in proportion

Boulevard and Coltman Street contain substantial older brick houses where slate contributes a thin, even roof edge above decorative masonry and bay windows. On Boulevard's Victorian properties, replacing a small slate section with pieces of a different thickness can leave the repaired courses standing proud and catching water at their edges. The roof's appearance from Boulevard matters, but so does the way a replacement fits beneath the existing course above it. Coltman Street's taller houses also make isolated slipped slates difficult to assess from pavement level, particularly beside a chimney or above a projecting bay that hides the lower slope.

For a Boulevard slate repair, we compare thickness, size and edge texture before selecting replacement pieces, then arrange scaffold that protects the bay and entrance below the slope. Once the surrounding Coltman Street slates are accessible, the normal sequence is to remove the failed fixings carefully, inspect the batten and reinstate the covering without forcing thick pieces between thinner neighbours. On Coltman Street, frontage access may require a pavement scaffold arrangement and checks on the property's conservation requirements before visible alterations. A broader Boulevard strip includes sorting the recovered slates at platform level so sound matching material can be retained.

Sorting a whole Boulevard slate slope takes several working days in suitable weather, while matching a few isolated pieces is much quicker once access is installed. The free survey examines the Boulevard courses before that choice is made; photographs of what we find show the slate thickness and support condition. On Coltman Street, scaffold height, bay protection and reusable material belong in the scope of the itemised written quote. Following repairs to these Coltman Street slate frontages, check from ground level for changes in course alignment and keep the bay gutters clear through suitable safe maintenance.

What slate roofing in Hull involves

• Fibre cement slateA lighter, lower cost alternative that suits many properties and lasts well when laid correctly.
• Ridge and hipsBedded or dry fixed ridge, and hip irons and rolls where the roof needs them.
• Strip and re-laySound slate carefully removed, sorted and re-laid on new membrane and battens with new fixings.

That is the short version. There is a fuller explanation of the work, the materials and the detailing on our slate roofing page.

Signs your Hull property needs this

• Slates flaking or delaminating in layers at the tail
• Previous repairs done in cement or mastic rather than proper lead
• Slates slipping across the whole roof rather than in one place, which points at nail fatigue

Natural slate, fibre cement, and reclaimed

Natural slate is the long term answer and the right one on period properties, particularly anywhere a conservation officer has a view. It is heavier and dearer, and the roof structure has to be up to it, which on a roof that has always carried slate it will be.

Slate roofing in Hull at a glance

What affects the price in Hull

• Natural slate against fibre cement, which is a significant difference in material cost
• The amount of lead work, valleys and abutment detail
• Whether the existing slate can be re-laid or has to be replaced

The survey is free, there is no obligation, and the quote is itemised so you can put it next to anyone else's and compare like for like.