Roofers in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
Slate roofing in Llanelli: keep the slate, lose the leaks
An old slate roof can go on for decades more if the right things are renewed. Say how old the house is and what the roof is doing, and a local roofer will call to talk it through.
- Single slipped and broken slates replaced to match
- Whole slopes stripped and re-laid on new felt and battens
- Sound old slates saved and used again where possible
- Straight advice on slate against tile, and the rules in Wales
One slate slides, then another
You had a slate put back two winters ago. Last winter it was three. This year there are little lead or copper tags all over the back slope and a fresh gap near the ridge.
The slate itself is rarely the trouble. Good roofing slate outlasts almost everything else on a house. What wears out is the iron nail holding each one, which rusts through after a century of salt air and rain. Roofers call it nail sickness.
Once the nails are going, every gale shakes a few more slates loose. You can keep paying for them one by one, or you can deal with the cause.
From damp patch to a price, in three moves
Describe what you can see
Write down what you have noticed from the ground or from indoors: a slate in the gutter, a stain on a ceiling, water running down the wall behind a downpipe. Add your name, a phone number and the part of Llanelli you are in.
A roofer from your side of town rings
Your phone goes at the hour you asked for. Expect a few plain questions about the house and the roof, and for most jobs a time to come round and have a proper look.
You get a figure and think it over
Have the price put in writing, with a line on what it covers. Take as long as you like over it. If it does not suit you, say so and that is the end of it.
Three ways to deal with an old slate roof
Patch it
Where only a few slates have moved and the nails elsewhere are holding, each loose slate is slid back and held with a hook or a strap. A broken one is swapped for a slate of the same size and thickness. This is the cheapest route and it is the right one for a roof that is mostly sound.
Strip and re-lay
When slates are sliding all over a slope, the slope is taken off. The old felt and battens come away, the rafters are checked, and new breathable felt and treated battens go on. Then the slates are laid again with new copper or aluminium nails that will not rust.
Slates that ring true when tapped can go back on. Cracked and flaking ones are set aside, and the shortfall is made up with new or reclaimed slate. Reused slate is often put on the front, where it shows, with new slate on the back.
Re-cover in something else
Concrete tiles cost less than new slate, and plenty of terraces round here were re-covered with them years ago. They are a good deal heavier, though, and an old roof frame was sized for slate. The Welsh Government's guidance says a change of covering such as slate to tiles is likely to need building regulations approval, so the structure can be checked. Our article on swapping slate for tiles covers the pros and cons.
Slate and tile repair costs
These are typical UK ranges from published guides. Slate work tends to sit towards the upper end.
Every figure here is a typical UK guide price read from the published guide named with it. Not one is a quote for your roof. What your own job comes to depends on the size and height of the roof, how easy it is to reach, the materials and what turns up once the old covering is lifted. Most of the guides give their prices before VAT.
The whole price list in one table
| Job | UK guide price |
|---|---|
| Replacing up to five broken tiles or slatesUp to five tiles replaced. The low figure is where the tiles are easy to find and reach. The middle figure needs a roof ladder and cement bedding. The high figure is for awkward access with scaffolding and tiles that are hard to match. | £170 to £500typical about £225 |
| Replacing up to six ridge tilesUp to six ridge tiles replaced along the top of the roof. The guide gives £180 as the average. | £140 to £225typical about £180 |
| New roof on a house: Gable roof (two slopes)Replacing a gable roof of 64 square metres. The same guide puts a typical three-bedroom semi at around £12,000 and the UK average for all roof replacements at around £8,000. | £7,000 to £16,250 |
| New roof on a house: Hip roof (slopes on all sides)Replacing a hip roof of 64 square metres. The guide says slate and more complex shapes sit at the top of the range. | £9,250 to £18,000 |
Every figure here is a typical UK guide price read from the published guide named with it. Not one is a quote for your roof. What your own job comes to depends on the size and height of the roof, how easy it is to reach, the materials and what turns up once the old covering is lifted. Most of the guides give their prices before VAT.
The published guides these prices were read from
Why slate costs more to mend
Checkatrade's roof repair cost guide puts repairs to natural slate at £150 to £220 a square metre before VAT. Its figure for plain concrete tile is £90 to £120. Slate has to be sorted by thickness, holed and cut by hand, and each one is nailed.
Matching matters as well. Slates come in many sizes, and a patch in the wrong size or colour stands out for years. A roofer may bring reclaimed slate for a repair on a front slope so the new piece blends in.
Fibre cement slates are a cheaper look-alike. The same guide lists them at £90 to £130 a square metre. They are lighter than natural slate and do not last as long.
Slate in Llanelli's older streets
Cadw's record for a listed terrace on New Road, built around 1890 to 1900, describes rubble stone walls, slate roofs and brick stacks. Houses of that age and build are found across the older parts of town.
If your home is listed or stands in the Llanelli conservation area, changing the roof covering is not just your choice. Carmarthenshire County Council says you may need permission to renew or replace a roof covering in a conservation area. Like-for-like slate is the safest starting point, and it is worth a call to the council before you order anything.
Roofing work in Llanelli
- Roof and leak repairsLeaks traced, slates and ridges re-fixed, lead put right.
- Emergency rooferRain coming in or roof damage after a gale.
- Flat roofsExtensions, garages and dormers patched or re-covered.
- Chimneys and leadworkRepointing, lead flashing, pots, rebuilds and removals.
- Guttering, fascias and soffitsGutters cleared and replaced, roofline boards renewed.
- New roofsFull re-roofs in slate or tile, with the Welsh rules explained.
Llanelli and the places round it
Roofing help for the whole town, the villages on its edge and the coast as far as Burry Port.
- Town centre, Bigyn and Tyisha
- New Dock, Morfa and Machynys
- Sandy and Stradey
- Felinfoel
- Swiss Valley
- Dafen
- Pemberton and Trostre
- Llwynhendy and Bynea
- Pwll
- Burry Port and Pembrey
- Llangennech
- Trimsaran
- Kidwelly
- Loughor
Plain facts before you fill it in
- No bill for asking. There is no fee for sending the form and no fee for the call. Turning a price down costs nothing either.
- The form is brief. Your name, a number, your area and what is wrong. The number of your house and your email address are not asked for.
- The prices are not ours. Each figure on these pages was read from a published UK cost guide, and the guide is named and linked next to it. Use them to get your bearings. A real price needs someone to look at your own roof.
- Your details go no further than the job. They are used so a roofer can ring you about your roof. Nobody buys them, and you will not end up on a marketing list.
Common questions
How long does a slate roof last?
The slate can last a very long time, often longer than the house has stood so far. The nails, felt and battens under it do not. That is why an old slate roof can frequently be stripped and re-laid with many of its own slates.
Can you walk on a slate roof to inspect it?
A roofer avoids it. Slates crack under a boot, and each crack is a future leak. Work is done from a roof ladder that spreads the weight, from scaffolding, or the roof is looked at with a camera on a pole or a drone.
Is moss bad for slate?
A thin film is harmless. Thick moss holds water against the slate, blocks gutters when it rolls off, and can lift the edges so wind gets under. On slate it should be scraped off by hand. A pressure washer can damage old slates. Checkatrade's roof cleaning guide notes that pressure washing is not ideal for older or more delicate roofs.
Nails do not get better
A roof with failing nails loses more slates each winter than the one before. Each loss lets rain onto felt that is as old as the nails. Having the roof looked at tells you which of the three routes fits, and what it would cost, before the choice is made for you by a storm.
Give the rough age of the house and what the roof is doing. Name your part of Llanelli and send the form. There is nothing to pay.