Slate covers a wide price range because "slate" covers several quite different products. Knowing which one you are being quoted for is most of the answer.
The word slate is doing a lot of work in most quotations. There are at least four materials commonly described that way, and they differ in cost, weight and expected life by a considerable margin.
| Material | Relative cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Welsh natural slate | Highest | The traditional covering on much Cheshire period property; very long-lived |
| Spanish natural slate | Moderate to high | Genuine slate; quality varies considerably by grade |
| Fibre cement slate | Lower | Manufactured; lighter; shorter expected life than natural |
| Reclaimed slate | Varies widely | Right look for a period property; condition is everything |
Reclaimed slate is the right answer on some period properties, particularly where matching an existing roof or satisfying a conservation officer. It also carries a risk that new slate does not.
A reclaimed slate has already spent decades on a roof, and the nail holes have already been punched. Sorting and grading is part of the job, breakage rates are higher, and quantities need to allow for it. Good reclaimed slate from a reputable yard is excellent. Cheap reclaimed slate of unknown provenance is a roof that needs doing again sooner than it should.
This is the part of a slate roof that fails first, and it is invisible from the ground.
Slates are nailed to timber battens. Where a roof is being re-covered, the battens should be renewed to the correct grade and size for the slate and the spacing — reusing old battens to save money is the most common false economy in slate roofing, because the new covering is then only as good as the timber holding it.
The technical term is nail sickness, and it explains a great deal. The slates outlast the nails holding them, so an old roof starts shedding slates in no particular pattern while the slates themselves are still sound.
That matters for the repair-or-replace decision. Individual slipped slates can be refixed, but where nail fatigue is general the repairs never stop — and each visit costs money without addressing the cause.
Natural slate is heavier than fibre cement and lighter than most concrete tile. A roof structure built for one covering will not necessarily carry another, and that is a structural question rather than a preference.
It matters most on older property built for slate. Substituting concrete tile adds load the rafters were never sized for, which is why a survey looks at the timbers before the material is chosen rather than after.
On a listed building, listed building consent is required for re-roofing — and where a roof is historically slated, a conservation officer will usually expect slate back. In a conservation area the position depends on whether an Article 4 direction applies rather than on the designation itself.
Either way, on a period property the material choice is worth settling with the council before ordering rather than afterwards.
Tell us what is on the roof now and roughly how old it is. We will arrange a free quotation based on the actual roof.
Because "slate" covers Welsh natural, Spanish natural, fibre cement and reclaimed — four materials at very different prices. Ask which one is being quoted and get the product named.
On a period property, often yes — it matches and it satisfies conservation officers. But it has been nailed once already, breakage rates are higher, and provenance matters. Good reclaimed is excellent; cheap reclaimed is not.
Usually nail fatigue rather than failed slate. The nails corrode before the slate wears out, so slates slip in no particular pattern while the slate itself is still sound.
On a full re-roof, yes. Reusing old battens is the commonest false economy in slate roofing — the new covering is only as good as the timber holding it.
Not without checking. Concrete tile is heavier than natural slate, and the rafters were sized for what was originally on them. That is a structural question, answered by survey.
Apex Roofing covers Cheshire and the surrounding area for complete roof replacement, new slate and tiled roofs and re-roofing.
Tell us about the property and the roof, and we will come back to you — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 07377 461095 · WhatsApp +44 7465 861265 · Email apexroofing14@gmail.com
