Traditional Welsh slate roof on a heritage stone property in North Wales

Heritage Property Roofs
Genuine Welsh Slate
Supplied And Fitted

Listed buildings, churches, chapels, historic homes and conservation-area property, roofed in genuine Welsh slate, matched by quarry, colour and size and laid the traditional way.

Get my free roof survey Call 07538 586813: 24/7

Welsh slate supply and fit · listed buildings · conservation areas · extensive Betws-y-Coed experience

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Three generations

family roofing team

25-year guarantee

on every new roof

Fully insured

workmanship guaranteed

24/7 call-out

storm damage & leaks

Specialists In Supplying And Fitting Genuine Welsh Slate

When a roof matters, because it is listed, because it is centuries old, or because it simply needs to look exactly right, Welsh slate is the only material that will do. We are experienced suppliers and fitters of Welsh slate for heritage and conservation roofing, working on listed buildings, churches, historic homes and conservation-area property where getting it right is not optional.

Heritage roofing is not just about making a building watertight. It is about respecting its history, matching its original character, and meeting the standards conservation officers expect. From sourcing the correct quarry and colour match to laying slate in traditional diminishing courses, we have the knowledge and the hands-on experience to deliver work that lasts and looks authentic.

We have extensive experience on heritage property in Betws-y-Coed and across Snowdonia, and William's own listed home, The Old School House in Llangefni, has been refurbished by the same team. Old buildings are not a sideline for us, they are the work we know best.

Who This Is For

Owners of listed buildings needing slate work that satisfies a conservation officer
Churches, chapels and public buildings with large areas of original Welsh slate
Period homes in conservation areas where a modern substitute slate would look wrong
Architects and surveyors specifying slate by quarry, colour and traditional size
Buyers of an old property whose survey has flagged the roof as nail-sick or failing
Anyone who wants reclaimed or new Welsh slate sourced, matched and fitted properly

Book the free survey

What Goes Wrong On Old Roofs

Most heritage slate roofs do not fail because the slate has failed. Welsh slate outlives the fixings holding it, so a roof reaches a hundred years or more and then starts shedding slates one windy month after another. That is nail sickness, and patching it slate by slate becomes a permanent expense rather than a repair.

The bigger damage is usually done by the last person who worked on the roof. Cement fillets instead of lead, hard sand and cement pointing on soft lime-bedded stone, modern imported slate laid in among original Welsh slate, or ridge and verge details bedded so solidly that the roof can no longer move or breathe. Each one traps water inside a building designed to let it out.

On listed property that matters twice over: unsuitable work damages the fabric, and it can also put you on the wrong side of consent. Putting a badly altered heritage roof back to how it should be always costs more than doing it correctly the first time.

Heritage Roofing Mistakes We Are Called To Put Right

Imported slate mixed in among original Welsh slate, so the roof reads as patched from the ground.
Cement fillets used in place of lead flashings at abutments, chimneys and valleys.
Hard sand and cement pointing on soft stone, which traps moisture and blows the face off the masonry.
Diminishing courses ignored on a rebedded roof, so a graded roof comes back as one flat size.
Reclaimed slate relaid without being sorted and graded, so sound and spent slate go back up together.
Original ridge, verge and eaves details replaced with modern dry systems on a listed elevation.
Nail-sick roofs patched year after year rather than stripped, sorted and relaid once.

How A Heritage Roof Job Runs

Step 1: Free survey and slate identification

We inspect the roof and the roof space, identify the existing slate by type, colour and size, and assess how much of it is sound enough to be reused.

Step 2: Written findings and specification

Photographs, a plain account of what has failed and why, and a specification setting out the slate, sizing, laying method and lead details we propose.

Step 3: Sourcing and matching

We source reclaimed Welsh slate or the closest current equivalent, matched by quarry, colour and size, and confirm the match with you and any conservation officer or architect before ordering.

Step 4: Careful strip and sort

Scaffold set up, slate stripped by hand rather than shovelled off, then sorted and graded so everything reusable goes back on the building.

Step 5: Laid traditionally and finished in lead

Battens and underlay to suit the building, slate laid to the correct exposure and lap, diminishing courses set out where the roof calls for it, and every junction formed in lead. Site cleared, workmanship guaranteed.

Why Use Us On A Heritage Roof

Suppliers as well as fitters

We source genuine Welsh slate by quarry, colour and size, so the material is right before anyone climbs the scaffold.

Traditional laying techniques

Diminishing courses, correct exposure and lap, and detailing suited to older roof structures rather than modern shortcuts.

Listed and conservation confident

We work to the standards expected on listed buildings and in conservation areas, and we are used to dealing with conservation officers and architects.

Real Snowdonia heritage experience

Extensive experience on heritage property in Betws-y-Coed and across North Wales, including William's own listed home in Llangefni.

Lead where lead belongs

Flashings, soakers, valleys and parapet gutters formed in lead by hand, not filled with mortar.

Written quote, guaranteed work

One written quote for the work described, with anything genuinely unforeseen photographed and priced before we continue, and a workmanship guarantee at the end.

Heritage Roofing In Detail

The Welsh slate we supply and work with

Welsh slate varies enormously depending on which quarry it came from, and matching the right slate to a heritage property is a skill in itself. We supply and fit slate from the full range of traditional Welsh sources: Penrhyn, including the distinctive Heather Blue and Blue-Grey or Purple variants, Dinorwig, Llechwedd in Blue-Grey and Dark Grey, Oakeley, Votty and Bowydd, Cwt-y-Bugail, Corris with its green-grey tone, Aberllefenni in silvery blue-grey, Nantlle Vale including Dorothea and Talysarn, and Cilgwyn, one of the oldest varieties quarried in Wales.

Where original quarries are no longer active we advise on the closest available match, whether that is reclaimed slate or a current equivalent from established suppliers such as Welsh Slate Ltd, so the finished roof stays true to the building's original appearance rather than reading as a modern replacement.

Traditional slate sizing, specified correctly

Heritage and conservation projects are often specified using traditional slate size names rather than modern metric equivalents. We work fluently with all of them: Doubles, Small Ladies, Ladies, Viscountess, Wide Viscountess, Countess, Wide Countess, Small Duchess, Duchess, Broad Duchess, Marchioness, Wide Marchioness, Empress and Princess.

Getting sizing and diminishing courses right is essential for both authenticity and structural performance. A graded roof works because the largest, heaviest slate sits at the eaves where the water volume is greatest and the courses reduce towards the ridge. Relaying it in a single size changes both how the roof looks and how it sheds water, and on a listed elevation it is immediately obvious.

Reclaimed slate: sorted, graded and reused

On most heritage roofs a large proportion of the original slate is still perfectly serviceable. Stripping it by hand, sorting it and grading it is slower than pulling it off in a heap, but it is what allows a building to keep its own material. Slate that is delaminating, cracked around the holes or worn thin at the tail comes out, the rest is re-holed where needed and goes back up.

We make up shortfalls with matched reclaimed slate rather than the nearest available modern substitute, and where new slate has to be used we place it thoughtfully so a single elevation is not left looking half old and half new.

Lead work, lime and traditional detailing

Old buildings move and old buildings breathe. Junctions on a heritage roof are formed in lead with correct laps and drips, stepped and cover flashings at abutments, soakers to chimneys, lead-lined valleys and parapet gutters where the building has them, all sized so they take the movement rather than crack in a season.

On soft stone and old lime-bedded masonry we point in lime rather than hard cement, so the wall stays vapour-open and any movement is taken up by the joint instead of the face of the stone. Ridge, verge and eaves details are reinstated in traditional form, because a modern dry system on a listed elevation is usually the first thing an officer objects to.

Churches, chapels and larger heritage buildings

Chapels and churches across North Wales carry large areas of original Welsh slate with steep pitches, long runs, deep valleys and complex lead work at towers and parapets. That work needs proper access, a phased approach so the building stays watertight and usable, and detailed recording of what is found once the covering is off.

We survey and quote larger heritage buildings in phases where budgets are staged, and give a written report at each stage so trustees, committees and funders have the evidence they need for grant applications and consents.

Working with conservation officers and architects

On listed and conservation work the material and the method have to be agreed before anyone starts. We provide slate samples, confirm quarry and size, set out the laying method and detailing in writing, and photograph the roof before, during and after so there is a record of exactly what was done.

That evidence protects the building and it protects you: it satisfies conservation officers and architects on site, and it gives you documentation for consent conditions, insurers and any future sale of the property.

Welsh Slate For Heritage Projects

Extensive heritage experience in Betws-y-Coed

When a roof matters, because it is listed, centuries old, or simply needs to look exactly right, Welsh slate is the only material that will do. We supply and fit genuine Welsh slate on listed buildings, churches, historic homes and conservation-area property, matching quarry, colour and size to the building.

We can get hold of any type of reclaimed slate. Whatever quarry, colour, thickness or traditional size your roof calls for, we will source it and fit it.

Penrhyn Slate

Heather Blue and Blue-Grey / Purple variants

Dinorwig Slate

Classic Llanberis blue-grey

Llechwedd Slate

Typically Blue-Grey or Dark Grey

Oakeley Slate

Blaenau Ffestiniog quarry slate

Votty & Bowydd Slate

Traditional Ffestiniog stock

Cwt-y-Bugail Slate

Hard-wearing dark grey

Corris Slate

Distinctive green-grey tone

Aberllefenni Slate

Often silvery blue-grey

Nantlle Vale Slate

Including Dorothea and Talysarn

Cilgwyn Slate

One of the oldest varieties quarried in Wales

Traditional Slate Sizing, Specified Correctly

Heritage and conservation projects are often specified using traditional slate size names rather than modern equivalents. We work fluently with all of them:

Doubles
Small Ladies
Ladies
Viscountess
Wide Viscountess
Countess
Wide Countess
Small Duchess
Duchess
Broad Duchess
Marchioness
Wide Marchioness
Empress
Princess

Getting sizing and diminishing courses right is essential for both authenticity and structural performance, and it is a detail we take seriously on every project.

Supplied And Fitted With Care

Experienced suppliers and fitters of genuine Welsh slate, not a general builder
Skilled in traditional laying, including diminishing courses and correct exposure and lap
Confident working to the standards expected on listed buildings and in conservation areas
Able to source and match slate by quarry, colour and size to suit your building
Heritage work delivered to a standard that satisfies conservation officers, architects and homeowners

Free survey & quote

Always free, always in writing, back to you same day or next.

Written quote

Quoted in writing for the work described. No creeping costs.

Guaranteed work

Workmanship guaranteed on all jobs. 25 years on new roofs; flat-roof warranties per manufacturer system.

Straight Answers

The questions we are asked most about heritage property roofs across North Wales.

Ask us directly on 07538 586813

Do you work on listed buildings?

Yes. Listed buildings, churches, chapels and conservation-area property are a core part of our work, and we have extensive heritage experience in Betws-y-Coed and across North Wales.

Can you match the slate already on my roof?

Usually, yes. We identify the existing slate by type, colour and size, then source reclaimed Welsh slate or the closest current equivalent and confirm the match with you before ordering.

Can my existing slate be reused?

Often a large proportion of it can. We strip by hand, sort and grade the slate, reuse everything sound and make up the shortfall with matched material.

What is nail sickness?

It is when the fixings rather than the slate have failed, so slates start slipping across the whole roof. Once it is widespread, stripping and relaying is more economical than repeated patch repairs.

Do you lay diminishing courses?

Yes. Where a roof was originally graded we set it out again in diminishing courses, which is essential for both authenticity and how the roof sheds water.

Will I need listed building consent?

Often yes, for anything beyond like-for-like repair. We flag it at survey stage and provide the specification, samples and photographs your conservation officer will want to see.

Do you supply slate as well as fit it?

Yes. We are suppliers as well as fitters, and can advise on quarry, colour and traditional sizing to suit the specific history of your building.

How much does a heritage roof cost?

It depends on the slate, the size of the roof, access and how much original material can be reused. We survey free of charge and give you a written quote for the work described.

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Where We Work

Heritage Property Roofs across North Wales. If your postcode is not listed, ring us and we will tell you straight away whether we cover it.

Book Your Free Survey
And Get A Written Quote

Tell us what the roof is doing and we will come and look at it. You get photographs, a written account of the problems and a written quote, with no obligation to go ahead.

Free survey and written findings with photographs
Written quote same day or the day after the visit
Workmanship guaranteed; 25 years on a new roof
5.0 from 13 Google reviews across North Wales

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Heritage Property RoofsGenuine Welsh SlateSupplied And Fitted