I have read a few interesting posts on the site as a result of which I have just now registered in the hope of receiving some advice about my roof.
I live in a house c1900 which has its original slate roof. Almost every other house in the road has had its roof replaced - with either terracotta tiles (which I understand wouldn't be recommended these days), or natural or (larger pieces of) synthetic slate, which I understand doesn't last all that long. I've been here 25 years and have had two or three repairs over that time. The last one was four years ago when a valley was leaking and led to the dramatic and potentially disastrous collapse of a lath and plaster ceiling. The reputable and long-established roofer said at the time, in 2020, that the rest of the roof didn't need replacing or repairing.
I don't have any leaks (hooray) but I have had a few slates land in the garden and as you can see from these pictures which I've added for reference I have a lot of slipped/loose and a few missing slates. I also need new gutters and some repointing etc. When the reputable roofer visited this month he said I need a whole new roof as does another highly recommended roofer who came to estimate. But more recently I have met a conservation architect who tells me repair, repair, repair.
My question please is should I in fact replace the whole roof (£25k-£30k at least) or should I spend c. £7k on repairs, which one roofer who came round said was all that was needed? I do not know who to trust. Maybe he wanted the small job and was happy to have that; and of course the other roofers want the big job. One complication is that I may very well wish to move in three to five years and so I am not necessarily looking at the long term but I want to be irresponsible, and don't want to spend £10k now and find I need to spend £20k on it in five or if I'm still here in seven years' time.
I would very much appreciate the advice of anyone who has knowledge and experience and has been kind enough to read this. Thank you
I live in a house c1900 which has its original slate roof. Almost every other house in the road has had its roof replaced - with either terracotta tiles (which I understand wouldn't be recommended these days), or natural or (larger pieces of) synthetic slate, which I understand doesn't last all that long. I've been here 25 years and have had two or three repairs over that time. The last one was four years ago when a valley was leaking and led to the dramatic and potentially disastrous collapse of a lath and plaster ceiling. The reputable and long-established roofer said at the time, in 2020, that the rest of the roof didn't need replacing or repairing.
I don't have any leaks (hooray) but I have had a few slates land in the garden and as you can see from these pictures which I've added for reference I have a lot of slipped/loose and a few missing slates. I also need new gutters and some repointing etc. When the reputable roofer visited this month he said I need a whole new roof as does another highly recommended roofer who came to estimate. But more recently I have met a conservation architect who tells me repair, repair, repair.
My question please is should I in fact replace the whole roof (£25k-£30k at least) or should I spend c. £7k on repairs, which one roofer who came round said was all that was needed? I do not know who to trust. Maybe he wanted the small job and was happy to have that; and of course the other roofers want the big job. One complication is that I may very well wish to move in three to five years and so I am not necessarily looking at the long term but I want to be irresponsible, and don't want to spend £10k now and find I need to spend £20k on it in five or if I'm still here in seven years' time.
I would very much appreciate the advice of anyone who has knowledge and experience and has been kind enough to read this. Thank you
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) and we made up the difference with reclaimed slates from reclamation yard. I would suggest that if your roofer doesn't do something similar, you need to ask why.