Case study · Sunderland

A Victorian villa, back under natural slate.

A sandstone villa with a century-old slate roof that had started to let go. The owners wanted it weathertight for another hundred years without losing its character.

Property: Detached Victorian villa
Scope: Strip, re-slate, new lead, new gutters
Materials: Natural slate, Code 4 & 5 lead
On site: 4 weeks
Guarantee: 10 years workmanship

Newly restored natural slate roof on a Victorian sandstone villa with lead-dressed gables, clay chimney pots and a slate bay roof in low autumn sun — **Same house, same viewpoint.**Before: nail-fatigued slates, moss and split lead. After: natural slate, dressed lead gables and valleys, new cast-iron-style gutters.

The same Victorian sandstone villa before restoration: moss-covered, weathered natural slates with slipped and missing slates, darkened lead at the gables and valley, and gutters choked with moss and weeds — **Same house, same viewpoint.**Before: nail-fatigued slates, moss and split lead. After: natural slate, dressed lead gables and valleys, new cast-iron-style gutters.

The brief

Keep the character, lose the leaks.

Water had started coming through in two bedrooms after a run of winter storms. Previous patch repairs had used mortar and sealant around the chimney, and slates were slipping all over the front and rear slopes. Nail fatigue: the original iron nails had simply rusted through.

The owners had been quoted for a concrete-tile replacement. They wanted to keep natural slate, and they wanted to understand exactly what they were paying for.

What we found

A roof at the end of its fixings, not its slates.

Nail fatigue across both main slopes
Split valley lead and missing soakers at the chimney
Mortar fillets instead of flashings on two abutments
Perished felt with daylight visible in the loft
Gutters blocked with moss and falling the wrong way
Around 60% of slates sound enough to reuse

What we did

Stripped, salvaged and re-laid by hand.

Strip & salvage

Both slopes stripped under full scaffold; sound slates sorted and holed for reuse on the rear.

New lead

Code 5 lead back gutter, apron and step flashings to the chimney; valleys relined on new boards.

Re-slate

Breathable membrane, new battens and new natural slate to the front, copper-nailed throughout.

Finish

Ridges rebedded, new gutters and outlets, and a full photo record handed over.

Slates reused: About 60%
New lead: Chimney, 2 valleys
Programme: 4 weeks on site
Guarantee: 10 years workmanship

“We’d been told natural slate would cost the earth. Durham Coast Roofing showed us how much could be saved and reused, and the roof looks exactly as it should on a house like ours.”

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