Pitched Roof Installation & Repair
Whether your pitched roof needs repair or a full replacement, our skilled team deliver honest professional advice and top-quality workmanship. We work with all tile and slate types across the North East, ensuring your roof is watertight, insulated and finished to the highest standard.
Repair & Replacement
From a handful of missing tiles to a full re-roof, we assess each job carefully and recommend only the work that's needed. We never upsell unnecessary work.
All Tile Types
We work with concrete tiles, clay tiles, natural Welsh slate and reconstituted slate. We'll match your existing roof covering or help you choose the best option for your property.
Ridge & Hip Work
Loose or mortar-free ridges are a common cause of leaks and draught. We rebed and repoint ridge and hip tiles correctly, using modern flexible compounds for long-lasting results.
Fully Insured
All work is carried out by our fully insured and experienced team. We tidy up thoroughly on completion and leave your property as we found it.
Roof Pitch and Covering: Getting the Match Right
Every tile and slate has a minimum pitch it can be laid at, set by the manufacturer. Go below it and wind-driven rain gets pushed back up under the covering — which is why some roofs stay perfectly dry in ordinary rain and leak in a storm. It's one of the most common causes of a "mystery" leak we get called to across the North East, and it's usually the result of someone re-covering a shallow roof with the wrong material.
| Covering | Minimum pitch (guide) | Typical life | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain clay tile | Around 35°+ | 60+ years | Steepest requirement — small tiles with a lot of laps. Traditional on period property |
| Natural slate | Around 20–25° | 80–100+ years | Depends on slate size; larger slates work lower. Standard across the region's Victorian terraces |
| Concrete interlocking | Some down to ~15° | 40–60 years | Most forgiving on shallow pitches. Standard on inter-war and post-war housing |
These are guide figures — the exact minimum comes from the specific product and how exposed the roof is. On an exposed North East roof taking the full force of easterly weather, we'd work above the minimum rather than at it. If you're thinking of changing covering type as part of a re-roof, the pitch is the first thing to check, and it's a conversation we'll have before quoting.
What Actually Fails on a Pitched Roof
The tiles or slates are usually the longest-lived part of the roof. What gives out first is almost always something underneath or alongside them — which is why a roof can look sound from the pavement and still be letting water in.
Nail sickness on slate roofs
Across the region's Victorian and Edwardian terraces, the slate itself will often outlast the building's occupants. The nails holding it won't. As they corrode, slates start slipping one or two at a time, in different places, with no storm to blame. Re-fixing individual slates is perfectly reasonable early on. Once several are going every season you're paying repeatedly for a problem that only a full re-roof actually solves.
Perished underlay and battens
Old bitumen felt underlay becomes brittle and tears, particularly at the eaves where it's exposed. Battens split or rot where water has been getting past. Neither is visible from the ground, and both are the real reason a roof "suddenly" starts leaking after decades. On any strip and re-roof we renew underlay and battens as standard — recovering an old roof onto tired battens is false economy.
Ridge and hip mortar
Traditional mortar-bedded ridges crack and let go over time, accelerated here by freeze-thaw inland and by wind on the coast. Loose ridge tiles are both a leak path and a genuine safety issue. We can rebed and repoint, but on a re-roof we'd normally fit a dry ridge system instead — it clamps each tile mechanically rather than relying on mortar, and needs far less attention over its life. Mortar still has its place on conservation-area and period properties where appearance is restricted.
Valleys, verges and flashings
Where two roof slopes meet, where the roof meets a gable, and where it abuts a chimney or wall — these junctions are where most pitched roof leaks actually originate, not in the open field of the roof. Lead valleys and flashings have a long life but eventually split or get lifted. If you're getting a damp patch on a ceiling near a chimney breast, that's a flashing or chimney problem far more often than it is a tile problem.
What's Included
- Free roof inspection and written quote
- Full or partial tile and slate replacement
- Underlay and batten replacement
- Ridge and hip tile rebedding and repointing
- Valley replacement (lead or fibre)
- Verge repairs and repointing
- Chimney flashing repairs
- Roof insulation upgrade
- Guttering inspection and repair
- Full site clearance on completion
Pitched Roofing FAQs
What roof pitch do I need?
It depends on the covering. Every tile and slate has a minimum pitch set by its manufacturer, and going below it means wind-driven rain can be pushed back up under the covering. As a rough guide, plain clay tiles need a steep pitch of around 35 degrees or more, natural slate works from roughly 20 to 25 degrees depending on the slate size, and concrete interlocking tiles can go lower, some down to around 15 degrees. If your roof is shallower than the covering allows, that's usually why it leaks in driving rain but stays dry in ordinary weather.
Why do slates keep slipping off my roof?
Almost always nail sickness. The slate itself can last well over a century, but the nails holding it corrode much sooner. The giveaway is slates slipping one or two at a time, in different places, with no storm to explain it. Individual slates can be re-fixed, but once several go in a single season you're usually better off costing a full re-roof than paying for repeat call-outs.
Should ridge tiles be mortared or dry fixed?
Dry ridge systems are now the standard for new work and re-roofs. They mechanically clamp each ridge tile rather than relying on mortar, so they cope with the expansion, movement and wind that eventually cracks a mortar bed. Traditional mortar bedding still has its place on period and conservation-area properties where appearance is restricted, and it can be repointed, but on an exposed North East roof a dry ridge will need far less attention over its life.
How long does a pitched roof last?
The covering usually outlasts everything else. Natural slate commonly reaches 80 to 100 years or more, clay tiles 60 or more, and concrete interlocking tiles around 40 to 60. What fails first is normally the underlay, the battens or the nails rather than the tiles themselves, which is why an old roof can look sound from the ground while leaking.
Can you re-use my existing tiles or slates?
Often, and on period properties it's frequently the best result. Sound natural slate and good clay tiles can usually be salvaged, cleaned and re-laid over new underlay and battens, which keeps the roof looking right and cuts the material cost. Expect to lose a proportion to breakage during stripping, so some new matching stock is normally needed. Old concrete tiles that have gone porous are rarely worth saving.
Do you work across the whole North East?
Our core area is Tyne and Wear and County Durham — Sunderland, Washington, Gateshead, South Shields, Durham, Chester-le-Street, Houghton-le-Spring and the surrounding towns — with no travel surcharge inside that area. For work further afield in Northumberland or Teesside, get in touch with the details and we'll tell you honestly whether we can take it on. Full detail on our North East coverage.
Pitched Roofing Across the North East
We carry out pitched roofing work across Sunderland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham.