Roof repairs Dublin

The short answer

Most Dublin roofs do not need replacing. They need the one thing that failed put right.

We repair slate and tile roofs on houses across Dublin: slipped and broken slates, cracked tiles, loose ridge tiles, worn lead flashing, blocked or split valleys, and the leaks that come from all of those.

Send a photo from the ground and we will often price it from that. If not, we call out the same week on most repair calls, photograph the problem from the ladder and send a written quote within 48 hours.

What goes wrong on Dublin roofs

Dublin has a mix of roofs that each fail in their own way. Older terraces and redbrick semis in the city and the inner suburbs mostly carry natural slate on timber battens, fixed with nails that are now well past their working life. When the nails go, the slate slips. One slipped slate lets water onto the felt or, on the older houses, onto bare timber.

The estates built from the sixties through the eighties, out through Tallaght, Blanchardstown, Coolock, Clondalkin and the rest, are mostly concrete interlocking tiles. Those tiles last, but the mortar on the ridges and verges does not. Ridge tiles loosen, bedding cracks and falls out, and wind lifts what is left. Fibre-cement slates on the nineties and two-thousands builds tend to go at the fixings and at the valleys, where the lead or the GRP tray was fitted in a hurry.

Whatever the roof, the weak points are the same: the junctions. Lead flashing at chimneys and walls, valleys where two slopes meet, and the ridge along the top. More often than not that is where the water is getting in, and that is repair work, not a new roof.

Roof repairs we do

All of this is priced as a repair, with the materials matched to what is on the roof already.

• Slipped, cracked and missing slates refixed or replaced, colour matched to the existing roof
• Broken and displaced concrete or clay tiles replaced
• Ridge tiles rebedded and repointed, or refixed on a dry ridge system where the mortar has failed twice
• Lead flashing renewed at chimneys, abutment walls and dormers in Code 4 or Code 5 milled lead
• Valleys cleared, patched or relined
• Leak tracing and repair, including the felt and battens under the slates where they have rotted
• Storm damage made good: lifted slates, lost ridges, torn felt
• Gutters cleared on the way down from every job

How we price a repair

A repair is priced off what is actually wrong, which is why the photos matter. From the ground you can see a slipped slate; from the ladder you can see whether the two beside it are about to go as well, whether the batten under them is sound and whether the felt has perished. We photograph all of that before a quote goes out, and the quote describes exactly what is being done so there is no argument later about what was included.

There is no call-out fee for the look. If the roof needs more than a repair, we say so and show you the photos rather than sell you a patch that will be back on the phone to us in a year.

Working safely on a Dublin house

Single-storey work, gutters and low eaves are usually done from a roof ladder. Two-storey slate work, chimney flashings and anything on a steep pitch gets a scaffold tower or a full scaffold, and that is written into the quote so you know what is arriving. We use a harness on anything the ladder cannot cover properly.

Off-cuts, broken slates and old lead come away with us. Terraced houses with no side access are normal in Dublin; we work from the front or through the house with the floors covered, whichever suits.

How it goes

1. Ring or send a photo. A picture from the ground is often enough for a price. If it is not, we call out the same week on most repair calls and photograph the problem from the ladder.
2. Written quote inside 48 hours. One price for the repair described, with what is included written down. No call-out fee for the look, no pressure to go ahead.
3. The repair. Most slate, tile and flashing repairs are finished in a half day to a full day on site. Bigger valley or storm jobs take longer and the quote says how long.
4. Photos and sign-off. Before and after photos sent the same day, from the same spot on the roof, so you can see what was done without going up.

What we do not do

We do not re-roof. If the slates are delaminating across the whole roof, the battens are gone or the felt has perished everywhere, a repair will not hold and we will tell you that from the ladder with photos, then point you to a re-roofing contractor. Everything else on a Dublin pitched roof is repair work and it is what we do.

Common questions

How much does a roof repair cost in Dublin?

It depends on what is wrong and on access. A handful of slipped slates from a ladder is a small job; a relined valley on a two-storey house with a scaffold is a bigger one. We quote in writing within 48 hours of seeing it, and a photo from the ground is often enough to give you a price before anyone calls out.

Can you match the slates or tiles on my roof?

Yes. Natural slate, fibre-cement slate and the common concrete and clay tiles used across Dublin are all matched to the existing roof so the repair does not stand out. Reclaimed slate is used on older roofs where a new slate would look wrong.

Do I need a new roof if it is leaking?

Usually not. Most leaks come from one failed point: a slipped slate, a cracked flashing, a blocked valley or a loose ridge tile. Those are repairs. A roof only needs replacing when the covering or the timber has failed across the whole thing, and we will tell you honestly which one you have.

How quickly can you look at a roof in Dublin?

Same week on most repair calls. If water is coming in, tell us that when you ring and we will fit it in as early as we can, same day where we have a slot and the next working day at the latest.

Get a free quote

Call 085 781 4603 or request a quote. Free site visit, written quote within 48 hours.