Roofers in Bray.
Roofers in Bray for roof repairs across the town, from the seafront and the Victorian terraces near the Promenade to Little Bray, the Vevay and the estates out towards the Southern Cross and Bray Head. We look at the roof, quote the repair in writing and send photos when it is done.
Bray mixes Victorian seaside houses under slate with later estates under tile, and it sits on the coast where the wind and salt air reach the roofs directly.
We repair slate and tile roofs in the town: slipped and broken slates, loose ridges and verges, chimneys, lead flashing, valleys, gutters and fascia. We do not re-roof.
Ring 085 781 4603 or send a photo from the street. Most repair calls get a free look the same week, and the written quote follows within 48 hours.
A Victorian resort town, and what came after.
Bray became a seaside resort after the railway was extended to the town in 1854. Hotels and residential terraces were built near the seafront, and William Dargan, who brought the railway, put money into the town as a resort. A lot of that housing is still standing: tall terraces and villas on and behind the seafront, with natural slate, big chimney stacks, decorative ridges and cast iron gutters.
The town kept growing through the last century and this one, and by the 2022 census it was home to over thirty-three thousand people, which makes it one of the larger towns in the country. Most of the later housing is estates of semis and terraces, a mix of concrete tile and fibre-cement slate, spreading out from the old centre.
So a Bray roofer sees two very different kinds of work. On the Victorian houses it is slate, lead and chimneys, often three storeys up, and the materials have to match an old roof. On the estates it is ridge bedding, verges, eaves felt and the odd cracked tile.
Living with the sea and Bray Head.
Bray faces the Irish Sea, and Bray Head rises over two hundred metres at the south end of the Promenade. Houses near the front take easterly wind and spray off the water, and the streets under the Head get gusts coming round and over the hill. Salt in the air works on nails, clips and any metal fixing that is not stainless or copper, so slates and ridge tiles can loosen on a coastal roof sooner than they would inland.
On the older seafront houses, the chimneys take a lot of that weather. Mortar erodes from the stack, the flaunching around the pots cracks, and the lead where the stack meets the slates lifts at the corners. Those are repairs, and they are worth doing before a winter of easterlies rather than after.
Further from the front, the wind is still there but the salt is less of a factor. Estate roofs in the west of the town see the same ridge and verge repairs as any suburb, with a bit more wind to deal with.
Repairs we do in Bray.
Priced from photographs taken on the roof, and matched to what is already there.
- 01Slipped and broken natural slates refixed in copper or stainless fixings, or replaced with matching reclaimed slate
- 02Cracked concrete tiles and fibre-cement slates replaced
- 03Ridge and hip tiles rebedded, or fixed on a dry ridge system where the wind keeps working them loose
- 04Gable verges repointed, or dry verge caps fitted where mortar keeps washing out
- 05Chimney stacks repointed, flaunching renewed and pots refixed or capped
- 06Lead at chimneys, parapets, dormers and bay roofs renewed and dressed for a coastal site
- 07Valleys and parapet gutters cleared, patched or relined
- 08Leaks followed back from the attic to where the water gets in, and that point repaired
- 09Cast iron and uPVC gutters repaired, downpipes refixed, fascia and soffit renewed
Getting around Bray.
We cover the whole town: the seafront, Main Street, Quinsboro Road and the streets between, Little Bray north of the Dargle, the Vevay, Boghall Road, Old Connaught and the estates towards the N11, and the roads up under Bray Head. Greystones, Enniskerry, Kilmacanogue and Shankill are close by and covered too. The rest of County Wicklow has its own page, and we work across Dublin and Kildare as well.
Three-storey terraces on the seafront need a full scaffold for most roof work, and the quote says so up front. On narrow streets we plan the access so the footpath stays usable. Estate houses with side access are usually done from a tower.
From the call to the photos.
The same crew looks at the job, quotes it and does it. You get before and after photos when it is finished.
- First01.
Ring or send a photo.
Say which part of Bray you are in and what you have noticed. A picture of the roof from across the street, and of anything that has come down, tells us a lot about what to bring.
- Then02.
A free look, usually the same week.
We go up and photograph the fault and the roof around it, including the chimney and the lead. If water is coming in, say so when you ring and we come as early as we can.
- Next03.
Written quote within 48 hours.
One price, with what is being done, the materials and the access written down. No call-out fee for the look and no pressure to go ahead.
- Last04.
The repair, then photos.
Estate repairs are mostly a half day to a day. Chimney and slate work on a tall seafront house takes longer and the quote says how long. Before and after photos come from the same spot when the work is finished.
Repairs, not re-roofs.
We repair roofs in Bray; we do not strip and replace them. If an old slate roof is losing slates on every slope, or a tiled roof has failed underneath across the whole house, we will show you the photographs, tell you a repair will not hold and refer you to a re-roofing contractor. Commercial premises and large flat roofs are not work we take on.
Roofing questions.
Anything else, ring 085 781 4603.
Can you work on the old Victorian houses near the seafront?
Yes. Slate, lead and chimney repairs on older houses are a regular part of roofing in Bray. We match the slate, use reclaimed where a new one would look wrong, and put the scaffold in the quote so you know what is arriving.
Why do slates keep slipping on my roof near the sea?
Usually the fixings. Salt air corrodes ordinary nails, and once a nail goes the slate slides. We refix slipped slates with copper or stainless fixings and check the slates around them. If the nails are failing across the whole roof, we will tell you that honestly.
Do you cover Bray, Co. Wicklow and the Dublin side around Shankill?
Yes. Bray, Little Bray, Shankill, Greystones and Enniskerry are all covered, along with the rest of Wicklow, Dublin and Kildare.
How quickly can you look at a leak in Bray?
A look the same week on most repair calls. Tell us water is coming in when you ring and we come as early as we can. A photo of the stain and of the roof from the street helps us bring the right slates or tiles.
More on roofing.
Or go back to the main roofing page.
Get your job priced properly.
Send a photo from the ground if you can, or we come out and look from the ladder. One written price inside 48 hours, no call-out fee and no pressure to go ahead.