The short answer
For an ordinary house, re-slating usually runs from several days to a couple of weeks of working time, depending on the roof's size, shape and condition. A simple two-slope roof with easy access goes faster than a hipped roof with dormers, valleys and chimneys. Weather, repairs to the timbers and the lead work all add time. A firm programme can only be set after the roof has been surveyed.
What controls the length of the job
Size is the obvious factor, but shape matters as much. A plain gable roof, with two flat slopes, is mostly repeating the same courses over and over. A hipped roof has sloping ends that meet the main slopes along hips, and each hip needs slates cut to a mitre or a neat bonnet finish. Valleys are cut and lined with lead or fitted with valley trays. Dormers, rooflights, chimneys and abutments with a neighbouring house each multiply the detail work. A roof with those features can take twice as long as a plain one of the same area.
Natural slate also takes more effort than tile because the slates are individually sorted, holed and sometimes cut to size. Different thicknesses are laid in different areas, and the gauge of each course is marked on the battens. Man-made slate is quicker because it is more uniform. Our page on re-slating a roof describes the work in general terms.
How a re-slating job runs
It begins with scaffolding, which should be up before anything is removed, with a working platform and edge protection. The old slates are stripped slope by slope and either stacked for reuse or taken away. Stripping and re-covering are done in sections so that the house is never left open to the weather more than it must be, with temporary covers ready for a change in the forecast. Once the slates are off, the battens and underlay come off or are inspected, rafters and boards are checked and any rotten timber is repaired.
New underlay and battens go on next, and then the slates are laid from the eaves upward, with the lead work, valleys, hips and ridge following. The final stage is the ridge, the flashing at chimneys and abutments, and a check of the gutters and fascias. Last comes clearing the site: scaffold down, waste removed and the garden swept for stray nails and slate. Each of these stages overlaps in practice, but the order is fixed, which is why programmes rarely shrink by much.
What adds days
Weather is the biggest wild card. Strong wind stops slate work because loose slates become projectiles, and heavy rain halts stripping. Hidden timber damage is next: rotten battens, sagging rafters and wall plates softened by an old leak all need repair before slating can restart. The roof might also need new boarding or sarking, a layer of boards or felt beneath the battens that older roofs sometimes lack. Delays in delivery of reclaimed slates or special sizes can hold up a start. Then there are the extras, such as repointing the chimney or replacing a gutter while the scaffold is in place, which are often worth doing at the same time and extend the programme a little.
Where the covering is changed in weight, or the work covers a large share of the roof, there may also be building control involvement, and the sign-off can be arranged in parallel with the work. Our page on slate roof cost gives typical UK ranges: £120 to £180 per square metre for natural slate and £90 to £130 for man-made, as reported by one cost guide. Your fixed quote follows the survey.
Planning your own timeline
Think about access to the house, parking for the scaffold lorry and skip, and any plants near the walls. Tell the neighbours before the scaffold goes up. Choose a season when settled weather is likely, but be flexible, since a good roofer will prefer to wait a day than rush in a squall. Ask for a start date, an expected duration and what happens if the weather shuts the job down. Plan to be away from the house during the noisiest days if you work from home. Our guide to whether it is worth repairing a slate roof may save you from a full job if the roof only needs a partial fix.
Re-slating versus repairing, in time terms
A repair visit is measured in hours, and a patch to a single slope in a day or two. Re-slating is a project. If the roof has stood for many decades on iron nails, however, patching can mean returning again and again, each time with a fresh access bill. Many owners find that one planned programme, with a clear start and finish, is less disruptive than a string of call-outs. A survey that records the extent of the failures lets you compare the two honestly, in time as well as money.
With our survey we measure the roof, photograph the covering and the timbers, and then set a written programme and price, which we do not change unless hidden defects appear and are shown to you. Browse the rest of our slate work at slate roofing across Basingstoke.
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