Restitutio integra
Full re-roofs
When the old work is past saving. Strip, batten, felt, and lay new tile or slate, with all flashings replaced. Six to twelve weeks for a typical period house, weather permitting.
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✿ Family-run since 1987 ✿
Tegula clavata — clay tile, copper-pinned.
We re-roof old houses.
Slow work, regional materials, the same crew on the scaffold from start to finish.
✿ Family-run since 1987 ✿
Schistum sectile — hand-graded slate.
A roof done once, or done right.
We don't rush. A roof is a five-year decision, not a five-day project.
✿ Family-run since 1987 ✿
Pluvia non vincenda — the rain wins in November.
We tell you when not to roof.
Honesty about cost, weather, and timing. No padding, no exclamation marks.
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Family-run since 1987Regional materials25-year warranty keptThree generations on rooftopsFamily-run since 1987Regional materials25-year warranty keptThree generations on rooftopsFamily-run since 1987Regional materials25-year warranty keptThree generations on rooftopsFamily-run since 1987Regional materials25-year warranty keptThree generations on rooftops
✿ Our approachRead the long version
We don't rush a roof.
Festina lente — make haste, slowly.
A roof is the lid of a house. It outlives the people who paid for it. So we work like the next generation will be the ones paying attention.
Every job starts with a survey, ends with photos of what we did, and includes the bits we didn't bill for. We tell you when not to do a roof, and we mean it.
✿ What we do ✿
A specimen sheet of services.
Officia tectoria — the trades of the roof.
Restitutio tegularum
Tile re-laying
Lifting clay tiles, salvaging what's sound, replacing the rest with matching stock.
MoreSchistum sectile
Slate roofs
Welsh and Cornish slate, copper-nailed, hand-graded by thickness at the bench.
MorePlumbi tectoria
Lead flashings
Hand-dressed lead at chimneys, valleys, and abutments. Code 4 and Code 5 only.
MoreReparationes minores
Storm repairs
Slipped slates, broken tiles, the bit blown off in March. Usually next-week work.
MoreInspectio ante emptionem
Pre-purchase surveys
An honest read of the roof you're about to buy, with photos and a written report.
More✿ How a roof gets done ✿
Four steps. No surprises.
Ordo operis — the order of the work.
01
Survey
We come round, get on the roof, and write down what we find. You get photos and a fixed quote.
02
Design
We pick the materials together — what matches, what'll last, what fits the budget honestly.
03
Build
Scaffold up, weather windows checked, the same three of us on site every day until it's done.
04
Aftercare
We come back at year one for a free check, and any time after if something looks off.
38
Years on rooftops, in this region, under this name.
612
Roofs completed since the workshop opened in 1987.
3
Generations of the family still going up the ladder.
25
Years on the workmanship warranty. Kept, not promised.
✿ Materials ✿
We use what lasts.
Materies tectoria — the matter of the roof.
Schistum cambricum
Welsh slate
Quarried in Bethesda
Tegula fictilis
Clay tile
Fired in Devon
Cuprum tectorium
Copper sheet
Rolled in Sheffield
Cedrus scandulata
Cedar shake
Western red, Sussex-cut
✿ From the workshop ✿
All entriesField notes from the journal.
Diarium operis — what we noticed this season.
Pulling the latest entries…
✿ Voices ✿
What people say after the scaffold comes down.
Questions we get on the phone.
Yes. Scaffolding, edge protection, and the crane lift if we need one — all itemised in the quote, never a surprise on the final bill.
Workshop
The Workshop, Eastfield Lane
Saffron Walden, Essex CB10
Hours
Monday – Friday: 8.00 – 17.00
Saturday: by appointment
Sunday: closed
✿ Drop by ✿
The kettle's usually on.
Officina aperta — the workshop is open.
If you want to talk it through in person, the workshop is signposted off the lane. Mornings are best — the boys are up the ladders by ten.