Heritage roofers for Bowdon's period properties
Natural slate, hand-cut detailing, complex roof shapes. We work to conservation standards and photograph every stage.
Book a free surveyBowdon is large period houses, steep slate roofs, and conservation areas where the wrong repair gets noticed. We re-roof in natural and reclaimed slate, hand-cut the awkward details, and send you before/after photos of every section we touch. We're not the cheapest in Bowdon, and the homeowners who call us aren't looking for the cheapest.
Most of Bowdon's housing stock predates 1920 — tall Victorian and Edwardian villas off The Firs, Langham Road and Stamford Road, with steep pitches, multiple valleys, and original slate that's now 100-plus years old. That roof shape punishes a careless job: a single badly bedded valley or a cheap dry-ridge kit on a heritage roof, and the rainwater finds its way in within two winters. We work in natural Welsh and Spanish slate, reclaim and re-sort where the conservation officer wants like-for-like, and lead-weld the valleys and chimney details by hand rather than relying on flashing tape. Our lead work is welded on site by hand. Every roof in Bowdon gets a drone survey first, so you see the slipped slates and cracked mortar on a screen before we quote — not after we've taken the scaffold down. And every job leaves with a full before/after photo set, because on a house this size you can't see the roof from the ground and you shouldn't have to take our word for it.
Roofing built for Bowdon’s roofs, not the average semi
Bowdon isn’t a job you can price off the ground. The houses are tall, the pitches are steep, the roofs have valleys running into valleys, and most of the slate has been up there for a century. Get the survey wrong and you don’t find out until the scaffold is down and the ceiling stains come back.
So we don’t guess. Every roof we quote in Bowdon starts with a drone survey. You see the slipped slates, the open valleys, the cracked verge mortar and the failing lead — on a screen, before we put a price on anything. No “we’ll know more once we’re up there” surprises halfway through.
Natural slate, reclaimed where it matters
On a heritage roof there is a right material and a wrong one. Concrete interlocking tiles are cheaper and faster. They’re also the wrong weight, the wrong profile and the wrong colour for a Victorian or Edwardian Bowdon villa — and in a conservation area, often not allowed.
We work the way these roofs were built:
- Reclaim and re-sort the sound slate off your own roof first.
- Match the shortfall in natural Welsh or Spanish slate, by size and shade.
- Show you samples against the existing roof before a single slate is fixed.
- Hand-cut the verges, valleys and awkward junctions rather than forcing a kit.
We’ve completed full natural-slate re-roofs across Cheshire and South Manchester, and the before/after set leaves with every one.
The lead work is where roofs live or die
On a steep slate roof, the failures are almost always in the detail — the valleys, the chimney junctions, the flashings. That’s where a cheaper job reaches for self-adhesive flashing tape, and that’s the part that lets go first.
Ours is welded. Our lead is formed and welded on site by a certified lead welder (Master Roofers Academy) — valleys, soakers, chimney flashings, the lot. It’s slower and it costs more. It’s also the difference between a roof that’s dry in twenty years and one that’s leaking in two.
We’re not the cheapest in Bowdon
We’ll say it plainly: there will be a cheaper quote. There usually is. It will mean concrete instead of slate, tape instead of welded lead, no drone survey and no photos. On a house this size and this age, that’s a roof you’ll be paying for twice.
The homeowners who call us in Bowdon already know that. They want it stripped back, done in the right materials, detailed by hand, photographed at every stage, and guaranteed. That’s the only way we do it.
What you get, every time:
- A drone survey before we quote — you see the roof we see.
- Natural and reclaimed slate, matched to your house.
- Hand-formed, welded lead on every valley and chimney.
- Before/after photos of every section we touch.
- An in-house, fully insured team — no subcontracted strangers on your scaffold.
- A workmanship guarantee on the work.
We’re the most-reviewed roofer in Middlewich, and every review is five stars.
Book a Bowdon roof survey
Call 01606 537305 — the line is answered 24/7 — or email middlewichroofing@gmail.com. Tell us the address and what you’re seeing. We’ll book a drone survey, show you the roof on screen, and quote it properly. If it’s leaking now, we run same-day emergency repairs across Cheshire and South Manchester.
What Bowdon homeowners say
Every review we've ever had is five stars. Here are a few from this area.
★★★★★“Our 1890s villa needed the whole front slope re-slated and the conservation officer was watching closely. They reclaimed what they could, matched the rest in natural slate, and the lead valleys are hand-formed — you can't tell where the new work starts. Drone footage before and photos of every stage. Five stars.”
★★★★★“Three valleys and two chimneys, all leaking, on a steep Edwardian roof. Two other firms wanted to flash-tape it. Middlewich stripped it back, lead-welded the lot, and it's been bone dry through the worst of the winter. Not cheap, but done once and done right.”
What we do in Bowdon
Common questions
Do you work to conservation area standards in Bowdon?
Yes. Much of Bowdon sits in or near a conservation area, which usually means like-for-like materials — natural slate, not concrete tiles, and reclaimed slate where the planners ask for it. We re-sort and reclaim usable slate from your own roof first, then match the shortfall in natural Welsh or Spanish slate. We can supply the drone survey and photos your planning officer may want to see.
Can you match the original slate on a Victorian or Edwardian roof?
In most cases, yes. We reclaim and grade the sound slate off the existing roof, then source matching natural slate by size and colour for the rest. On a full re-slate we'll show you samples against the existing roof before anything is fixed. Concrete tiles are cheaper but they're the wrong material on a heritage roof and they look it.
How do the lead valleys and chimney details get done?
By hand. Our lead work is carried out by a certified lead welder (Master Roofers Academy) — valleys, chimney soakers, and flashings are formed and welded on site rather than patched with self-adhesive flashing tape. On a steep slate roof with multiple valleys, that detailing is where most roofs fail, so it's where we spend the most time.
Why are you more expensive than the quote down the road?
We don't compete on price. The cheaper Bowdon quote usually means concrete instead of slate, flashing tape instead of welded lead, no drone survey, and no photos. On a period house that's a roof that needs doing again in a few years. We quote one way: stripped back, done properly, photographed, and guaranteed in writing.
Free survey in Bowdon
Get a fixed price in writing
Tell us what's going on. We'll come out, survey it properly — drone and all — and give you one fixed price. We're not the cheapest, and we don't pretend to be.