New Roofs in Alderley Edge

Why a new roof in Alderley Edge isn’t a like-for-like job

The roofs in Alderley Edge are not simple. The period villas and detached houses around the village centre, London Road and Macclesfield Road carry steep slate pitches, deep valleys and lead at every chimney, much of it a hundred years old. The larger modern homes set back in their own grounds add multiple ridges, hips, dormers and valleys that all have to line up and shed water cleanly. There is a lot of lead and a lot of detailing on these roofs, and that detailing is where a cheap re-roof fails first.

A new roof here means rebuilding all of that, not throwing slate back over tired felt. Get a valley cut wrong or the lead dressed instead of welded and nothing leaks on handover day — it leaks four or five winters later, by which point the roofer who did it is long gone. On a house where the roof is part of what the place is worth, that is the whole reason people on these streets stop shopping on price.

How we build a new roof, top to bottom

We strip the old covering to the rafters and clear it off site. Every length of old felt and every old batten goes. Then the roof goes back up properly, in order:

• Breathable membrane across the whole roof, so any water that gets past the covering is shed and the loft timbers breathe instead of sweating.
• Treated battens, graded and gauged by hand to set the lap that keeps rain out when it comes in sideways off the Edge.
• Natural slate or tile to suit the house — reclaimed and matched on a period villa, the right covering on a modern roof — nailed and laid course by course, with cut pieces dressed by hand rather than snapped.
• Hand-cut valleys, set so the water runs where it should and not into the rafters.
• Lead-welded detailing. Our certified lead welder (Master Roofers Academy) forms new lead to the chimneys, valleys and abutments — welded, dressed and clipped so it holds through the heat-and-cool cycle that works old lead loose.
• A mechanical dry ridge, bolted down and ventilated, instead of mortar that blows out and washes loose in a few winters.

Built for the house, whether it’s heritage or modern

The period and the modern roofs in Alderley Edge need the same discipline applied differently. On a Victorian or Edwardian villa the work is in the slate match and the hand-formed lead — getting the new work to disappear into the old. On a large modern roof it’s in the junctions: the hips, the dormers and the abutments where several planes meet and where, done cheaply, the water finds its way in. We do both with the same in-house team, so the people who survey your roof are the people who build it.

Drone survey first, fixed price, 20-year guarantee

Every new-roof quote starts with a drone survey. We fly the roof before we price it, so the number is based on what’s actually up there, not a guess from the drive. You get before-and-after photos on completion and the 20-year guarantee in writing, and we’re the most-reviewed roofer in Middlewich — every review five stars.

Call 01606 537305 to book a drone survey. We cover Cheshire and South Manchester.