Re-felting and battening in Waterford.
The layers you cannot see wear out before the slates do. Renewing them and putting your own slates back is often the sensible middle road between another patch and a whole new roof.
The roof underneath the roof
A slate or tile covering is only the outer shell. It sheds most of the rain, and what gets past is meant to be caught by the membrane laid over the rafters and carried down into the gutter. Beneath the membrane run the battens that hold every slate up. If either layer fails the roof can leak while the covering looks fine.
Older houses often have a bitumen felt that has dried out and cracked with age, sometimes after sixty years or more under the slates. Newer roofs may have a plastic sheet that was never lapped properly. Battens soften where damp has reached them, and a soft batten can no longer hold a nail.
Re-felting and re-battening means lifting the slates or tiles section by section, laying a new breathable membrane, fixing new treated battens to the gauge and putting the covering back, topping up with new pieces wherever the old ones break in handling. Done well, the roof looks the same from the road and behaves like a new one.
It is not a cure for everything. If a large share of the slates are spent, relaying them only moves the problem along. The survey separates the two cases and shows you photographs from the attic so the choice rests on what is actually up there.
What the work involves.
Breathable membrane
A modern membrane that sheds water but lets the roof space vent, replacing old felt that has perished.
Treated battens
New timber battens fixed to the correct gauge, so each slate has a firm place to hang.
Relaying your covering
Sound slate or tile sorted, cleaned and put back, with new pieces mixed in where handling breaks some.
Eaves protection
A tray or eaves-course detail so water at the bottom edge ends up in the gutter, not behind the fascia.
Ventilation
Eaves and ridge vents where the roof space does not breathe and has been collecting damp.
Insulation check
The insulation is looked at while the roof is open, and replaced if it has been soaked.
What each price takes in.
The quote is one fixed sum, so the bill at the end matches the paper you signed.
Included in every job
Quoted separately
What this usually costs.
Re-felting is not a row in the 2026 guide table, so it is priced after the survey: the figure depends on the area of roof, how much of the covering can be reused and how sound the rafters are. It sits between the cost of a repair and the cost of a new roof, and you receive it as one fixed price in writing.
From the first look to the handover.
Survey
The felt and battens are checked from the attic and the covering is sampled from the slope.
Written price
A fixed price, with the relay or renew decision set out and photographed.
Strip and re-lay
Section by section, so the house is covered at the end of each day.
Handover
A walk round the finished work, then the guarantee in writing.
What Waterford homeowners ask us.
Is re-felting cheaper than a new roof?
Usually, because your own covering is reused. It is dearer than a repair. It is the better value where the layers underneath have failed but most of the slates are sound.
How do I know the felt has failed?
Go into the attic with a torch. Torn, brittle or missing felt, daylight and damp rafters are the giveaways, and the survey records them with photographs.
Will you reuse my slates?
If they are sound, yes. A sample is lifted at the survey to judge how many would survive, and breakages are replaced as part of the job.
How long does it take?
As a rule a few days for an ordinary house, depending on the roof area. The slopes are done in sections so the house stays covered.
Do I need a breathable membrane?
For most pitched roofs a modern breathable membrane is the right choice, because it lets moisture out of the roof space. The survey confirms it for yours.
Does it carry a guarantee?
Yes, the 10-year written workmanship guarantee. The Lifetime Leak Guarantee is kept for a complete roof replacement.
Related roofing jobs.
Roof Replacement
Once patching has stopped working, the covering is stripped and a new slate or tile roof laid, with the Lifetime Leak Guarantee.
Roof Repairs
Water through the ceiling or slates on the lawn. We trace the entry point and mend that, rather than covering up the mark.
Roof Inspections
A written report with photographs, from the slope and the attic, setting out what the roof needs and what it can do without.
From the city to the coast, we work throughout Waterford. Surveys are free, quotes are fixed and written, and the finished work is guaranteed on paper.
Get your roof
looked at.
Tell us what the roof is doing and roughly where in Waterford it is. Someone looks at it for free and a fixed written price follows. Send the form below.