Slate Re-Roof in Beaconsfield | Case Study

The brief

Sovereign Property Group was called to a detached house in Old Beaconsfield where the roof was leaking around the chimney and several slates had slipped. The homeowners wanted the roof stripped and re-covered with natural slate to match the original Edwardian covering. The work had to be finished before a family wedding in June, which meant the programme was fixed and there was no room for weather delays or material shortages. The house was a substantial detached property with a complex roof shape, so the re-roof was not a straightforward job. Sovereign had already priced the labour and the slate, and they wanted a competitive quote for the underlay, battens and fixings that would not change during the build.

We priced the roofing schedule from the roofer's measurements, including underlay, battens, fixings and dry ridge components. The natural slate itself was sourced directly by Sovereign's roofing supplier because the client wanted a specific Welsh slate. Our role was everything else that goes under and around the slates: the breathable membrane, the torch-on felt for valleys and upstands, the battens, the dry ridge fixings and all the nails and screws. The quote was turned around in 24 hours and included delivery to the kerb at times that matched the scaffold programme. We also confirmed that we would hold a reserve pack of nails and screws at the yard for the duration of the four-week build.

The house was on a road that narrowed at certain points, with neighbours on both sides and limited space for scaffolding. Sovereign needed a supplier who could deliver to the scaffold at the right moment and keep a reserve of fixings at the yard for any last-minute needs. The wedding date was fixed, so any delay in getting the roof weather-tight would have caused serious problems for the family.

• Client: Sovereign Property Group
• Location: Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire (HP9)
• Project: Slate re-roof
• Duration: 4 weeks
• Star Hawk material cost: £950

The challenge

Three main things shaped this re-roof, plus the ever-present risk of weather once the old covering was removed.

1. Scaffold timing. The scaffold was booked for a Monday and the old roof had to come off the same day. We coordinated our first drop of felt, battens and fixings to arrive at 7am, before the scaffold was fully signed off, so the roofers could start stripping immediately. The scaffold company had a tight window because of the narrow road, so any delay in materials would have wasted the hire day. Sovereign had booked the scaffold for a fixed four-week period, and extending it would have added several hundred pounds to the cost.
2. Matching the slate gauge. The new slate was a different size and thickness to the old tiles, so the batten spacing had to be recalculated on site. We supplied extra battens and nails so the roofers could adjust without a second merchant run. The roofers ended up using most of the reserve because the hip cuts took more slate than expected. Without the extra battens and nails, the team would have had to send someone to a merchant, losing half a day.
3. Busy road. The house sat on a road that was narrow at the best of times. Deliveries were scheduled between 9.30am and 2.30pm to avoid school-run congestion, and the skip was positioned with a permit. The neighbours were warned in advance about the scaffold and the deliveries, and no complaints were received. The skip was positioned on the road with a council permit and was removed as soon as it was full. A second skip was brought in halfway through the strip because the old slate and rotten timber generated more waste than expected.

The roof area was roughly 120 square metres with two valleys, a hip end and a chimney stack that needed lead flashings. The Edwardian slate had been in place for over a century and much of the sarking beneath it was rotten or missing. This meant the roofers had to replace more than just the covering.

Materials we supplied

Sovereign's roofer specified the breathable underlay, battens and fixings. We supplied:

• Underlay and membrane: 5 rolls of Torch on Roofing Felt for the valleys and upstands, plus 2 rolls of Damp Proof Membrane (DPM) for temporary protection of the exposed rafters. The torch-on felt was used to line the valleys where the roof planes met, providing a robust secondary waterproofing layer beneath the slate.
• Fixings: 14 boxes of Galvanized Nails for the battens and 5 boxes of High Performance Wood Screws for the dry ridge system. The nails were a standard roofing size suitable for the treated battens, and the screws were used to fix the dry ridge clips and unions.

The natural slate tiles, lead flashings around the chimney, and the scaffold itself were supplied by separate specialists. We stayed in our lane on the Beaconsfield re-roof and made sure the items we did supply were on the scaffold at the right moment. The 5 rolls of torch-on felt were enough for the two valleys and the upstands, while the 2 rolls of DPM provided temporary weather protection until the breathable membrane was fully fixed. The DPM was particularly useful during the first week when the old sarking was being replaced and the roof was partially open.

Delivery and logistics

Roofing materials have to be where the roofers are when they are ready. We structured the Beaconsfield drops around three practical rules.

• Lift to scaffold. The driver offloaded at the kerb and the roofers used the scaffold hoist to lift battens and rolls to eaves level. We kept the vehicle on site only as long as necessary. The 14 boxes of nails and 5 boxes of screws were split across two drops so the scaffold did not become overloaded with materials. The first drop covered the battening phase, and the second drop covered the dry ridge and any extras needed for the hip cuts. This staging kept the scaffold clear and meant the roofers always had the right fixings to hand.
• Reserve pack. We held a reserve of nails, screws and an extra roll of felt at the Beaconsfield yard. Once a roof is stripped, you cannot afford to stop because a box of fixings has run out.
• Batch tracking. The felt batch numbers and batten treatment certificates were logged on the delivery note so Sovereign had a paper trail for the client. This documentation was useful because the homeowners wanted to pass details to future buyers. The batch numbers also meant that any warranty claim could be traced back to the original manufacturer.

All drops on the Beaconsfield re-roof were confirmed the evening before and timed around the school run. Sovereign's site manager had our scheduler's direct number and called each afternoon to confirm the next day's delivery slot. This routine meant there were no surprises and the driver always knew which side of the road to pull up on.

The build

The build ran for 4 weeks.

• Week 1: Scaffold and strip. The scaffold went up and the old slates and battens were stripped. The rafters on the Beaconsfield roof were inspected and any rotten sarking was replaced. The roof was covered with a temporary tarp each evening. The DPM rolls supplied by Star Hawk were used to protect the exposed rafters where the sarking had been removed. This temporary protection was important because the forecast for the first week was changeable, and the roofers needed to be able to cover up quickly at the end of each day.
• Week 2: Underlay and battens. On the Beaconsfield roof, breathable membrane was draped over the rafters and counter-battens were fixed. New treated battens were spaced to the slate gauge and nailed down with the galvanized nails supplied by Star Hawk. The valleys were lined with torch-on felt.
• Week 3: Slating. The Welsh slate was laid from eaves to ridge, with cuts around the valleys and chimney. The roof began to take on its finished appearance. Waste was cleared from the scaffold daily so the roofers had space to work and the neighbours were not inconvenienced. The slates that were still sound were set aside for reuse on a smaller outbuilding, while the broken slates went into the skip.
• Week 4: Ridge, flashings and cleanup. The dry ridge kit was fitted with the wood screws supplied by Star Hawk, ridge tiles were bedded and the lead flashings were dressed around the chimney. The scaffold was struck and the site was swept. A final inspection confirmed that no nails or slate offcuts had been left in the gutters, on the driveway or in the flower beds.

The roof was watertight before the wedding, which was the critical success criterion. The scaffold was struck the day before the guests arrived, and the front of the house was swept clean. The wedding photographs were taken on the driveway, and the newly re-slated roof formed a smart backdrop.

The result

The finished roof is a clean, dark-grey natural slate covering with new breathable membrane, treated battens and a dry ridge system. The loft space below is now dry, and the homeowners have a roof that should last another 50 years. The wedding guests commented on how smart the house looked, and the family were relieved that the leaks had been fixed before the summer weather arrived. The loft space, which had been damp and unusable, was now dry and ready to be converted into storage. The homeowners planned to board it out the following autumn once the wedding was out of the way. In the meantime, they were simply relieved that the buckets and towels were no longer needed every time it rained.

For a material spend of £950, the value was in the timing. Coordinating the underlay, battens and fixings with the scaffold and slate deliveries meant the roof was never left open longer than necessary. Sovereign's site manager said that having Star Hawk hold a reserve of nails and screws meant the roofers could keep working even when the slate gauge turned out to be different from the original estimate. He also commented that the delivery notes arrived promptly, which made it easy to reconcile costs at the end of the job.

What we don't supply on a reroof

On a slate re-roof like this one in Beaconsfield, the following items sit outside our range:

• Scaffolding and access towers on the Beaconsfield re-roof — hired directly by the roofing contractor.
• Natural slate, clay tiles or concrete tiles if they are a specialist profile on the Beaconsfield roof — usually supplied by the roofing merchant.
• Lead work, flashings and bespoke valley details on the Beaconsfield roof — supplied and installed by a lead worker.
• Roof windows, Velux and skylights on the Beaconsfield roof — supplied and installed by a glazing specialist.
• Guttering, fascias and soffits if they are being replaced on the Beaconsfield house — supplied by a roofline specialist.
• Internal ceiling repairs or loft insulation upgrades on the Beaconsfield job — carried out by separate trades.
• Skip hire, waste disposal and final cleaning on the Beaconsfield re-roof — arranged by the main contractor.

Everything else — underlay, battens, fixings and dry ridge components — stays on the single Star Hawk account for this Beaconsfield re-roof.

Cost transparency

The materials Star Hawk supplied came to £950 and broke down as follows:

Category	Materials supplied	Cost
Fixings & hardware	14 boxes galvanized nails, 5 boxes wood screws	£550
Roofing	5 rolls torch-on roofing felt	£300
Membranes	2 rolls DPM	£100

The remaining cost of the Beaconsfield re-roof — the slate, lead, scaffold, labour and waste disposal — was supplied by other partners on the same site. This reflects the fact that the visible roof covering and the access equipment account for most of the budget on a slate re-roof, while the underlay and fixings are a smaller but essential part. Star Hawk's role is to make sure these smaller items are on the scaffold when the roofers need them, because a re-roof cannot wait for a merchant run once the old covering is off.

Why Beaconsfield homeowners choose Star Hawk

We are 15 minutes from the HP9 postcode district and our round covers Beaconsfield, including Old Beaconsfield, Holtspur, Seer Green and Jordans. We also deliver to High Wycombe, Marlow, Aylesbury and Amersham on the same day. Our yard holds torch-on felt, breathable membrane, treated battens, dry ridge kits and the common fixings in stock, which is why we can react quickly when a roofer is waiting on the scaffold.

Most of our Beaconsfield roofing customers are local builders who need the underlay, battens and fixings on the scaffold when the roofers are ready. They want a supplier who understands that a re-roof is a race against the weather and that a missing box of nails can cost a day. We also know that many Beaconsfield properties are on narrow roads or have mature trees that make access difficult, so we send appropriately sized vehicles and carefully plan deliveries to avoid the busiest road periods. If that is your project, send your roofer's full schedule through the quote builder and we will come back the same business day with a fully priced underlay, batten and fixing pack carefully matched to your scaffold programme, your roof covering delivery and the specific access constraints of your own Beaconsfield property.