When something comes off a roof in Aberdare it is usually slate, and slate behaves differently from tile both on the way down and in what it tells you. The first hour still matters mostly for what you do not do.
A roof that has lost one slate has usually lost the restraint around several more, and whatever is loose will come down at some point in the next few hours.
Slate deserves particular respect here. It is thin, hard and comes down edge-on, and on the stepped terraces of the Cynon Valley it can travel a long way from where it started before it stops.
On a terrace stepping up a valley side, what falls from your roof may not land on your property. If material has come off above a neighbour's yard, a shared entry or a pavement, say so when you call. It changes how urgently the job is treated.
Do not climb onto the roof and do not put a ladder against the gutter to look. Do not send a relative up, and do not accept the offer from somebody who has arrived at the door with a ladder on the van.
A slate roof that has shed material is unstable in ways you cannot see from below: the slates around the gap are unrestrained, the battens may be broken, and wet slate is one of the most slippery surfaces in the building trade. Add the wind that took the slates off in the first place.
Before you move anything, look at the condition of what came down, because it answers a question that decides what the repair should be.
Keep the slate. Do not skip it. Welsh slate from a valley terrace is frequently sound enough to relay, matching size, thickness and colour is far easier with a sample in hand, and an insurer may want to see it. Stack it flat somewhere out of the way.
On an older terrace there may be no underlay beneath the slate at all, which means a gap puts water directly onto the timbers and then through a ceiling. It arrives faster than people expect.
That last one is not a formality on a terraced street. Access to a rear roof is often the single thing that decides what equipment is needed and when we can get to you, and knowing in advance saves a wasted visit for both of us.
On a terrace, some of what can come off in a storm does not belong solely to you. A chimney stack on the party line, the ridge where it runs across the boundary, and the junction where your roof meets a neighbour's higher one are all shared in practice even where the legal position is less obvious.
Our advice is to separate the two questions and take them in order. First, get it made safe — nobody benefits from a loose ridge tile sitting above two back yards while ownership is debated. Second, get a written assessment of what the repair involves, which gives both households the same set of facts to work from. Conversations between neighbours go considerably better when they start from a document rather than from two different guesses about the cost.
If several whole slates have come off, expect a roofer to look at the condition of the fixings across the whole slope rather than only at the gap. That is not upselling; it is the difference between a repair that holds and one that moves the problem three feet sideways.
Ask directly: are the nails around this area sound, or is this happening across the roof? A straight answer to that decides whether you are buying a repair or the first of several.
T & T Roofing South Wales covers Aberdare and the Cynon Valley from our base in Neath, and quotations are free and without obligation.
No. In wind, sheeting fitted by somebody untrained becomes a sail and can take more slate with it, and fitting it means standing on a wet slate roof. Leave it.
Often yes, and that is worth asking about. Sound Welsh slate is frequently relaid. What matters is whether the nails holding the surrounding slates are still up to the job.
Tell them, keep everyone clear of the area, and mention it when you call us so the job is prioritised properly. Do not go in to retrieve it while more could come down.
It depends how many properties are affected on the day, which after a named storm can be a great many. We prioritise by risk and we will give you an honest answer about when rather than a convenient one.
Storm damage in Aberdare? T & T Roofing South Wales will assess the roof, explain what needs repairing and give you a free, no-obligation quotation. Storm Damage Roof Repairs Aberdare has the full detail, or call us on 07766 547309.
Tell us what the weather has done and what you can see from the ground. We will come back to you — usually the same day.
If water is coming in now, please call rather than email — 07766 547309.
