Re-Roofing a Bath Property: A Step-by-Step Guide

Why Re-Roofing in Bath Is a Specialist Job

Re-roofing a Bath property is not a standard job. The combination of Welsh slate as the primary material, conservation area and listed building requirements across most of the city, Bath stone construction that requires careful protection during scaffold erection and removal, and the hillside terrace street layouts that make scaffold access more complex than in flat suburban locations all mean that a Bath re-roof requires genuine local experience. This guide takes you through the full process from first contact to final inspection, so you know what to expect at each stage.

British Standard BS 5534: British Standard BS 5534 governs the fixing, underlay, and batten specification for a re-roof — the standard a compliant Bath re-roofing project must meet to carry a valid workmanship guarantee.

Stage 1: The Survey

A serious re-roofing quote begins with a physical survey, not a viewing from the garden. Your roofer should access the roof surface — either via ladder or a preliminary scaffold visit — to assess: the condition of every slate or tile; the state of the underlying felt and battens; the condition of all rafters, purlins, and wall plates visible from the loft; the specification of lead work required; and any conservation area material requirements that apply to your property.

The survey is also the point at which the roofer should identify any associated works that need to be included in the quote — fascia and soffit replacement, guttering, chimney work. A quote that does not reference the timber condition, the lead specification, and the scaffold requirements has not been properly surveyed.

Stage 2: Materials and Conservation Compliance

For properties in Bath's conservation areas, the material specification must be confirmed before work starts, not during. For Welsh slate, this means confirming the quarry source, the gauge (thickness), and whether reclaimed or new slate is required for colour matching. For listed buildings, the material specification should be documented and, if there is any uncertainty about consent, confirmed with Bath and North East Somerset Council before scaffold goes up.

Starting a re-roof with the wrong materials and discovering mid-job that planning requires a different specification is expensive for everyone. A good Bath roofer will resolve this before the scaffold order is placed.

Stage 3: Scaffold Erection

Scaffold goes up 1 to 2 days before stripping begins. On a Victorian terrace in Bath, this typically means a full perimeter scaffold around the property, with boards at eaves level and netting to protect the adjacent pavement and neighbouring properties. On hillside streets in Oldfield Park or on the Lansdown slopes, scaffold erection is more complex and takes longer than on flat suburban streets. Your roofer will arrange scaffold with a licensed scaffold contractor and obtain any pavement licence from B&NES Council if the scaffold crosses the public pavement.

Bath stone is softer than brick and is easily damaged by scaffold fittings bearing directly against the face. Good scaffold practice on a Bath stone property involves fixing to the masonry joints rather than against the stone face where possible, and using rubber pad protection at all contact points. Ask your roofer about their scaffold protocol for Bath stone properties specifically.

Stage 4: Stripping

Stripping a Victorian Welsh slate roof takes 1 to 2 days on a typical 3-bed semi. Slates are stripped from ridge to eaves, sorted on scaffold boards — sound slates with intact nail holes for potential reuse, damaged or broken slates for skip. Battens and felt come off next. Everything goes into a skip, which your roofer should have positioned for the job.

Once stripped, all rafter tops and batten bearing surfaces are inspected individually. Any rafter with active rot, worm damage, or structural cracking is marked for replacement. On a Victorian Bath property 100 to 140 years old, finding 5 to 15 percent of rafters needing attention is typical. More than 20 to 25 percent suggests a more serious structural issue that needs a full structural assessment before re-roofing proceeds.

Stage 5: Substrate and Lead Work

New breathable membrane (modern equivalent of traditional felt) is installed first, lapped correctly at all joints and dressed to the eaves. New treated timber battens follow, sized to the slate gauge. All lead work — valleys, soakers, flashings, box gutters — is fabricated and fitted at this stage, before slating begins. Lead work done correctly takes time: a properly dressed Code 5 box gutter reline with correctly sized bays and welted drips takes a full day for a 10-metre run.

Stage 6: Slating

New Welsh slate is laid from eaves to ridge, double-nailed with copper or stainless steel nails through new holes (never reusing existing holes in recycled slates). The headlap — the overlap between courses — is set to the manufacturer's specification for the pitch and exposure of the roof. Bath's above-average rainfall requires a slightly more generous headlap than the minimum permitted, and experienced Bath roofers factor this in. Slating a standard 3-bed semi takes 2 to 4 days depending on complexity.

Stage 7: Ridge and Completion

Ridge tiles are bedded in mortar on a continuous ridge board, pointed, and any hip tiles bedded and pointed. A final inspection checks every slate for tight fixing, even lap, and correct alignment. Gutters are cleared of any mortar debris. The surrounding masonry is checked for any scaffold damage. Scaffold comes down typically 1 to 2 days after slating completion.

What Good Completion Looks Like

Planning Your Bath Re-Roof

The smoothest Bath re-roofs are the ones planned around the property's material and access needs from the outset. Booking for late spring or summer avoids the autumn and winter demand spike and gives better availability, while confirming the material — matching Welsh slate on a conservation property, concrete tile on a modern estate — and the scaffold and access arrangements up front avoids mid-job surprises. On Bath's terraces, a scaffold licence from the council may be needed where the scaffold stands on the pavement. Confirming the reduced 5 percent VAT treatment in writing at quote stage, which re-roofing an existing home usually attracts, can itself save a four-figure sum on a slate roof. With those settled, a typical Bath terrace re-roof runs to a predictable five-to-eight-day schedule.

At handover, you should receive: a written 10-year workmanship guarantee; a schedule of any timber work carried out during the job; the lead specification used (material grade and bay sizing) for your property records; and confirmation of any conservation area documentation provided for a listed building file. The site should be clean — no broken slate, no mortar debris in beds or borders, no fixings left on paths. If the skip is not empty before scaffold comes down, ask why.

Last reviewed: 19 July 2026