A natural slate roof is one of the most beautiful and durable features a home can have, but it requires a specialist touch to maintain.
In Cork, many of our older properties feature stunning Bangor Blue or Spanish slates that have protected families for generations.
However, when a slate slips or cracks, it isn't just a leak risk—it’s a threat to the historical integrity of your building.
At Hallmark Roofing, we treat slate roof repair as a craft. We don’t believe in "quick fixes" like sticking slates back with mastic or using ugly oversized clips.
We use traditional techniques and high-quality materials to ensure that every repair is watertight, secure, and virtually invisible.
Whether you have a heritage Victorian home in the city or a modern slated property in the suburbs, we provide the expert care your roof deserves.
One of the most common issues with slate roofs in Cork is "nail sickness." Over decades, the iron nails used to hold the slates can rust away, causing perfectly good slates to slip out of position.
This leaves the timber battens and the felt underneath exposed to the rain.
Our Slate Roof Repair Cork service focuses on permanent solutions. When we fix a slipped slate, we don't just shove it back in.
We use copper or stainless steel tingles—discrete straps that won't rust—to hook the slate securely back into the row. If a slate is physically broken, we don't just patch it.
We source reclaimed slates that match the age, weathering, and colour of your existing roof. This ensures that when the job is done, you can’t even tell a repair has taken place.
Real people. Real workmanship. Real results.
The slates themselves are durable, but the "junctions" of the roof are where the trouble usually starts. The valleys (where two roof sections meet) and the ridge tiles (the very top of the roof) take the brunt of Cork’s storms.
If the mortar in your ridge tiles has started to crumble, or if the lead in your valleys is cracked, water will track under the slates and cause dampness in your attic.
We specialise in re-bedding ridge tiles using a high-strength mortar mix designed for the Irish climate. We also inspect and repair lead valleys, ensuring they are clear of debris and free from pinholes.
By maintaining these critical areas, we prevent the "domino effect" where one small leak leads to a massive timber rot issue.
In older Cork homes, this is usually "nail sickness." The original nails have rusted away. If it's just a few slates, we can fix them with copper tingles. If slates are sliding off every time the wind blows, it might be time to discuss a "strip and re-slate," where we save your existing slates but install new felt, battens, and non-rusting nails.
Yes. We have access to several salvage yards across Cork and Munster. We take pride in sourcing reclaimed slates that match the specific hue and texture of your roof, whether it's Welsh Blue, West Cork Green, or standard grey.
We strongly advise against it. Power washing can force water under the slates and damage the delicate fixings. If you have a moss problem, we offer a manual scrape and chemical treatment service that is much safer for the slate.
A well-maintained natural slate roof can easily last over 100 years. The slates themselves rarely "wear out"; it is usually the nails or the timber battens underneath that fail first. Regular maintenance is the key to getting a century of use out of your roof.
It is a small, thin strip of copper used to hold a replacement slate in place. Because it's copper, it won't rust or perish, and its dark colour allows it to blend into the roofline much better than a bright galvanised clip.
Slate is a delicate material to work on. If an inexperienced roofer walks across a slate roof incorrectly, they can crack dozens of slates, leaving you with more leaks than you started with.
At Hallmark Roofing, we use roof ladders and proper weight-distribution techniques to protect your slates while we work.
We are fully insured, heritage-aware, and locally based. From the steep pitches of St. Luke’s to the seaside homes of Kinsale, we have a reputation for honest advice.
We will never tell you that you need a new roof if a targeted repair will solve the problem.
Contact us today at (021) 202 1045 to book a specialist slate roof repair.
Hallmark Roofing provides trusted, affordable roofing services across Cork City and County. With over 15 years of experience, our fully trained and insured team delivers high-quality roof repairs, new roofs, flat roofing solutions, guttering, chimney work and more.
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