Re-felting and battening in Cork.
Between your slates and your attic there is a layer you have never seen. When it fails the roof leaks even though the covering looks fine. Roofers Cork renew that hidden layer.
What is under your slates
Lift a slate and you will find a membrane, a thin sheet laid over the rafters, and the battens, small timbers fixed across it that the slates hang from. Together they catch what gets past the covering, which in Cork is a lot, because wind pushes rain up between slates and tiles. The membrane sheds it down to the gutter. The battens hold the covering in place.
On older roofs the membrane is often bitumen felt, which dries out, goes brittle and eventually tears. Battens that were not treated take on moisture and rot at the nail line, so slates slip because they have lost their hold. This is why a roof can leak with a covering that looks fine from the road, and why endless slate repairs do not help.
Re-felting and battening means lifting the existing slates or tiles in sections, stripping off the old membrane and battens, fitting a breathable membrane and new treated battens, and laying the covering back, with replacements for those that break. The result is a roof with a new working layer under the same face. Reusing the covering keeps the bill under a full re-roof, though it is dearer than a repair because the whole slope is opened.
It only makes sense if the covering is worth keeping. Roofers Cork check the slates or tiles during the survey. Sound, evenly weathered slate is worth re-laying. Tiles that crumble when lifted are not, and a replacement is the better spend. Either way you hear which it is before the price. The work carries the 10-year written workmanship guarantee.
What a re-felt can include.
Breathable membrane
A vapour-open sheet laid over the rafters so moisture can leave the roof space, and wind-blown rain is shed to the gutter.
Treated battens
New treated timber to BS 5534, correctly spaced for your slate or tile and fixed to the rafters.
Re-laying the covering
Existing slates or tiles are cleaned, sorted and re-laid, with matching replacements for any that break.
Eaves and ventilation
The eaves detail is rebuilt so water runs into the gutter, with ventilation to let the roof space dry out.
Ridge and verge
Dry-fix ridge and verge fittings that do not rely on mortar can be fitted at the same time.
Lead and junctions
Chimney and wall junctions are opened up while the roof is bare and re-flashed in lead.
On every job, what the price covers.
Every quotation is a fixed price, so the final bill matches it.
Included in every job
Quoted separately
What this usually costs.
Re-felting and battening is priced after a survey. Cost turns on roof size, pitch, the covering you keep and the access needed, so there is no honest number before someone looks. The written price is fixed, and the VAT shown on it.
From first visit to hand-back.
Judge the covering
We check whether your slates or tiles are worth keeping, and photograph the felt from the attic.
Price per slope
A written price, with the work broken down by roof slope.
Lift, renew, re-lay
The covering is lifted in sections, the membrane and battens renewed, and the covering laid back.
Hand-back
We go over the finished slope with you and issue the guarantee.
Questions, answered.
Is re-felting cheaper than a new roof?
It usually is, because the existing slates or tiles are re-laid. How much cheaper depends on how many break on lifting, and a survey from Roofers Cork gives the answer for your roof.
How much does re-felting cost?
After a survey. Our 2026 price table has no row for it, since the answer depends on the roof. The replacement page gives the guide for a full new roof, for scale.
Can any roof be re-felted?
Any roof whose covering is sound can. Where slates or tiles crumble as they are lifted, renewing the whole roof is the sounder spend, and we say so plainly.
Will my attic be disturbed?
Not much. The work is done from outside, though there will be noise overhead and a little dust. We cover the roof space where we need to.
How long does it take?
A few days for a typical house, weather permitting. The roof is opened in sections, so a night of rain does not find the whole slope uncovered.
What is breathable membrane?
A sheet that lets moisture vapour pass from the roof space while keeping liquid water out. Used correctly, it helps a roof dry out instead of sweating.
Will my insulation need touching?
Not as a rule, because the work is done from outside. If the survey shows wet or missing insulation in the roof space, we tell you and price any change separately, so nothing is added without your say-so.
More roofing services.
Roof Inspections
A written, photographed report on the state of the roof, taken from the attic and from the slope.
Lead Flashing & Chimneys
Lead dressed where the roof meets a wall or stack, and the chimney itself pointed so it stops taking in rain.
Emergency Roof Repair
A live leak or storm damage: the opening made watertight today, the proper repair planned once it is dry.
Roofers Cork cover Cork city and county. The survey is free, the price is fixed in writing, and the work carries a written guarantee.
Get your roof
looked at.
Write a line or two about the roof and where it is. After a free survey you get a plain written price. Rather talk it through? Ring: