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Roofing

Do I need to reroof my entire roof

Anonymous user 19/01/2026 - 8.08 AM

Had a roofer come today and mentioned around 10-12 slates need replacing. Its a terrace house, slated roof. He said if there is no felt underneath the slates or its defective felt then water can get it so its best to reroof completely i.e take all the slates off put new felt in and put slates back on. But other roofers havent said that so im confused. I do have a picture but it doesnt let me post it. 1. If it doesnt have felt, do I have to reroof for 10-12 slates. 2. If it does have felt and its defective then do all the slates need coming off and new felt then put slates on again.

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4 Answers

DMS Roofing

No reviews yet

Burton On Trent

As a guess You can replace the slates and it will stop your leak, cost much less than ripping off the whole roof. However without proper inspection nothing should be final. Best advice is get out few company’s and quotes , weigh out your options.

Answered19 January 2026

c&j developments

Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Birmingham

If you want a quick fix, just renew said number of slates. What's the condition of the rest of the roof. ?. Older properties will not have felt underneath and those roofs have kept the rain out for years with just a possibility of wind blowing rain back underneath and that's why felt was put in later , to take any blow back water out into guttering. So basically you should be OK with replacing slates. You'll have to assess condition of roof and might want to start saving for a new roof in future.

Answered19 January 2026

Performance Roofing and Building

Rating: 5 out of 5

Surbiton

If there is no underfoot it’s highly recommended to get it done as driving can rain can get underneath the slates and enter the loft space etc. If the roof does have under felt and it’s defective in a couple of areas it is possible to strip slates out replace sections of felt.

Answered12 January 2026

RFD Flat Roof

Rating: 4.9 out of 5

New Southgate, London

If the roof doesn’t have felt, that’s not automatically a problem. Many older slate roofs were built without felt and rely on the slates themselves to keep water out, so replacing 10–12 damaged slates is usually enough and a full reroof isn’t necessary. If there is felt and it’s defective, it still doesn’t mean the whole roof has to come off unless the felt is failing across most of the roof. In many cases, local repairs can be done without stripping everything. A full reroof is normally only justified if the roof is generally worn out or leaking in multiple areas, not just because a small number of slates need replacing.

Answered19 January 2026