Edinburgh's finest roofs are also its most protected. We restore A & B listed slate and lead roofs to Historic Environment Scotland practice — like-for-like materials, the right consents, and a finish that respects the next two centuries. One repair. Lasting peace of mind.
Around half of Edinburgh's building stock sits inside a conservation area, and thousands of tenements and townhouses are A or B listed. On these buildings the roof isn't just weatherproofing — it's protected historic fabric, and the wrong repair can be unlawful as well as ugly.
A modern concrete tile, a smear of black mastic, or a bright new machine-cut slate on a Georgian frontage stands out for a century. Worse, unauthorised alterations to a listed building are a criminal offence — the council can require you to undo the work at your own cost. Getting it right the first time is cheaper, safer, and kinder to the building.
A tired, slipping slate roof on a listed Stockbridge tenement — brought back to a watertight, period-correct finish. Grab the handle and drag across.
Before
After
Stockbridge tenement · B-listed · full re-slate with salvaged Scotch slate, new lead valleys & chimney repointing · completed in 9 working days.
Conservation is a materials discipline before it's a labour one. Match the fabric and the repair disappears into the building; get it wrong and it shouts for a hundred years.
Original Scottish slate is no longer quarried, so we salvage and blend it, or match with graded natural slate of the right size, colour and thickness — never a uniform machine-cut substitute on a period frontage.
Valleys, soakers, aprons and ridge saddles worked in the correct code (usually code 7–8), with welted and lapped joints to accommodate movement. No mastic patch-ups masquerading as flashing.
Traditional chimneys breathe. We repoint in a matched lime mortar rather than hard modern cement, so the stonework can move and dry as it was built to — cement traps damp and cracks the stone.
Edinburgh roofs sit on continuous timber sarking boards. We replace rotten sarking and cut timbers like-for-like, keeping the traditional build-up rather than short-cutting to modern felt-and-batten.
Work to a listed building — even "like-for-like" repair — can need Listed Building Consent from the City of Edinburgh Council, and must follow Historic Environment Scotland guidance. We steer the whole process so you're never exposed.
We inspect from the air, then confirm the building's listing category and whether it sits in a conservation area — so we know from day one what rules apply.
A written specification of exactly what will be done and in what materials — the document conservation officers want to see, and the one that protects you.
Where Listed Building Consent is needed we prepare and support the application, liaising directly with the council's conservation team on your behalf.
Time-served slaters and leadworkers carry out the work to HES practice, with progress photos and a tidy, netted, protected site throughout.
Final inspection, completion record for your files, and a written 10-year workmanship guarantee. The building keeps its character; you keep the paperwork.
As a rule of thumb, genuine like-for-like repair in matching materials often doesn't need consent — but changing materials, altering the roofline, adding rooflights, or re-slating a whole roof usually does. It's not always obvious, and the penalties for getting it wrong fall on the owner.
The safe answer: let us check before anyone lifts a slate. Our survey includes a listing and consent assessment at no charge, and we'll tell you honestly whether an application is needed.
A few of the listed and traditional roofs we've brought back to life — matched, consented and guaranteed.
Slipped, patched and part-cemented over decades. We stripped, re-sarked where needed and re-slated in salvaged Scotch slate with new code-8 lead ridges — signed off by the council conservation officer.
A leaning tenement stack repointed in matched lime mortar, cracked cans replaced and vented cowls fitted to stop damp — keeping the original stone breathing as it was built to.
Failed valley causing water to track into the top-floor flat. Re-formed in hand-dressed code-8 lead with welted joints and new soakers — no mastic, no shortcuts, watertight for decades.
They understood our A-listed building better than the surveyor did. The consent was handled without fuss and you genuinely cannot tell where the new slate ends.
As a factor I manage dozens of listed tenements. Castlerock are the crew I call for the tricky lead and stack jobs — proper tradesmen, fixed prices, no drama with the council.
The drone footage showed us exactly what was wrong before a penny was spent, and the lime repointing on our chimney looks like it's always been there. Lasting peace of mind, just as they promise.
Heritage work is priced per building — the slate, the access and the consents all vary — but here's where the common jobs start. Your survey turns these into one clear, fixed, written quote.
| Service | From | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Drone roof survey | FREE | Real footage + listing & consent check. No scaffolding. |
| Slate replacement | £45 / slate | Matched & salvaged Scotch slate where required. |
| Minor slate & slip repairs | £180 from | Re-fixing slipped slates, small watertight fixes. |
| Lead flashing & valleys | £320 from | Hand-dressed code-7/8 lead, welted joints. |
| Chimney repointing (lime) | £650 from | Matched lime mortar; cans & cowls as needed. |
| Full conservation re-roof | POA | Priced after survey & consent — fixed before we start. |
| Emergency call-out | £120 | Storm damage made safe & watertight, fast. |
Prices are indicative starting points and include VAT where applicable. Every heritage job is confirmed as a fixed written quote after a free survey.
Sometimes. Genuine like-for-like repair in matching materials often doesn't require consent, but re-slating a whole roof, changing materials, altering the roofline or adding rooflights usually does. Because the responsibility (and any penalty) falls on the owner, we always check as part of our free survey and tell you honestly whether an application is needed before any work begins.
Historic Environment Scotland publishes guidance on how traditional buildings should be repaired — favouring like-for-like materials, breathable lime mortars, hand-worked lead and reversible detailing over modern shortcuts. Working to HES practice means your repair keeps the building's character and its ability to weather naturally, which is exactly what conservation officers look for.
Yes. Original Scottish slate hasn't been quarried at scale for decades, so we work from salvaged stock and carefully graded natural slate matched for size, colour, thickness and coursing. On a partial repair we blend new-to-old so the patch disappears; on a full re-slate we lay in traditional diminishing courses just as the building was originally roofed.
Traditional stone chimneys are built to breathe — they take on and release moisture. Hard modern cement traps that damp inside the stone, causing it to crack, spall and decay, and it's much harder to reverse. Matched lime mortar flexes and breathes with the building, which is why it's both the conservation-correct and the longer-lasting choice.
Our CAA-certified pilot flies close-up over your roof — no scaffolding, no ladders, no disruption to the building or your neighbours. You get the actual footage plus a plain-English report and, for listed and conservation-area properties, a listing and consent assessment. It costs nothing and there's no obligation to book the work.
Fully. We carry £5m public liability and full employer's cover, our crew are working-at-height and CSCS certified, and every job — heritage or not — comes with a written 10-year workmanship guarantee. Certificates are available on request before we start.
Book a free, no-obligation drone survey with a listing and consent assessment built in. We'll send you the footage with a clear, fixed price — and handle the council so you don't have to. One repair. Lasting peace of mind.