Victorian house re-roof with clay ridge and finial

A Victorian house with bay gables and ornate bargeboards was re-roofed in grey slate with a red clay ridge. The decorative finial on the gable and the carved bargeboards were kept, so the house keeps its period character with a new, watertight roof.

Keeping period details

On a Victorian house the roof details are part of the character: clay ridges, finials, and carved bargeboards. A re-roof should keep those features where they are sound rather than replace everything with plain modern trims.

Here the finial and bargeboards stayed, the clay ridge was carried along each roof, and the new slates give a clean, even finish.

Bay gables and small roofs

Bay gables have short slopes, tight valleys and awkward access, so they take more time per square metre than a main roof. They are also where many period houses leak first, because water runs off the main roof onto the smaller one below.

Re-roofing the bays with the main roof means every junction is renewed at the same time.