22/05/2026
Before & After: Fixing a 2-Year-Old Structural Nightmare in Wilmslow ⚒️
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this story will make your jaw drop. We were recently called out to this slate refurbishment project in Wilmslow, where the roof and entire timber framework were only 2 years old.
Despite being practically brand new, the roof was suffering from severe active leaks and total structural failure. Once we stripped it back, we uncovered a complete nightmare left behind by the previous builders.
📸 Swipe through the photos to see how we saved this property:
🔹 The "Before" Structural Failures: > * Floating Rafters: The structural roof rafters were completely floating—they weren't even sitting on the wall plate, leaving the roof unstable.
Total Misalignment: The hip rafters were set out completely wrong, sitting at an entirely different level to the neighbor's property. None of the hip and ridge rafters aligned, making it physically impossible to install standard ridge tiles correctly.
Wrong Materials: The previous builders had used cheap, non-breather felt and standard Spanish slates that completely mismatched the heritage character of the building.
🔹 The "After" Rectification: > * Structural Re-Engineering: We cut back the floating rafters and packed them out using heavy-duty D30 structural oak packers to gain full stability and tie the roof securely back to the wall plate.
Bespoke Lead Work: Because the hip and ridge rafters could not be traditionally aligned, we engineered a bespoke solution using traditional lead mop rolls with premium Calder Lead. This traditional method allowed us to follow the building's natural lines while allowing the lead to expand and contract naturally without cracking.
Heritage Slate & Ventilation: We stripped away the non-breather felt and upgraded the property to a high-performance Roofshield air-permeable membrane combined with vented soffits for flawless airflow. Finally, we completely restored the roof using premium reclaimed Welsh slates—exactly what should have been installed from day one.
Finished out with heavy-duty Marley JB red battens, this home goes from a 2-year-old structural liability to a rock-solid, heritage masterpiece built to stand for the next 50+ years.
A massive thank you to the homeowners for trusting the Elliott Roofing team to pull them out of a nightmare and rebuild their home properly.
Remember: Age doesn't guarantee quality—craftsmanship does. If you want a roof that is structurally sound and built to last, give us a shout.
📞 0161 706 1984
