Roofers in Rathmines

Victorian Dublin 6: terraces, villas and butterfly roofs

Rathmines, Ranelagh and Rathgar grew up as Victorian suburbs, and most of Dublin 6 is still red-brick and stucco from the second half of the nineteenth century. Ranelagh has long terraces and small artisan cottages, Rathmines has larger terraced houses, many of them over a garden level, and Rathgar is known for its bigger semi-detached and detached villas. Almost all of them were roofed in natural Welsh slate.

A lot of the terraces have butterfly roofs, also called valley or M roofs, where two slopes fall inwards to a gutter running front to back down the middle of the house. From the street you see only a flat parapet wall. The rain from both slopes collects in that central valley and runs to a hopper at the back, so a split lead lining or a blockage of leaves there sends water into the top-floor ceiling without anyone seeing it happen from outside.

Flats, landlords and shared roofs

Many of the big houses in Rathmines and Ranelagh were divided into flats during the twentieth century, and plenty still are. That changes who looks after the roof. The person living on the top floor usually finds the leak first, but the roof belongs to a landlord or is shared through a management company, and nobody may have been up to the valley gutter in years.

We carry out roof and gutter work for landlords, property managers and management companies as well as owner-occupiers, and we explain what we found so it can be passed on to everyone with a share in the roof.

Protected structures and conservation areas in Dublin 6

Dublin 6 has a high concentration of protected structures. Most of its period roads are zoned as residential conservation areas in the Dublin City Development Plan, and a few streets in Ranelagh, such as Ranelagh Avenue and Dartmouth Square, are Architectural Conservation Areas. Repairs that keep the roof as it was, such as matching natural slate and renewing lead in the same position, are normally fine. Replacing natural slate with another covering, or altering chimneys, parapets or the original gutters, can need permission, so check with Dublin City Council first.

Chimneys deserve attention here too. Many of these houses carry tall stacks with several pots shared between neighbours, and cracked flaunching, failed flashing and loose pots are common leak points after more than a century of weather. Our guide to what causes roof leaks explains how to tell a chimney leak from the others.

Roofing work in Rathmines, Ranelagh and Rathgar

We cover all of Dublin 6 and the neighbouring roads in Dublin 6W, supplying and fitting all materials.

• Slate roof repairs, including slipped slates, chimney flashings and the lead valleys of butterfly roofs.
• Downpipe unblocking and gutter clearing for central valley, parapet and rear gutters, where leaves and silt build up out of sight.
• Gutter repairs to rear hoppers, downpipes and uPVC runs.
• Flat roof repairs on rear returns, mews buildings and kitchen extensions, using felt and torch-on systems.
• Urgent leak repairs, 24/7 on 085 172 1435, when a storm lifts slates or water comes through a top-floor ceiling.

Beside Rathmines

Rathmines is part of the area we cover south of the river, which our roofers in South Dublin page describes. Next door, our roofers in Terenure page covers the red-brick of Dublin 6W, and our pages for roofers in Rathfarnham and roofers in Dundrum cover the suburbs further south. Our Dublin 12 roofers page covers Crumlin, Kimmage and Walkinstown to the west. North of the Liffey, Glasnevin has period roofs much like these.

Recent work near you

Photos from our own jobs in Rathmines. See more on our roofing work page.

More answers on our roofing FAQs page.

Related

• Roofers in South Dublin
• Roofers in Terenure
• Roofers in Rathfarnham
• Roof repairs
• Gutter cleaning
• What causes roof leaks in Irish homes
• Roofers in Dublin 12