Three generations of one trade.
Founded in 1972. Still independent. Still on the roof every day.
atelier.about.story.title
Founded in 1972. Still independent. Still on the roof every day.
he atelier began in a single van in the spring of 1972 — a father, a son, a ladder, and a stack of Welsh slate. Five decades later, the van is now a workshop, the son now the foreman, and his daughter the surveyor. The slate is still Welsh.
We have not grown for the sake of growing. Our crew is twelve. We take fewer commissions than we are offered. We refuse work we cannot do well. The buildings we lay roofs on are buildings we expect to outlive us.
Every member of the crew is on the roof at least three days a week. Including the foreman. Including, on occasion, the founder.
Fifty-two years, in numbers.
We specify by climate, not by margin.
A roof is a fifty-year decision. The cheaper material is rarely the right one. We will quote you the slate that suits the building, the pitch, the climate, and the listed-building consent — not the slate that gives us the largest margin.
We do not lay cedar shake under twelve inches of pitch. We do not flash chimneys in plastic.
If you want a cheaper roof than the one we propose, we will tell you who to call. There are good roofers who will do it. We will not.