Roofer in Ammanford, undefined

Ammanford sits at the foot of the Black Mountain in the old anthracite coalfield, and its roofs are mostly long, straight miners' terraces of slate with rear valleys and tall chimney stacks.

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Anthracite-era Ammanford

Ammanford is in the Amman Valley in Carmarthenshire, SA18, on the A474 and A483, and grew almost entirely between the 1880s and the 1920s around anthracite mining.

The Black Mountain and the western edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park rise immediately to the north-east, which means colder winters and heavier, more persistent rain than the coast.

Neighbouring Betws, Tycroes, Glanaman, Garnant and Brynamman share the same terrace pattern and the same building period.

The Amman Valley pattern

Slate on original iron nails is at the end of its fixing life across large parts of the town, so slipped slates come in runs.
Tall stacks built for coal fires often now serve nothing and are the single most common source of leaks once the flashing and haunching go.
Colder nights up towards the mountain mean more freeze-thaw damage to ridge mortar and to already-cracked slates.

Is it worth removing a chimney we no longer use?

If it serves nothing and the stack is in poor condition, taking it down to below roof level and tiling over is often cheaper than rebuilding and re-flashing it, and it removes a recurring leak point.

Do you work throughout the Amman Valley?

Yes, Ammanford, Betws, Tycroes, Penybanc, Glanaman, Garnant, Brynamman, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Cwmgors.

Why do several slates slip at once?

Because they were all nailed at the same time with the same iron nails. When the nails corrode through, whole runs let go together, which is called nail sickness.

In Ammanford the age of the fixings, not the age of the slate, usually decides whether a roof is repairable.