January 2026
Glasgow’s West End is home to some of the finest red sandstone tenement architecture in Scotland. These buildings are much-loved, but their age and complexity means that maintaining them demands a breadth of specialist skills that goes well beyond standard roofing - from traditional slating and leadwork to stonework conservation, rainwater goods replacement, and the careful coordination required to work sensitively in a dense residential neighbourhood.
Roofing Advisors were appointed to deliver a comprehensive re-roofing and refurbishment programme at a mid-terraced red sandstone tenement on Caird Drive, a crescent street in the West End, bounded on either side by similar historic properties. The project ran from September 2024 through to January 2025, delivering a full restoration of the building envelope in line with planning consent and returning the tenement to a condition befitting its age and character.
Scope of Works
Our Contracting division delivered a wide-ranging package ofworks covering the full building envelope and communal areas:
Roof & Slating
Loft & Structural TimberWorks
Stonework & Façade
Rainwater Goods
Communal Areas & AncillaryWorks
A tight West End street
Caird Drive is a one-way crescent with no on-street parking available to contractors, set within one of Glasgow’s most densely populated residential neighbourhoods. Scaffolding erection, materials delivery and site logistics all required careful planning and close coordination with residents and the local authority to manage safely. Pedestrian protection was installedfrom the outset to protect residents and passers-by throughout the programme.
Stonework in poor condition
The front elevation stonework was found to be in asignificantly deteriorated state - with loose stonework, failed pointing, andmultiple layers of paint on the stone door surround. A programme of doff cleaning, pointing repairs, stone redressing and targeted stone indents was carried out to stabilise and restore the façade, with lead sheet applied tostringer courses and eaves for long-term weather protection.
Restoration to planning consent standard
Works were carried out in line with planning consent, with aclear brief to restore the building to its original character. This informed key material choices — including the retention and reuse of sound original Scotch slate, the specification of CUPA H3 slate to match, and the replacement of uPVC rainwater goods with cast iron to the rear. The result is a building that looks and performs as it was designed to, without compromising its historic integrity.
A Building Restored
The completed works have transformed the condition of the Caird Drive tenement - from roof to railings. The re-slated roof, renewedleadwork, repaired stonework and replacement cast iron rainwater goods have returned the building to a weather tight, well-presented condition in keeping with its age and the character of the surrounding neighbourhood.
The retention and reinstatement of the original Scotch slates wherever sound - supplemented by CUPA H3 slate where replacement was required -ensures the roof sits authentically within the streets cape, in full compliance with planning requirements.
This project delivered meaningful improvements to the day-to-day lives of the tenement’s residents. The new anchorage system on the roof ensures that any future maintenance can be carried out safely. In the loftspace, improved access walkways, a new roof ladder, made-safe water tanks and upgraded insulation all contribute to a safer, better-maintained building.
New loft insulation is expected to have a positive impact on residents’ energy bills which is a practical benefit that sits alongside the more visible improvements to the building’s exterior. Internally, the refreshed communal close — with redecorated walls, door and windows, and a rationalised communal TV aerial system — provides a noticeably improved shared environment for residents. Externally, the repaired garden wall and tidied grounds complete a building that residents can take pride in once more.
Caird Drive is a strong demonstration of Roofing Advisors’ ability to deliver complex, multi-trade tenement refurbishment projects within Glasgow’s historic built environment. Working on occupied residential properties in tight urban settings demands not only technical breadth — from slating and leadwork to stonework and communal electrical works — but the project management capability to coordinate it all sensitively and to programme.
Our Contracting division works regularly across Glasgow and the west of Scotland on tenement re-roofing, refurbishment and heritage restoration contracts, for private owners, factors, and public sector clients alike.
