Top video I'm a slate roofer in England and most buildings have slate roof covering mostly Welsh as it's the best but recently more imported like Spanish or Brazilian. Brazilian are a bastard to work with but once on look amazing 👍
Also from the UK- halfway through a roof now using reclaimed Welsh slate- never used slates before and finding it really hard to work with. None on the RUclips videos really explain the details of how to do it. Every slate is different and it’s hard to get the lying evenly without kicking up the next one- the battens we used also have a 5mm variation in thickness which doesn’t help. Difficult job!
@@mintymintygogo you have to grade every slate into thicknesses , thick, medium, and thin, start with the thickest at the bottom then mediums in the middle and thin at the top then they lay evenly and flat and dont kick up also you may have to grind of a lump or bump to make them not kick up use a small bit of batten to place on the slate and see if it can Sit on the batten above without kicking up that's how you can find what we call break or brek
thanks for your help- I have noticed the slate does vary in thickness- we are moving across the roof diagonally so we can stand on the battens to work so grading them seems pointless. Surely that’s only useful if the slates are being put on in rows
@@master_Blaster91really appreciate this input- thank you- certainly will be doing what you suggest next time we use slates; this time we are already over halfway across on both sides so probably too late to start grading now. Very skilled job to do it right!
Personally, for the price, it's hard to beat a high quality asphalt shingle roof compared to the costs of some of the others. I also really like standing seamed roofs that are mechanically seamed. Just like with all products, the proper installation is the most important.
We got asked by our customer to install natural slates on a roof we just built- never done it before so watched lots of RUclips videos but none of them really explain the details of how to do it. We have been really struggling how to work it out!
No! Unfortunately, I would strongly suggest calling a professional that works on slate to take a look. Slate can be very fragile if a heavy load (like a human foot) is on it, especially of that age.
Get a cat ladder up to the chimney add lead flashings if needed but old chimneys can absorb water over time and can be a nightmare to fix leaks on chimneys
Being someone in pittsburg and use to soft pitt slate. You are wrong with climate strong. Thats a big ol wrong. If water gets under a tile and wind blows it up. Then it freezes it will crack and cause tiles to drop. I get way more tile replacement calls in the winter and also in heavy rain storms. I also find ice guards assist in tiles cracking and also finding ice guards coming down to from old copper nails. Im sure you much bigger of a company and dont do much repairs and more new installer. Hope i taught you somthing! *Also id like to see a video finally explaining the safe way to walk a slate roof. If u step on a single tile that is damaged by the nails. Ur going for a ride. So step on these roofs 1 foot 2 tiles. Never put 1 foot on 1 tile. Walk the valleys. Peaks. Or step on the seems between tiles pant 1 foot on 2 tiles. Giving you a much better chance to not slip n slide to ur death. Majority of slate roofs are not walkable anyways
Thank you for time stamping the video!!!!
Top video I'm a slate roofer in England and most buildings have slate roof covering mostly Welsh as it's the best but recently more imported like Spanish or Brazilian. Brazilian are a bastard to work with but once on look amazing 👍
Also from the UK- halfway through a roof now using reclaimed Welsh slate- never used slates before and finding it really hard to work with. None on the RUclips videos really explain the details of how to do it. Every slate is different and it’s hard to get the lying evenly without kicking up the next one- the battens we used also have a 5mm variation in thickness which doesn’t help. Difficult job!
@@mintymintygogo you have to grade every slate into thicknesses , thick, medium, and thin, start with the thickest at the bottom then mediums in the middle and thin at the top then they lay evenly and flat and dont kick up also you may have to grind of a lump or bump to make them not kick up use a small bit of batten to place on the slate and see if it can Sit on the batten above without kicking up that's how you can find what we call break or brek
thanks for your help- I have noticed the slate does vary in thickness- we are moving across the roof diagonally so we can stand on the battens to work so grading them seems pointless. Surely that’s only useful if the slates are being put on in rows
@@mintymintygogo you still grade them the. Stack them on the battens up the roof or work from above on the battens a course or two at a time.
@@master_Blaster91really appreciate this input- thank you- certainly will be doing what you suggest next time we use slates; this time we are already over halfway across on both sides so probably too late to start grading now. Very skilled job to do it right!
Beautiful work! Thanks for the great explanations and the pros/cons.
Only question I have is; what roof would you put on your OWN house?
Personally, for the price, it's hard to beat a high quality asphalt shingle roof compared to the costs of some of the others. I also really like standing seamed roofs that are mechanically seamed. Just like with all products, the proper installation is the most important.
Great video!
Thanks!
We got asked by our customer to install natural slates on a roof we just built- never done it before so watched lots of RUclips videos but none of them really explain the details of how to do it. We have been really struggling how to work it out!
There's books on the subject look up:
The Slate Roof Bible: Understanding, Installing and Restoring the World's Finest Roof
I am buying a 120-year-old house with a slate roof. There is water intrusion around the chimney. What is a safe way to walk on a slate roof?
Uneed a catwalk for roof
No! Unfortunately, I would strongly suggest calling a professional that works on slate to take a look. Slate can be very fragile if a heavy load (like a human foot) is on it, especially of that age.
@@robertmasters4004 that’s a bit extreme
Get a cat ladder up to the chimney add lead flashings if needed but old chimneys can absorb water over time and can be a nightmare to fix leaks on chimneys
We use a hook ladder or a lift.
Thanx for information, sir, great work! More info about slate roofs in my channel, welcome. @ROOFSQUAD
Being someone in pittsburg and use to soft pitt slate. You are wrong with climate strong. Thats a big ol wrong. If water gets under a tile and wind blows it up. Then it freezes it will crack and cause tiles to drop. I get way more tile replacement calls in the winter and also in heavy rain storms. I also find ice guards assist in tiles cracking and also finding ice guards coming down to from old copper nails. Im sure you much bigger of a company and dont do much repairs and more new installer. Hope i taught you somthing! *Also id like to see a video finally explaining the safe way to walk a slate roof. If u step on a single tile that is damaged by the nails. Ur going for a ride. So step on these roofs 1 foot 2 tiles. Never put 1 foot on 1 tile. Walk the valleys. Peaks. Or step on the seems between tiles pant 1 foot on 2 tiles. Giving you a much better chance to not slip n slide to ur death. Majority of slate roofs are not walkable anyways