SLATE IS AVAILABLE IN SEVERAL THICKNESSES DEPENDING ON THE SUPPLIER. The weight is based on the pounds per square. One roofing square covers 100 square feet. The most common thickness is 1/4” to 3/8”.
Roofing slate is actively produced from high quality North American quarries located in Vermont, New York, Virginia and Quebec, Canada
Natural roofing slates are classified based on their weathering characteristics. Please note that a semi-weathering slate is not inferior to an unfading one, the weathering characteristics of a slate has to do with its chemical and mineral composition. The price may vary slightly depending on the color, size and availability. The most expensive roofing slate is an unfading red due to its limited availability and production.
Traditionally, a slate roof will have #30 (thirty-pound) asphalt saturated organic felt unperforated roof underlayment. Required by many building codes, a slate roof’s underlayment serves many purposes and application may vary depending on thicknesses of slate, weather conditions of the area and size of slate. Order an extra 10% of underlayment to account for overlaps and waste. Underlayment is sold by squares similar to roofing slate. A 3’ x 72’ roll will cover 216 square feet which would cover 2.16 squares. You can SEE MORE OF THE SLATE ROOF UNDERLAYMENT PROCESS HERE.
Natural slate roofing has been used for hundreds of years and can last well beyond 100 years when installed properly using an ASTM S-1 rated roofing slate. Not only are they durable and long lasting, but they are also non-combustible (fireproof), unaffected by freeze/thaw cycles, environmentally safe, and can be made up of an assortment of colors with unfading and weathering characteristics.
You will need a slate hammer and slate ripper. A slate ripper weighs 3 lbs and is made of carbon steel, including the handle it is 30.5” long. Once you have identified the piece of slate to be removed, slide the ripper under the slate tile. You may need to hit the ripper’s handle to reach the nails to be cut with the hook at the top of the ripper. Once the nails are cut, you will then be able to slide the slate out. Check out 3 TOOLS YOU SHOULD INVEST IN WHEN INSTALLING AND MAINTAINING A SLATE ROOF
The Glendyne quarry that produces our North Country Unfading Black slate uses diamond wire, which is threaded onto a continuous wire loop that is passed round the area of slate to be extracted. Once the block has been wire sawn it is extracted from the rock face using a hydraulic pecker which is split into more manageable sizes. These blocks which can weigh over 5 tonnes are transported to the mill where they are marked by a trained quarry expert who determines the best potential size to be produced. The marked block then goes through the primary and secondary sawing department which cuts the block into more manageable slabs. The slabs then move onto the splitting department where they are split into approximately eight 1 ½’ thicknesses. The slates are then trimmed to the desired final size and the trimming machine removes the sawn edges and creates the bevelled edges. The final stage, the slate goes thru is grading and packing to ensure high quality controls. YOU CAN SEE MORE ABOUT HOW SLATE ROOFING IS MADE HERE.
Slate roof tiles are holed with two nail holes, located approximately 1/3 of the way down from the top of the slate and 1 ¼” – 1 ½’ in from each side. They are attached with copper nails (10 gauge) and typically smooth shank in the event they need to be repaired it’s easier to cut with a slate ripper. The required length of the nail will be twice the slate’s thickness plus an inch. You can READ MORE ABOUT NAILS USED ON A SLATE ROOF HERE.
ABSOLUTELY YOU CAN REPAIR A SLATE ROOF! Sometimes a slate roof can be damaged by stress cracks, over nailing, foot traffic, fallen tree limbs and inclement weather. A slate roof can last 100 plus years so when a few pieces or a section of the roof is damaged, it’s worth repairing. More importantly, finding an experienced contractor will ensure the repair is done properly and not repaired with a roofing cement which doesn’t last and makes future repairs difficult. An experienced slate roofer will be able to match the existing color, and identify the size and thickness. The rule of thumb is if 20-30% of the slates are damaged, it’s better to replace the entire roof. CONTACT US for an experienced slate roof specialist in your area.
