Temporary Repair for Slate Roofs
RoofAPedia ©
- How to make temporary repairs for leaky slate roofs
- How to inspect, evaluate & repair slate roofs - the basics
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This is a detailed article describing procedures for evaluating the condition of slate roofing.
How to inspect, identify defects, and estimate remaining life of slate roofs are addressed.
The article also references slate repair procedures, repair slate sources, and slate quarries.
We also provide slate sources and where to buy slate roofing materials and slate roofing tools and products.
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Holding actions for older, damaged, or leaky slate roofs
If a client cannot afford to replace a slate roof a wiser course may
be to do nothing in the short run, other than to trap small leaks in an attic, or to tar leaky
areas.
Although these steps are not preferred, they are often better than
abandoning what may be a valuable roof of predominantly durable slates.
Tarring leak areas in a slate roof is a very unpleasant and ugly holding
action. However if a roof may be salvaged by deferring a proper repair
for a short time we'd probably tolerate this step.
Advising clients
that the only option is to complete a very expensive slate repair
immediately is likely to result in an asphalt roof-over which may,
in the long run, be a worse crime. This is clearly a matter of opinion.
Where the slates are good but fasteners are failing, some roofers
may be willing to remove, salvage, and reinstall slates. Slates which
are less than 1/4" thick should be discarded. The increase in labor
costs for this procedure makes this "re-roofing" process expensive.
Some slate companies suggest
that this procedure might be selected as a continuing
repair/maintenance process so that over a decade of maintenance the
roof has been totally replaced.
It's likely that the total labor bill
for a drawn-out project will be larger than the costs of an all-at-once
repair. However this approach permits spreading out a large investment
over a longer and less painful period. -- Personal communication, Vermont Structural
Slate, December 1990
ASHI ethical guidelines require inspectors to have no financial connection
with work performed on buildings they inspect. But where further evaluation
and/or repair advice is needed it is perfectly proper, and in our
opinion advisable, to refer clients to experienced, qualified slate
roofers just as you would to an expert in another field for other
concerns.
For slate roofs, refer clients only to roofers who have experience
with slate materials. While we'd prefer to refer a client to three
reputable experts, if we could locate only one in our area, by our
opinion of what's most sensible, we'd refer to that one.
Contractors
who are not familiar with slate and confronted by a leak in a valley
or in an area of limited mechanical damage, may sell a complete re-roofing
job to an anxious owner.
Similarly, improper repairs or traffic on a roof with fragile fasteners
or slates, may cause much more new damage than was present before.
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