Slate Roofs Are Easily Restored

Restore your slate roof to its former glory with Professional Roof Restoration Services in Vermont .  Slate roofs are beautiful to look at, ...

Restore your slate roof to its former glory with Professional Roof Restoration Services in Vermont.  Slate roofs are beautiful to look at, and even better, they are known for being highly durable. A well laid slate roof can remain entirely watertight for 80-100 years, and in some cases several hundred years.

That being said, after this period a slate roof will need some attention to ensure it is still at a peak standard. In other instances, severe conditions may have cracked or otherwise damaged several tiles prematurely. Slate is normally either hooked onto the roof or nailed onto timber. Both of these methods rely on a small piece of metal to suspend a heavy piece of rock, and so should this fail then the roof shelter will be compromised. Nailing is probably the most common method, however drilling a small hole in the slate introduces an area of weakness. Any bumps or knocks will likely cause a crack around the nail, which could in turn cause the entire tile to drop. Hook fixing is also more resilient in times of extreme wind, as the bottom of the tile is secured and less likely to be prone to uplift.



A key problem that homeowners have with nailed slate tiles is that in order to support the nail, the tiles cannot be as narrow as they could be if they were simply hooked on. On traditional sloped roofs this is not such a problem, but when curved features such as domes or turrets are introduced, then the broad tiles can make the shape look clunky rather than smooth. One of the downsides of hooks is that they are slightly visible, and so either for aesthetic or heritage reasons, may not be suitable. During your slate roof restoration, determining whether you have nailed or hook fixed tiles will be the first question to answer.

Generally, slate ages very well. The natural hues in the rock, whether they are blue, purple or green, weather nicely to create character and charm in your home aesthetic. Slate has a very distinct grain, which makes it easy to split into thin tiles. It also has the added benefit of making it rather rare for chips to break off across the tile, as this is against the grain. What is far more common is cracking. This is a job easily fixed for any experienced slater.

Slate is a fantastic roofing material, because of its many properties.  It has the lowest embodied energy of all roofing materials and has a water absorption index of 0.4% which is incredibly low, and therefore the material is waterproof. Though not such an issue here in Australia, slate is also resistant to frost damage because of this low absorption rate. On top of this, slate is also heavily fire resistant and energy efficient. The neatly adhered rock keeps water out and air in, and is far superior in this manner to metal roofing.

Because slate roofs require so little attention over their extensive lifespan, it is common for residents to overlook their slate roof entirely, even when it does need fixing. A quick check every few years, particularly after a violent storm or if anything has hit the roof, is plenty. A restoration team will assess the roof, repair any spot jobs before commencing a thorough clean and applying protective chemical treatments. While this rock ages nicely, there is nothing that compares to a freshly cleaned surface. A restoration will take care of both aesthetic and functional weaknesses of your home. Get in touch with Coghlan Roofing  to learn more about our Impressive Roof Restoration Work in Vermont.