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CERTIFICATIONS for ROOFING CONTRACTORS CHOOSING A ROOFING CONTRACTOR ASBESTOS CEMENT & FIBER CEMENT ROOFING ASPHALT ROOF SHINGLES BUILT UP ROOFS CERTIFICATIONS for ROOFING CONTRACTORS CHIMNEY INSPECTION & REPAIRS CHOOSING A ROOFING CONTRACTOR CLAY TILE ROOFING CONCRETE ROOFING CORRUGATED ROOFING ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS FIRE RETARDANT PLYWOOD FLAT ROOF MOISTURE & CONDENSATION HEAT TAPES & CABLES on Roofs for Ice Dams LOW SLOPE ROOFING MATERIALS MASONITE WOODRUF FIBERBOARD ROOFING MEMBRANE & SINGLE PLY ROOFS METAL ROOFING TYPES MODIFIED BITUMEN ROOFING ROOF INSPECTION SAFETY & LIMITS ROOF VENTILATION SPECIFICATIONS ROOF VENTING ENERGY SAVING DETAILS SLATE ROOF INSPECTION & REPAIR How to Inspect & Repair Types of Roofing Slate Slate Colors, Chemistry Slate Roof Aging and Durability Ribbon Slates Slate Roof Installation Quality Other factors in Condition Slate Roof Repair history Slate Roof Leaks Slate Holding actions How to Repair Slate Roofs Copper Tab Method Slate Hook Method SLATE ROOF PHOTO LIBRARY Slate References Slate Sources, Repairs SLATE ROOF INSPECTION CLASS SOD ROOFING SIDING WOOD STAIN DIAGNOSIS on Building Exteriors STAIN DIAGNOSIS on Roofs STANDARDS for ROOFING STONE ROOFING THATCH ROOFING THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS THERMAL MASS in UPSTAIRS TILE ROOFING WARRANTIES for ROOF SHINGLES WOOD SHAKE & SHINGLE ROOFING WORKMANSHIP & WIND DAMAGE More Information InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
Here we discuss several holding actions to try to preserve slate roofs by making temporary repairs until proper slate roof repairs can be ordered. This series of detailed slate roof inspection and repair articles describes procedures for evaluating the condition of slate roofing. How to inspect, identify defects, and estimate remaining life of slate roofs are addressed. The article series also references slate repair procedures, repair slate sources, and slate quarries. Our page top photo shows a slate roof in Port Jervis, NY. This roof was coated throughout all of its surface in an attempt to slow roof wear and leaks. We also provide slate sources and where to buy slate roofing materials and slate roofing tools and products. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Website Topics. Green links at left show where you are in our document & website. Holding actions for older, damaged, or leaky slate roofsIf 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. 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. What went wrong on the slate roof in our photo at left? Often the metal flashing has worn out and is leaking while the slates are still good on a roof - that's what happened at the valley of the roof dormer shown in the left side of our photo. As a holding action the repairman tarred the roof valley over the dormer - which might have worked, but it looks as if during access to apply the tar the repairman walked on and broke and loosened slates in the area just below the valley. You can also see tar running out from below some of the slates just under the valley, showing us the sequence of repairs. Five slates were replaced (notice the dark gray slates?). But the slate nails may also be failing on this roof - which could explainwhy there are loose, falling, and missing slates in the area of the "repair". 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. ... Technical Reviewers & References
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06/30/2009 - InspectAPedia.com/roof/SlateRoofsATJ10.htm - © 2009 - 1988 Copyright Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved - InspectAPedia® is a Registered U.S. Trademark