Fixing Loose Roof Slates

There are usually two nails.

Fixing loose roof slates. First identify the damaged or loose piece of slate on your slate walkway. With slate roofs look for similar numbers of loose slates that have been refixed with small metal tingles. If the exposure is ten inches the slates should be twenty three inches. Sometimes you may find the slate is not damaged and has simply slid out of place probably caused by corrosion on the securing nail the tricky thing is due to the way slates are laid on a roof.

When removing slates from old roofs quite often the slating lath or batten has become dry and brittle over time this makes it very easy to break when using a slate ripper to pull a slate out or chop the nails fixing the slates. From a thin 25mm 1 inch wide strip of lead or copper make a tingle to hold the replacement slate in place. You ll need to replace the broken slate. Make a hole in one end of the tingle to take a fixing nail and secure the tingle through the gap between the two slates.

If 10 or more tiles per slope are damaged or missing the roof is likely to be nearing the end of its useful life and will need stripping and re covering. Carefully raise the slates in the row. See my website link below for more roofing help http www fixmyroof co uk videos and guides pitched roof repair a slate roof this video shows not only how. Acquire the properly sized replacement slate.

If you ve got a cracked or missing roof slate rain water will get in and could cause considerable damage. How to replace damaged or lost roofing slates using the copper tab method cut the concealed nails holding the damaged slate in place. How to replace missing slate on roof. If the tile or paver is already cracked or chipped it may be easier to break it up and remove it in smaller pieces.