Slate Roofs And Slate Roof Tools
Slate roofs are durable, beautiful to look at and long lasting. They have been around for many years and have proven to be efficient roof coverings for many homes and businesses. Installing a new slate roof requires specific slate roof tools in order to make the job easier. Knowing what these tools are will help you get the roof that you want.
When brand-new slate roofing is installed, only 1 ½ inch long copper roofing nails should be used. If by some chance you are installing used or vintage slate, galvanized or stainless steel nails will work just as well as copper nails. For example, there are some old colonial homes in America that have slate roofs secured by galvanized nails (hot dipped) and the nails are still holding up well. Just make sure that you absolutely do not use electro-galvanized nails on your slate roof because they won’t last near long, maybe less than 20 years. They will deteriorate far sooner than your slate roof!
When installing your slate roof, make sure that you use the appropriate head lap. This is the overlapping that each slate piece has with the two slates below it. Basically, it should be about 3 inches but can vary depending on the roof’s sloop.
Make sure that you have researched and bought the right tools to get the job done efficiently. You’ll need such things as slate cutters, ladder hooks, roof jacks and sturdy hammers. Other tools that will come in handy are slate rippers and special slate hammers. Also, make sure that you buy good aluminum flashing to put around chimneys and in valleys. You can choose from lead coated copper, stainless steel, regular copper, terne coated stainless and other materials for your flashing. Any of these materials will work just fine with slate roofing.
A slate roof is a lovely addition to your home and having the right slate roof tools will make it even better. Some of these same tools will help you keep your roof well maintained for many years. The value of your home will do nothing but increase simply because you choose to have a slate roof put on top of it!
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