arcs@talk21.com

Slating your roof to last for a long time as long as the older roofs you see all around, takes a lot of skill and experience that takes time to come by.
From ventilating the roof void to allow it to breathe to choosing the proper size battens for holding the slates in place or securing the slate’s with no rusting copper nails, these are the things that ensure the roof covering is still operating as it was when it was first made 30 years later and still not letting water through into your home.



The loft area in your roof is as important as the outside roof covering where the slates do the waterproofing the loft can be the place where warmth is kept in and the timbers are allowed to breathe properly or a place where condensation is harboured because of a lack of adequate ventilation. Only a really good roofing company that can judge the right slates and type of membrane and roof insulation for your home can properly gauge these requirements.




The spaces that the slates from the bottom of one slate to the bottom of the next slate is called the gauge. This is a very important measurement that if set out wrongly allows water to enter into the roof void via capillary attraction. The angle’s of roofs differ and the steeper the rafter’s the less gauge needed but if you lay the wrong gauge at less of an angle your new roof is no longer waterproof.



These slates were nailed properly onto the battens with alloy nails but look at the slates on the photo below which we had to re-roof because of the bad practise of a company that cut the slates with a hammer and got the gauge wrong causing the leak’s in this roof.



Slates come in lots of different sizes and types that can allow for your budget.Welsh slates the most sought after and expensive slate to Spanish or Chinese grade 1 slates at the lower end of the market.