Scottish Slate Roof

Scottish slate is a long lasting roofing material and although slate roofs have a finite life a lifespan of up to or beyond 100 years is quite common.

Scottish slate roof.

So you have roofing slates for sale. Supplied by siga slate in conjunction with welsh slate a new welsh blue grey slate siga 120 is being quarried to replicate the diminishing courses on the traditional scottish roof. Often the financial aspects of installing a new roof or repairing your existing roof are so overwhelming that a healthy roof may seem like an impossible goal. It is particularly well known for its use as a roof covering on many traditional scottish buildings.

Roof repair or replacement is a costly endeavor. Overview the roof covering is a building s first line of defence against the weather. If you want to add to your roof but it does not meet the conditions for permitted development you have to apply. Slate has been used for this purpose for centuries.

The slates are eased to the side allowing a new slate to be inserted and re nailed. Many slate roofs have lasted over 100 years and they are still holding strong. These include features such as diminishing courses random lengths and widths of slate single nailing and laying onto sarking board rather than battens figure 1. It s wise to inspect slate roofs regularly to spot potential problems as soon as they appear.

Repairing a slate roof annual roof checks can prevent more major repairs and should include checks of slating flashings and gutters. You tore down a building and salvaged the slates. Typically a scottish practice the roofing underlay is laid directly over a series of sarking boards fixed to the roof rafters with the roof slates nailed directly to the sarking boards. In any case you now have a pile of good salvaged roofing slates that you want to sell.

Or you tore off a perfectly good slate roof because a roofing contractor talked you into it. Well here s a bit of advice when you call a company that buys salvaged. Scottish slate roofs have a number of characteristics which make them well suited to both the local climate and the nature of the material produced by slate quarries in scotland. Cwt y bugail quarry is currently producing a range of sizes varying in length from 400mm down to 300mm at 25mm intervals and in random widths.

However you don t have to feel overwhelmed or alone. Scottish slate has a well earned reputation as a long lasting material. Existing slated roofs can usually be repaired fairly easily provided the slates have been head nailed.