Common Slate Roofing Installation Mistakes

I love slate roofs but it is one thing that people can screwup on. Slate roof installation or renovation isn’t your average DIY job. You need to have the right skills, knowledge and tools to do it properly, in order to make sure the roof is going to be durable and waterproof. Here are the four most common mistakes people do when installing or renovating their roofing.

1. Poor Flashing Installation

Flashing needs replacements more frequently than the roof itself. In order to reach it, you need to remove the individual slate tiles, install the new flashing, and put the tiles back in their right positions. When the slate isn’t properly installed, it may lead to broken slate tiles. The consequence will be a leaking roof.

2. Cracked Slate Tiles

Some slate tiles and more vulnerable than others. Eventually, they are all prone to breaking. This is why you have to avoid walking on your slate roof during installation or maintenance and repair works.
A damage to a slate roof may not be obvious right off the bat, but will cause a lot of hassle a few years later, when your roof is going to suffer water damage.
Prevent such situations by using scaffolding and hook ladders to get to the roof.
If walking on the roof is a must, the professional slate tradesperson will know the correct way to do it without affecting the slates.

3. Motley Or Stained Roof Colour

Your slate roof tiles may have slight differences in colour from one pallet to the other, even though, in theory, they should be similar. This happens quite often in case of low quality suppliers.
Homeowners who lack experience can’t notice such issues. On the contrary, a slate roof specialist will know how to blend the tiles in a way that’s esthetically appealing even when such colour differences exist.
There are some slate types that develop rust-like stains over time. This is something you should discuss with your slate roofing specialist before buying them.
It would be a shame to have to replace your roof at some point in time only because you don’t like its colour anymore.

4. Wrong Headlap Positioning

Headlap is a technical term describing how the head of the slate tile is overlapped by the adjacent courses of slate tiles.
When the headlap is correct, water can’t enter your house. The standard headlap is three inches, but this value may vary with the roof pitch and the

specific climate conditions in your area. This is why you need help from a professional slate tradesperson in order to avoid water damage and leaking roofing.

This is a slate roof done properly by Gerard at slateroofingsydney.com.au