What You Need to Know About Slate Roofing Installation

What You Need to Know About Slate Roofing Installation

Slate roofs are known for their beauty, durability, quality, and long life. When properly installed and maintained, this material can last for more than a century. However, its installation process isn’t as easy as other roofing options. 

Here are things you should know about the installation of slate roofs. 

Where It Originated

Aside from the color, cost, and manufacturer, you need to know where the slate came from. You must find out the location and quarry. Make sure that the material has warranty coverage of at least 75 years. In the warranty, it should state that if the material develops pyrite stains or rust-colored streaks, the manufacturer should cover for the replacement of your roof. You can visit the website of the Slate Roofing Contractors Association for a list of reliable manufacturers and querries.  

Sidelap and Headlap

It’s essential to know the amount that slates overlap to ensure water doesn’t infiltrate your home. Skilled contractors place chalk lines on the underlayment to make sure that the tiles sufficiently overlap. Slate tiles should overlap by at more than three inches on the sides. For roofing systems with a pitch of at least inches in height for every 12 inches in width, at least three inches of headlap is needed. 

Metal Consistency

The most common metal used in slate roofs is copper but there are more cost-effective alternatives like stainless steel. No matter what metal your roofer uses for the installation, they must be consistent to prevent galvanic corrosion. This applies to flashing, ridges, nails, valleys, drip edges, gutters, and downspouts.  When incompatible metals come in contact, they will “eat” each other over time. It’s one reason metal parts of a slate roof tend to fail earlier than the roofing material itself. 

Krech Exteriors is one of the area’s best roofing repair contractors. Call us at  (651) 688-6368 or fill out our contact form to request a free estimate. We work with homeowners in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

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