Fixing Loose Roof Slates

When removing slates from old roofs quite often the slating lath or batten has become dry and brittle over time this makes it very easy to break when using a slate ripper to pull a slate out or chop the nails fixing the slates.

Fixing loose roof slates.

If 10 or more tiles per slope are damaged or missing the roof is likely to be nearing the end of its useful life and will need stripping and re covering. If you ve got a cracked or missing roof slate rain water will get in and could cause considerable damage. If you have successfully removed the grout around the tile you should be able to easily lift it up. If the tile or paver is already cracked or chipped it may be easier to break it up and remove it in smaller pieces.

First identify the damaged or loose piece of slate on your slate walkway. In the loft there may be damp smells and localised staining from water ingress. Carefully raise the slates in the row. With slate roofs look for similar numbers of loose slates that have been refixed with small metal tingles.

If the exposure is ten inches the slates should be twenty three inches. Slide the slate. Make a hole in one end of the tingle to take a fixing nail and secure the tingle through the gap between the two slates. There are usually two nails.

From a thin 25mm 1 inch wide strip of lead or copper make a tingle to hold the replacement slate in place. How to replace missing slate on roof. How to replace damaged or lost roofing slates using the copper tab method cut the concealed nails holding the damaged slate in place. You ll need to replace the broken slate.