Characteristics of slate as a material for roofing
There are four main types of slate: natural, asbestos, metal and soft, but the most widespread is asbestos. Although some make a lot of noise about the toxicity of the main component of this material, it does not lose its popularity.
The advantages of slate can be attributed to its cheapness, durability, anti-corrosion, good electrical and noise insulation properties, fire resistance, ease when replacing damaged sheets. Roof from slate almost does not heat up in the open sun. The leaves are quite fragile, but they can easily withstand the weight of a thick layer of snow.
Among the shortcomings is worth noting its relatively large weight. This greatly complicates its installation. Slate contains asbestos, which is very harmful to humans. Over time, the canopy from the slate is covered with moss, but this can be easily eliminated by applying special primers. Due to its fragility requires careful transportation and installation.
Preparing for the installation of roofing from the slate
To calculate the slate on the roof, you need to know the roof area. For this, the height of the skates should be multiplied by their length. The resulting area needs to be divided into the area of one sheet, add 10% of the stock - this will be the required number of sheets.
Roof roofing with slate has distinctive features. If some sheets need to be cut during installation, personal protective equipment will be required, because asbestos particles in dust are extremely harmful to humans. Cut the line immediately with a special acrylic paint.
Cropped sheets, which are less than 60 cm in length, can not be stacked, at this length they lose their strength. If you need a sheet shorter, then the excess length is overlapped by an increased overlap.
For laying the roof you need a simple tool: a hammer, a bulgarian( if you have to cut sheets), slate nails, a measuring tape, a nylon cord. Before making a roof of slate, you need to make sure that the lath under it is stuffed correctly.
If the slope of the roof is small, then the crate beats in 45 cm increments, that is, the sheet will lie on four bars, if the slope is large - after 70 cm, the sheet will lie on two bars. Slate is required to drill with nails before installation. To hammer nails in a sheet is not recommended, it can go cracks and become unsuitable.
How not to spoil the roof during the installation?
Mounting is from the bottom to the top, and the horizontal overlap must be on the leeward side. The first thing at the ends of the outer rafters is hammered on a nail, between them tightly stretched kapron cord, which will set the direction. The first sheets will be laid on it.
The stacking order is as follows: first three sheets are nailed in the bottom row, then two in the upper row and one in the bottom row. Horizontal overlaps are made on the magnitude of the wave, vertical should be at least 15 cm. If the lath on which the slate lies is new and strong, it is enough to fix the sheet with two nails, if the wood is old - at least four nails.
In the outer sheets, too, it is worth adding nails so that they are not blown away by a strong wind. All the sheets, except for the extreme, ridge and cornice, are cut off corners diagonally, in order to avoid a four-layer overlap. Construction of awnings from slate is exactly the same technology.
To prevent the avalanche from falling off the roof directly on the head, snow control systems are installed. But snegozarzhateli for slate can not be put, because the roof of this material has a rough surface, and from such a roof avalanches will not go. Thus, we thoroughly considered how to properly cover the slate roof, and what is needed for this.