DIY slate roofing

Recommendation points

• Material selection
• How to calculate the amount of material required tools
• First stage: preparatory work
• Second step: installation of insulating roof layers
• Stage three: laying slate on the crate
• Fourth stage: fixing the slate on the roof
• Fifth stage: protective painting of the coating
• Slate repair

Slate as a roofing material does not lose its popularity today. One of its obvious advantages is ease of installation. How to cover the roof yourself with slate, what to look for when choosing a material, what tools you need – you will learn all this from this article.

Material selection

Today, the modern building materials market has several types of roofing slate. Let’s consider their distinctive features, advantages and disadvantages:

Slate type	average price	Specifications	Advantages	disadvantages	Application area
Roofing slate	RUB 325 / pc.	Color: gray, gray-blue, green, brown. Plates dimensions: length 25-60 cm, width 15-35 cm, thickness 0.4-0.9 cm.	Elite material with high decorative properties. Resistant to sunlight, non-flammable, very durable, withstands large temperature drops.	Large weight, fragility, complicated installation process, high cost.	Roof covering of residential and public buildings.
Asbestos cement sheets	110 rub / m2	Available in 3 types: ordinary wavy (VO) slate with dimensions 120×68 cm, corrugated reinforced (WU) with sheet length up to 280 cm, unified corrugated (UV) with sheet size 175×112.5 cm.Cement, slate additives are used as materials and asbestos.	Easy to install, durable, low cost, 30-year lifespan.	Large weight, fragility, unsightly appearance, requiring additional painting.	It is considered a “folk” slate, therefore it is widely used from roofing to fences.
Euro slate (asbestos-free, soft, bituminous corrugated sheet)	420 rubles / sheet	It is made of multilayer cellulose impregnated with polymers and saturated with bituminous vapors in high temperature and pressure chambers. It has an exterior painting. The weight of the sheets is 6–8 kg. Sheet size 2000x990x3 mm.	Strength, durability up to 50 years, light weight, flexibility, aesthetic appearance.	The high cost of the material, low resistance to temperature extremes: in summer, slate softens, and in winter it becomes fragile. Insufficient UV resistance.	It is used when installing roofs like “Ondulin”, “Aqualine”, “Ondura”, “Gutta”, “Nulin” for residential and public buildings.
Transparent plastic slate	190 rubles / sheet	Made from various polymers. The most common ones are polycarbonate and PVC. Sheet size 2000×900 mm.	Resistance to chemically aggressive environments, frost, snow and wind loads, strength, low weight, light transmission.	Significant expansion of sheets when exposed to high temperatures. This must be taken into account when installing transparent slate..	Construction of swimming pools, winter gardens, greenhouses, pavilions, sheds, attics, etc..
Rubber slate	110 rubles / sheet	Manufactured from fiberglass and rubber waste. The sheets have dimensions: length – 81 cm, width – 69 cm, wave height – 3 cm.	Lightweight, easy to cut with a knife and excellent flexibility.	Flammable and not frost resistant.	Small outbuildings with sloping roofs and small outbuildings.
Metal slate (profiled flooring)	480 rubles / sheet	It is made of galvanized steel and has a protective polymer coating. Sheet size 2000×1150 mm.	Light weight, waterproof, good appearance, convenient installation.	Poor sound insulation, resonance effects from rain, wind, etc..	Roofs of industrial buildings and household construction objects.

Slate prices depend on the material, the number of waves in the sheet, dimensions, thickness and color of the product..

Despite all the varieties listed in the table, asbestos-cement slate remains one of the most popular, convenient and budget solutions. Its main advantages:

1. Durability: the roof withstands snow and wind loads up to 200 kg / m².
2. Fire safety: the composition of asbestos cement products is not flammable.
3. Good sound insulation: the noise of hail or rain under the roof is minimal.
4. Electrical safety: in a thunderstorm, asbestos cement is not susceptible to the accumulation of static electricity.
5. Durability: slate material does not corrode from precipitation.

That is why in this article we will consider the technology of roofing using the example of working with asbestos cement sheets..

How to calculate the amount of material required tools

Having decided on the selection of slate, you need to calculate its required amount. For this, a drawing of the roof is used, indicating its dimensions and slopes. To facilitate the calculation of the consumption of materials, you will be helped by online calculators, of which there are many online.

To start working on the installation of a slate roof, you will need the materials shown in the table below:

Material name	Unit rev.	Price, rub.	Consumption per 100 m2	Total cost, rub.	Note
Asbestos-cement sheet	m	2	110	135	14850
Boards 40 mm	m3	4600	0.48	2208
Beam 75 mm	m3	5200	0.54	2808
Insulating film	m2	2,3	224	515
Insulation	m3	1500	1	1500
Acrylic paint	Kg	50	thirty	1500
Antiseptic for wood	Kg	thirty	20	600
Slate nails with spacers	Kg	20	8	160	or screws 85 mm long – 10.6 kg
Roof ridge sheet metal	PCS.	80	20	1600	or ridge template 1200 mm
Roof drains	2 running. m	95	20	1900
Total:				27641

Also for work we need the following tools and protective equipment:

• drill
• rope 10–20 m
• Bulgarian
• respirator
• a hammer

First stage: preparatory work

Installation of a slate roof begins with the laying of beams. They are installed on the upper concrete belt of a house box, wall or Mauerlat at a distance of 70–80 cm from each other. The rafter part of the roof is vertically attached to the beams, which will be the support for the lathing. The height and angle between the rafters must be the same for each beam.

Thus, a wooden roof structure will include:

• mauerlat
• rafters
• struts
• crate

Important: for roofs with slate covering, the slope of the structure should be between 22 and 45 degrees. In the case of a large amount of natural precipitation in the region, the slope of the roof increases in order to avoid their accumulation at the joints of the sheets. With frequent wind loads, the roof becomes flatter.

The lathing gives the roof additional strength and rigidity, connects the rafters and serves as the basis for fastening the slate. The lathing is made of 50×50 mm timber with such a pitch that the slate sheet overlaps two strips in a row by 15 cm on each side.

For the ridge part of the roof, a 60×120 mm bar with a 60×150 mm board is used, which is tightly pressed against it. On eaves and valleys, a solid crate is needed, it is made from a board of 60×250 mm.

Second step: installation of insulating roof layers

In addition to roofing, the roof system includes:

• waterproofing layer
• vapor barrier
• thermal insulation material

From below, the roof is hemmed with a vapor barrier, which is attached to the structure using a construction stapler. Then, thermal insulation is placed between the rafters, and this “pie” is completed by the top layer of roofing material, which is laid on the insulation and attached to the rafters by hammering nails through the slats.

Before starting to lay the slate, the wood of the truss system must be treated with an antiseptic to protect it from rot and shashel

Stage three: laying slate on the crate

When self-erecting a roof, it becomes necessary to raise the asbestos-cement slate up. This is done with two metal hooks and a strong rope tied to them. Hooks are needed to grip the sheets from below, then the slate is pulled onto the roof along the boardwalk.

The roofing material begins to be laid from the windward side from bottom to top. A stretched cord can be used to avoid curvature of the rows. When the sheets are laid apart, the longitudinal joints of the next row of slate are shifted by one wave in relation to the longitudinal joints of the previous row. The installation scheme is as follows:

1. The first sheet is laid from the gable overhang.
2. The next two sheets of the bottom row are overlapped on the first.
3. Then the first two sheets are laid in the second row and one sheet in the first row.

The layout of the slate on the roof is shown in the photo:

The amount of overlap is equal to the wavelength in the horizontal direction, and in the vertical direction it is 12-15 cm.

Fourth stage: fixing the slate on the roof

Before fastening the sheets in them, it is necessary to drill holes for nails or screws, which should be 2-3 mm larger than the diameter of the fastener. This is done in the sixth and second waves of an 8-wave slate, or in the fifth and second waves of a 7-wave sheet, counting from the overlap. A distance of 10 cm should be maintained between the nails. They are nailed along the crests of the waves. For the tightness of the fasteners, use rubber gaskets.

Tip: the fasteners are not clogged up to the stop – fixing the sheet so that it does not move is quite enough. Also, do not bend the nails: this will interfere with the thermal expansion of the slate – it can crack.

When laying sheet by sheet, you need to get close to the ridge part of the roof. The ridge itself is insulated with iron, closing the ends of the slate to prevent moisture from entering under it. Wind boards are stuffed onto the gables, and the installation of drains for rainfall or melt water completes the installation of the roof.

Fifth stage: protective painting of the coating

The new roof should be painted with acrylic enamel. This will protect the slate from destruction, increase its frost resistance, water resistance and reduce the release of harmful asbestos into the environment. In addition, in this way, you can double the life of the roof..

Slate repair

If it becomes necessary to repair a roof made of asbestos-cement sheets, it is very easy to do..

It is necessary to prepare a mixture of M300 cement diluted with water 1: 1 PVA glue and fluffed asbestos. The solution is prepared in small portions for 2-3 hours of operation. First, 2 parts of cement are mixed with 3 parts of asbestos. Then this mixture is diluted with PVA glue to a density, convenient for work with a brush or spatula..

Places of damage to the roof must be cleaned of dirt, and then thoroughly rinsed with clean water. After the surface has dried, the cracks should be treated with the prepared mixture twice. The thickness of the applied layer must be at least 2 mm.

Such repairs will be more effective if performed on a cloudy day. This is due to the rate of polymerization of the repair mortar – it should not be high. After such a repair, the roof will be able to serve for another 5-10 years..