Slate roof

Recommendation points

• The advantages of a slate roof
• Life time
• Resistance to mechanical stress
• Resistant to temperature changes and low thermal conductivity
• Low avalanche risk
• Incombustibility
• Manufacturability when extinguishing fires
• Water resistance
• Noise isolation
• Sustainability
• Simple handling and assembly
• Modern look and variety
• Affordable price
• Conclusion

Modern roofing must meet a number of requirements, the number of which has increased significantly in recent years. If earlier only protection from precipitation was required from the roof, now standards for strength, resistance to temperatures, incombustibility, noise and heat insulation, environmental friendliness and aesthetic appearance have been added.

Market relations and the natural desire of customers to save money and get “a lot for little money” have intensified competition between manufacturers in terms of the cost of materials, ease of processing and installation and, of course, in terms of service life..

Among the large number of requirements and economic aspects, only really high-quality and reliable materials survive, capable of putting a confident tick in each column of the virtual checklist – ?.

Do such materials have a recognized leader and role model? The answer is yes..

Slate is the very roofing material that has an impressive set of advantages, among which two, perhaps the most important, stand out – service life and price.

But so that everyone can see how justified the choice in favor of a slate roof will be, it makes sense to go through each characteristic in detail.

The advantages of a slate roof

Life time

Slate roofing will last at least 50 years. This is the highest figure among all roofing materials, confirmed by real practice. After all, slate began to be used for roof cladding back in 1902.

In Austria, some railway buildings still have slate made at the beginning of the 20th century at the manufactory of Ludwig Gatchek.

And most modern roofing materials have been around in the last 30 years. Therefore, they cannot boast of a long and rich history of use in construction. And the service life, which their manufacturers indicate, is most often calculated.

Resistance to mechanical stress

For the manufacture of slate, a mixture of cement, chrysotile and water is used. When mixed with cement, chrysotile fibers form a reinforcing mesh, which gives the slate high strength.

To increase the fracture strength of the slate, it is given a wavy shape by rolling through special forms..

As a result, a sheet of wave slate, laid horizontally, can withstand the weight of an adult – 70–80 kg, standing on one ridge. And the slate, laid on the roof with an angle of inclination of at least 30 °, is able to withstand the pressure of snow 1 meter thick.

Resistant to temperature changes and low thermal conductivity

Slate does not deform and does not crack from exposure to frost down to -50 ° C and any heat. It can be used for arranging the roof in any region of Russia.

Plus, the slate itself acts as a certain heat insulator of the roof. The thermal conductivity coefficient of slate is 0.35 W / mK. For this indicator, it surpasses, for example, hollow brick (0.44 W / m K) and roofing steel (92 W / m K).

Thanks to this, slate helps maintain a comfortable microclimate in the attic space..

Low avalanche risk

There is one more plus of the low thermal conductivity of slate. Thanks to it, the slate roof has a reduced avalanche hazard, since the heat from the house does not heat the roofing sheets.

For comparison – on a metal roof, when heated, the adjacent layer of snow melts and, due to the sliding effect under its own weight, rolls down.

Incombustibility

The slate does not burn. It contains no combustion-supporting substances. Only cement and chrysotile.

In critical situations, slate can withstand temperatures up to 600 ° C. True, after that, irreversible changes occur in the chrysotile fibers, and it becomes fragile.

Therefore, manufacturers prohibit prolonged exposure to fire on slate. Better not to light bonfires on a slate roof.

There are cases when a slate roof withstood a fire in a building.

Manufacturability when extinguishing fires

Putting out a building with a slate roof is easier and faster. Firefighters can safely move along the slate roof, which has a normal temperature, and quickly supply extinguishing agents inside the building.

In the technological regulations of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, there is a stage in which it is necessary to cut a hole in the roof and push the hose sleeve into the under-roof space to supply water or other fire extinguishing compounds. But of all the massive roofing materials, only slate allows you to fulfill this condition for a successful fight against fire..

Water resistance

Standard 6 mm thick wave slate resists rainfall of any intensity.

At the same time, condensation does not form on the inside of the slate. You can save on vapor barrier when installing a slate roof.

Noise isolation

The fibrous structure of the slate serves as a good sound insulator.

The high noise absorption coefficient of chrysotile cement allows almost completely blocking the noise of rain or hail.

Sustainability

Slate belongs to environmentally friendly building materials. It does not contain toxic and harmful components.

Possible doubts about the danger of asbestos, which was banned for use 30 years ago in the United States and some European countries, are dispelled by dry facts..

The danger to human health is represented by asbestos of the amphibole group, which is not mined in Russia. In our country, chrysotile is mined – a safe type of asbestos. Controlled use approved by the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization.

It is this type of asbestos that is used in the Russian production of slate..

Simple handling and assembly

Working with slate does not require special skills and sophisticated equipment. To cut the sheets, you need a simple angle grinder with a saw blade for stone. However, in the budget version, you can get by with an ordinary saw.

Holes for fasteners are drilled with a conventional drill loaded into a drill or screwdriver.

And the installation of slate on the roof itself is a fairly simple procedure. It is only necessary to observe the technology and the correct sequence of laying.

Modern look and variety

The familiar from childhood appearance of a wavy gray slate roof can create a misconception about the available palette of shades of this material. In fact, modern slate production has long stepped beyond a single shade..

A wide range of colored slate is now available for any design solution.

In the assortment matrix of slate manufacturers, you can choose surface-painted slabs with bright and rich colors or slabs painted in bulk, calmer shades that do not require periodic color renewal.

Affordable price

The technology of slate production perfected over decades and the availability of raw materials made slate the most affordable roofing material today. It is only cheaper to sheathe the roof with an unedged board and lay it on top with roofing felt.

That is why for the last half century, slate has been the undisputed leader among materials for roof cladding, both in industrial and civil construction..

Conclusion

So, we went through all the key characteristics and advantages that a slate roof has.

Remember, at the very beginning, a virtual checklist was mentioned, where a good and reliable material should have a checkmark at each point? Let’s take a look at such a checklist for slate?

Details on the site slate.rf.