Centre-nailed, double-lap slates are fixed with two nails close to the side-edge of the slate and positioned immediately above the slates below. Clenergy C3 Self-drilling Universal Screw, Buildex 14-11 x 70 Hex Head Zips Datasheet V2.1 – US-6.3 70-BW BX a) The next step is to work out the placement of the battens– to do this you’ll need two full-sized slates and an under eaves slate. Place two battens onto the roof on top of the overlay – don’t fix them down so they can be moved around for adjustments easily. Nails should be copper (to BS 1202 part 2) or aluminium (to BS 1202 part 3). In corrosive or marine atmospheres copper nails are preferable and in severe conditions silicone bronze nails should be used. The nail head diameter should be at least 10mm to comply with BS 5534 to minimise the risk of the nail head pulling through the slate. A 10mm head is only possible where the nail shank is 3mm diameter or greater. Roof slates are a very popular choice when it comes to deciding which roofing material to use on a pitched roof. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, and increasing the potential selling value of the house, roof slates have a number of physical benefits. Slate is a durable and hard-wearing material that provides waterproofing characteristics to a pitched roof, unlike other roof materials which absorb water. This means that slate is unaffected by frost damage and freezing. What types of slate roof are there?

Hall Hook slate repair fixings are the market leading remedial repair hook, designed over a 20 year period by an experienced slating contractor who always wanted to have the perfect solution to an everyday roofing problem. Once both nails have been removed, slide the broken slate down and take it out. Now compare the broken slate with the new slate. The replacement slate needs to be exactly the same size, so trim if necessary.The natural roof slate is exactly what you’d expect. This authentic slate roof solution provides the ultimate natural slate look and comes with an array of benefits. Not only does it look great, but it is also fireproof, frost resistant and requires little maintenance. It also comes in a variety of different styles including Spanish slate (below), Welsh slate, Canadian slate, Brazilian slate and Argentinian slate. Man-made roof slate The Hall Hook is a permanent, secret and fail safe device that should be used when replacing a broken slate. Take a strip of lead and nail it into place against the batten, then push the replacement slate up and into position, ensuring it is level with the other slates. Now fold the lead strip over the bottom of the replacement slate to keep it in place, acting like a hook. This should hold the replacement slate securely in place. When hook fixing, additional nail fixings should be used at eaves, ridges and top abutments and, to prevent lateral drift, at verges, hips, valleys and side abutments.

If you only need to repair a small area of your slate roof, we offer the Hall hook slate repair fixings kit. The Hall hook will leave you with a professional, neat repair that is fail-safe and invisible once complete. Unlike many slate repair methods and plastic alternatives, these hooks are durable, time-efficient, and the perfect answer to everyday roofing problems. Copper Slate Straps Aesthetics – the nails are hidden beneath the rows of slate above, whereas hook fixings are visible. In centre-nailed slating, the gauge is the spacing at which the battens are fixed to the rafters, trusses or counter-battens to provide the required head-lap. The margin is the exposed length of the slate measured in the same direction as the gauge. The lap and margin will be the same. Repeat this method and work upwards to the top of the roof. Make sure the roofing membrane hangs over the bottom of the roof and into the gutter to provide and encourage any water that gets past the slates to drain off into the gutter.

Slate hooks are common across Europe to fix natural slate roofs, offering a secure and versatile alternative to nails. Due to being secured at four points by four different hooks, these slate hooks are highly effective for wind resistance. The hooked edge at the bottom stops the tile from sliding down, it is supported from turning by the hooks on their side, and the hook at the head secures it to the batten. Repair Fixings With a bright stainless steel coating for a purely decorative finish, this coating does not impact the corrosion resistance of the core material. The bright finish will typically last ten years or more unless in very abrasive settings for example salted winds. The British Standard Code of Practice (BS 5534) specifies two ways of installing slates: nailing or hook fixing. These fasteners fix the slates to either batten, which is by far the most common English method, or to sarking board, which is commonly used in exposed areas in Scotland. Firstly, find out if your slates are pre-holed. If they aren’t you’ll need to pierce two holes into the slate, one either side of the short width, approximately a third of the way up the length of the slate. To do this, you can use a number of cutting and holing tools. 1. Find out the pitch of your roof

e) Add a third batten, sliding it from the top downwards to below the top of the slates. Make sure that the top of the full-sized slate is sitting central to the batten. A recycled roof slate is the result of combined waste slate materials. This goes even further regarding the environmental impact as there is no manufacturing process involved in the creation of the final project. In turn, this means that the amount of wastage is reduced. I’ve chosen what I want for my slate roof, what’s next? The cost of the plate itself is higher than other slate fixing solutions on the market but the positive impact it has on installation time heavily out ways the additional cost of the product itself. The 3 installations(total 25.5kW) were installed in 3 days by 2 panel fitters so a substantial saving was made on the installation costs. The benefits of this product for us are listed below: Before starting the installation process, you need to find out the pitch of your roof. the roof pitch dictates how much overlap is required with each slate. This has been made easier with the development of technology. Most smartphones nowadays can access apps that have been designed specifically to find out the pitch or angle of your roof, such as the VELUX pitch roof app. 2. Find out the required overlap If you measure from the top of one batten to the top of another, this gives you the batten gauge. This allows you to work out the distance between the battens on the rest of the roof. For example, if your roof is 500cm, and the pre-existing battens are 20cm apart, a total of 25 battens will be required, each 20cm from the previous one. 6. Lay the roof slatesA slate roof isn’t limited to one type of slate material. Here at Roofing Superstore, you can choose from an array of unique slate solutions. Here is a brief summary of notable points regarding the types of slate available to you: Natural roof slate Although the traditional method of slating a roof uses hooks, this can be time-consuming and complicated. Therefore, in this guide, we will be outlining how to slate a roof using pre-drilled slates. b) Now place a full-sized slate onto a batten, with an overhang into the gutter of around 50mm, and with the pre-drilled holes lined up with the centre of the batten – then put temporary fixings into the batten.

There are two type of Slate Hook, an over batten type and a drive in type. The use of over batten type is very limited with the majority being drive in type (shown in picture). Once the membrane has been rolled out, use clout nails to secure one edge. Then pull the membrane taut at the other end, and fix it into position, before adding a few more nails across the membrane where it meets the timber trusses for extra stability. 5. Batten placement Suitable for fixing roofing slates on a roof application, these slate hooks are an ideal alternative to the copper nail. Manufactured from 316-grade stainless steel, these hooks are guaranteed in severe coastal exposure conditions in front of the sea or industrial environments. Typically, slate hooks attach to the batten by a spike at the upper end, which is driven into the batten or a hook that wraps around the batten. The use of wrap hooks is not recommended. Only “spike-end” or nail-in hooks are permissible under BS 5534. Fixing SIGA slates is straightforward for an experienced slater. Most SIGA slates come pre-holed at a nominal 90mm headlap. By simply moving the location of the slate on a standard 50x25mm batten, these can be fixed to obtain headlaps between 76 and 96mm, allowing them to be used on a variety of pitches. Nailing Natural Slates

After receiving an instruction to proceed with a 33.35kW solar PV installation upon 4 roofs of a private estate, we wanted to find a more cost effective solution for installing the mounting system to the 3 slate roofs in the project. Stainless Steel Slate Hooks are an alternative fixing to clout nails for fixing Natural Slates, which is used extensively across Europe. This method offers a cost effective alternative method with lots of bonuses. Hooks can be used in the most exposed locations and because the slate is supported at four points, the resistance to wind uplift is extremely effective. The top edge of the slate is gripped under the top part of the hook. The shank of the hook runs down along the side of the slates in the next course, and the return grip at the bottom of the hook holds the tail of the slate on top. This means that each slate is held in place by four hooks; one at the head, one at the tail and one on each side. The one at the tail stops the hook from sliding down, the ones at the side prevent it from turning and the one at the head holds it at the batten. To replace a slate on a slate roof, you’ll require a slate ripper, tin snips, and a hammer, as well as a new slate and a strip of lead. Product inventor Jimmy Hall, a slater and tiler for the past 45 years, couldn’t stand to see a beautiful slate roof covered in unsightly lead or copper straps. He had tried all the slate repairs on the market. Electro-galvanized steel will eventually rust and will not last as long as stainless steel, but is a good choice for asbestos-shingle roofs or for a roof with around 25 years of life remaining.