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Can I roof a house?


Tin Soldier

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So here’s the question

 

can I slate a large roof circa 200m2 by myself with no previous experience at all.

 

got myself some good tools, a nail gun and the willingness to save money.

 

would need to do the sarking. lead work fit two roof windows and thousands of slates

 

is it possible or is it folly?

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Well I tiled our roof (concrete tiles) on my own, with a lot of help from SWMBO to help lift the tiles up onto the roof, so if you can practice and master the slating bit, I see no reason why not.

 

P.S don't use the nail gun on the slates :ph34r:

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Yes of course you can

myself and my wife slated the house and two garage roofs

over 300 mtrs Both of us are in our mid 50s

 

I also did all the lead work for the valleys and chimney flashings

 

we hired a conveyer belt from speedy to get the skates up there 

About £100 for the week

our son gave us a hand for a couple of days 

 

We had intended bringing someone in to do the slating But decided against with quotes of over 10k 

All three contractors told me to allow 20% waste which seemed a lot 

 

although we were using grade 1 slates we quickly realised where the 20% waste figure came from 

around 1000 slates that we loaded where bowed and couldn’t be used

I presume the roofers would just throw these down 

Each day I carried around 120 rejects down and returned them to the merchant which he was happy to swap

 

A slater that had previously priced called on when we were half way through and commented on the triangular pieces that I was drilling and fixing

He said they wouldn’t Ganny around doing that They would use silicone and foam

And lead valleys are a waste of money Fibreglass are much quicker

It was at that point we felt vindicated 

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I have done a few full slate roofing projects, its all about being organised and methodical. Get yourself a few books and there is plenty of stuff online. Work out all the tricky stuff before you start. Practice using all the tools and learning to shape lead. Roof windows are straight forward if you follow the instructions and again watch them do it online time and time again. 

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Just now, nod said:

Yes of course you can

myself and my wife slated the house and two garage roofs

over 300 mtrs Both of us are in our mid 50s

 

I also did all the lead work for the valleys and chimney flashings

 

we hired a conveyer belt from speedy to get the skates up there 

About £100 for the week

our son gave us a hand for a couple of days 

 

We had intended bringing someone in to do the slating But decided against with quotes of over 10k 

All three contractors told me to allow 20% waste which seemed a lot 

 

although we were using grade 1 skates we quickly realised where the 20% waste figure cane from 

around 1000 slates that we loaded where bowed and couldn’t be used

I presume the roofers would just throw these down 

Each day I carried around 120 rejects down and returned them to the merchant which he was happy to swap

 

A slater that had previously priced called on when we were half way through and commented on the triangular pieces that I was drilling and fixing

He said they wouldn’t Ganny around doing that They would use silicone and foam

abd lead valleys are a wast of money Fibreglass are much quicker

It was at that point we felt vindicated 

Ps my wife (hospital theatre manager) said she would pass slates up onto the garage roof from builder trestles ‘But now way am I standing on the roof’

 

What a difference a week or so makes Deborah picture in the pouring rain

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FB46A5E7-549E-4DDB-8BCA-2789C05213DB.jpeg

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We roofed our house using slate.

I used slate hooks rather than nails as i found it easier

If you fancy using slate hooks there a couple of tricks such as marking the batten so the slates all sit in a straight line.

Run a couple of chalk lines up the roof so the slates all line up. I did this every 4 or 5 slates

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13 hours ago, Tin Soldier said:

So here’s the question

[...]

is it possible or is it folly?

 

It is possible and it isn't folly.

@Construction Channel and @Mrs Construction Channel are too modest to point out that they have done a series of videos on how they did it here

 

The Devil is in the detail (says  the guy who's never slated a roof). But I have built a roof, and felted it. And I will be slating that roof when I know I can afford the slates. 

There are lots of videos about slating on YooChube. I found the videos by this guy   particularly good because he takes care to explain a little more than the average Monkey-See-Monkey-Do approach to skills-based teaching and learning.

 

What is clear to me after a few years in touch  with online self-builders is that there is a generosity here which often provides enough moral support to get started. Once that happens, we also enjoy unpicking the inevitable cock-ups. All that's needed is a bit more  courage than average.

 

Self builders have enough of a push to Just Bloody Do It. And a poor bank balance is a real help . Just think of it if you had too much. You'd miss the buzz of Just Bloody Doing it.

Make your own mistakes: don't pay someone else to make them for you

 

 

 

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The hardest part is getting everything you need up on to the roof. Your arms and legs will be sore doing this bit but once you have all up there then you would be surprised how quick you get into a rhythm.

Roof Windows are pretty easy to fit. They are just awkward to get into place.

Lead is also very easy to work with. Only need a good sharp knife and a lead dresser to form the shape you need. 

Check your local hire shop to see if they have a slate cutter, gives a better edge than an angle grinder.

After that it's just a hammer  and a good tool belt with a pouch full of nails/hooks.

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I re roofed my cottage with second hand slate, i got all additional slate for a few hundred pounds but had to sort through each and every one, get rid of anything that was de laminating, showing any signs of rot or where the iron pyritise was rusting. It was a slow job but i wanted a very particular style. After sorting them myself and various helpers re cut every slate to sharpen the edges and straighten them out, also punching the nail holes where needed. The recutting process also provided a secondry chance to verify each slate was in top condition. Then it was a matter of grading length, width and thickness..... the easy part was laying them. Its a long haul project as very low on funds and will take me a few more years to finish the refurbishment.the slate knife is a must for cutting slates and punching holes.  In retrospect i should have put the air vents on the back but hay ho. 

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Assuming you are useing standard 6-8mm slates I would recommend getting a set of cutters like these (make sure they have the hole punch)

https://www.roofinglines.co.uk/product/edma-slate-cutter-with-punch?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyKWhpP3y1wIV5grTCh1rMAnwEAQYEiABEgJY2_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Also assuming you are useing new slates you really won’t have to cut that much. Use a grinder and a diamond blade for your eaves and ridge slates as it’s quicker and the cuts won’t be seen. Then just use these for around any reveals. TBH as long as they have the punch on them you don’t even really need to get a slating hammer. You especially won’t need to get a nice shiny new estwing one like mine. ?

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Geez, what a response. Though I'm beginning to see a pattern here.

 

I ask, can I do....x, and everyone says yes of course :)

I'm laying the insulation and underfloor heating in the slab in January, panels go up in march.

Thanks ladies and gents.

 

I'm almost 100% on it- slightly confused by a few things, which I'll no doubt work out..

 

Anything I can find on Scottish roofing refers to nailing straight to softwood sarking, without any battens. Is this true? I'm happy to do it but none of the videos I have found describe this, they are all about batten gauge etc.

 

any recommendations on cheap/acceptable quality Spanish slate?

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15 hours ago, dogman said:

I used slate hooks rather than nails as i found it easier

When I worked in the PV industry, we dealt with a lot of slate roofed places.

Some of the hooks have nice rounded ends, others are as sharp as nails.  I think you know which would be best.

 

I used slate for another purpose and have found the local (Delabole) slate dreadful.  I had some Brazilians and it was much more to my taste.

I agree that an angle grinder and diamond cutter is a quick and fast way to do a simple, straight cut.

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17 hours ago, nod said:

[...]

Each day I carried around 120 rejects down and returned them to the merchant which he was happy to swap

[...]

 

There ya go! That sentence alone will save me a hundred quid I bet. Thanks.

 

(PS, some little toe-rag has nicked my artery forceps. Any chance you could bring some with on the next visit? :ph34r:)

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1 hour ago, Russell griffiths said:

The only things I will add is DONT skimp on safety, if you are saving some money on doing the roofing yourself then you can afford good scaffolding, no wobbly tower. 

 

get some help for 2 days and a tile bumper and get all the slate up, then you can plod on at your own pace. 

Good advice

Scafold needs to be inline with the facia No awquad step up

Double handrail also

Edited by nod
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4 hours ago, recoveringacademic said:

 

There ya go! That sentence alone will save me a hundred quid I bet. Thanks.

 

(PS, some little toe-rag has nicked my artery forceps. Any chance you could bring some with on the next visit? :ph34r:)

Nice one Ian

just looking through my records 

I retuned 1170 slates 

Big saving

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7 hours ago, Tin Soldier said:

Geez, what a response. Though I'm beginning to see a pattern here.

 

Anything I can find on Scottish roofing refers to nailing straight to softwood sarking, without any battens. Is this true? I'm happy to do it but none of the videos I have found describe this, they are all about batten gauge etc.

 

any recommendations on cheap/acceptable quality Spanish slate?

 

hi @Tin Soldier, usually in scotland the roof, if to be slated, will be covered in sarking. if tiled will be covered in osb, battened and counterbattened. i'm cladding in board for air tightness and will then need to batten and counterbatten as i'm slating,  a pita! but the boards are too tough to nail into without damaging slates

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Yep, traditional way of doing it in Scotland is to sark with lengths of whitewood and nail directly into it.  The only time I have seen it done differently is a house that used SIP roof panels, where they had to batten.

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