Beautiful Slate & Tile roofs

Slate and tile roofs are some of the most beautiful roofs there is. What I like the most about a slate roofing system is when they use copper as a ridge cap. some home owners choose not to do this. some out of style and some out of budget, but to me it just makes the roof pop by adding a contrast to it. See they already use copper in the valleys and when it follows with a copper ridge it just complements everything else.

Now you cant tell me that that is not a beautiful roof in the photo on top.That is 20 oz. copper in the valley as well as the ridge cap. Now the price for a roof like this is a lot higher then your standard asphalt shingle roofing system, But it adds style to your house and will not have to be changed every five to ten years. You see a will out last you! 

There are different kinds of slates that have varying life spans. Depending on the type, slate can last from 50 years to over 200 years. Of course, the slate must be maintained and the flashing's will have to be replaced periodically.

So see, investing in a slate roof might save you some money down the road by not having to keep reinvesting in a new roof every five to ten years.

Broken Spanish Tile Replacement

I want to start off like I always do, and that's by giving thanks to Scott Morrow of Scott Morrow Slate & Tile Roofing & Repairs of Atlanta Georgia.facebook provides us with the pictures of his work which brings this blog to life and helps to illustrate our topic.

I don't always mention how important it is to hire a experienced slate and tile contractor in each post, but I should. Today we are going to share with you some simple Spanish tile replacement.
Now Spanish tile is a very durable roofing system, but some times storms or wind can cause tree branches to fall and occasionally brake one from time to time.

So if it ever happens to you, make sure you hire a real slate and tile contractor or you will end up with a repair like this.

Now I know this is a different type of tile but it is a perfect example of hiring the wrong contractor. What has happened is the contractor they hired was not a slate and tile contractor, so he did not have the right material with him to replace the broken piece so he put part of an asphalt shingle in its place, at least he didn't put a bunch of tar all over it like most of them do.

Just like this one! So these home owners hired the wrong contractor to fix this broken piece of tile and this is what they got. The tar ended up failing and they had to have it fixed again. Money down the drain.
But the next contractor they hired was Scott Morrow Slate & Tile Roofing & Repairs. Scott pulled out the broken piece of tile.

Then he replaced the broken piece of tile with another piece of tile, he didn't use tar or a piece of a asphalt shingle. Fellow roofers take notes! And this is what it is suppose  to look like when it is done right the first time.

I just want to give you another example of how it is done right.

This is before. there are two broken pieces there that need to be changed that were most likely broken by a contractor who didn't know how to walk on a Spanish tile roof the right way.

And this is a picture of the two tiles properly removed.

And this is the finished product. NOTICE there is no tar! And just one more example before we go.

Before...........................

Broken tile removed......................................

And finally the finished product. Again we want to thank Scott Morrow of Scott Morrow Slate & Tile roofing & Repairs of Atlanta Georgia For Providing pictures of his work to help with this blog.

boxing the slate

properly mixing of the slate

When it comes to a new slate roofing system it is always important that you properly distribute a proper mix of the slate when it is installed. Slate come on pallets, and some roofing contractors make the mistake of pulling from one pallet at a time until its gone then they start on a new pallet.
This is the wrong way! Let me explain why, when slate is mined and processed and packaged on pallets, even though it all comes from the same place and went through the same proses it is not all the same color 100% on every pallet.
So if you install one pallet at a time, then you will have different parts of your roof surface that are different colors and stand out and look bad.
The proper way is to pull from each pallet a little at a time. This way there is a proper mix of the slate.
Painters do the same thing with there paint because they don't want there walls to have two different colors. they call it boxing the paint.
so they mix all the paint together before they start to make sure it is one color.

what to look for in a slate or tile roofing contractor

When It comes to your roof it is important that you get the right contractor for the job. If you have a slate or tile roofing system Its even harder finding the right contractor for the job, because good slate and tile roofing contractors are few and far between. You want one that has extensive slate and tile background, and not in just slate and tile ether. When it comes to slate and tile roofing systems there are other variables that come in to play.

The ability to be able to custom fabricate copper is a must because copper is used in many areas of a slate and tile roof. For starters custom fabricated drip edges are needed all along the roofs edge.

Two, valley pans that are also fabricated out of copper . they are placed in the valley to catch and direct water off the roof.

Flashing is also made from copper, and used on chimneys and walls to fend off water. Also chimney caps are needed and often fabricated out of copper as well. Copper is a highly durable metal that is also very Eco friendly, and stunning when installed right.
Copper is also used for ridge caps, while not necessary they make a roof stand out and beautiful.
so far we have discussed the importance of your roofing contractor needing to be skilled in the slate and tile roofing field but also the copper fabrication side of roofing. they will also need to know there way around modified rubber roofing applications.

Modified rubber roofing comes in a roll and is applied with a torch. It is melted as it is rolled on. there are a lot of flat areas on a roof that will need this type of roofing system in place of the preferred copper system. price is always the deciding factor in this choice. but the right contractor with this skill can make it just as beautiful, well almost as beautiful.

so when choosing the right contractor make sure you do your home work!

Re-useing Slate and tile roofing

 The reality is that most roofs are replaced - or at least repaired - every ten years. The costs can be reduced by carefully choosing your home's roofing material. By choosing an appropriate tile or slate for your roof in the long run, you'll use less money, produce less waste material and put less demand on natural resources. Very ECO friendly. Often, a slate or tile roofing system will out last the building in which it is on, and it is removed before the building is torn down, and put on another new building.

 Slate and tile is often found on many of the most impressive buildings including cathedrals, palaces, and castles. Residential homes looking for an aristocratic look have now utilize this durable building material to shield them from the forces of nature while heritage and other prestigious building projects involving restoration, refurbishments or extensions also make use of slate for its unquestioned quality, permeability, color fastness and aesthetic appeal.

Slate is a metamorphic rock exhibiting foliation and is fine-grained. The mineral composition of slate includes quartz and Muscovite or illite. If that sounds like a bit of a mouthful it may help to think of slate as special mud that has been heated and squeezed. Slate formation begins when fine particles of clay and silt accumulate in thin layers in water logged areas. These sediments become a rock called shale and heat and pressure cause the shale to change its chemistry. The clay and silt crystallize into quartz, chlorate, and other minerals which are all very durable materials. This is one of the reasons for slates longevity. Its long lifespan also makes it suitable for the reclaimed tiles market.

Stone slates from sedimentary rocks (mainly limestone and sandstone) are different to the real slates made from metamorphic rock. The main reason for slate's superior roof-tiling quality is its cleavage ability. Although slate can be a more expensive choice, it offers a very natural look and can be laid out in a variety of patterns.

Homeowners need to keep in mind that slate can be very heavy and sometimes requires expensive additional support. Walking on slate tiles can difficult for a non-professional due to its break ability which complicates tasks such as rooftop maintenance, gutter cleaning and painting.

However the benefits of slate also need to be factored into any decision namely its very long lifespan, good fire protection, low maintenance, and resistance to rot and insects. Although colors are limited to those found naturally slate comes in a good selection of sizes to suite most tiling projects. Perhaps your next home could display the sophistication of a reclaimed slate tile roof.

where slate comes from

Have you ever wondered where slate comes from

Slate comes from all over the world, from the U.S. to Brazil to China to India and throughout Europe as well as many places in Africa.  Australia has even recently started to mine for slate.  You have to dig very deep down past the soft "top rock" to get to good stone,  producing the product is a skill in itself. Putting it in is an art as well, make sure you have the right  contractor with a slate and tile background.
Have you ever heard of ribbon slate
Ribbon slates are Pennsylvania black slates that have small bands running through them. These ribbons contain a high amount of carbon that deteriorates much faster than the rest of the slate. This results in the slate becoming separated at the ribbon, allowing either the slates to fall out or water to penetrate the roof.They still last 50 to even 100 years if the roof is steep and well shaded. Once the ribbons become soft, the roof  must be replaced.

The grading system for slate
S-1 means the slate will last more than 75 years. S-2 slate is meant to last 45 to 75 years and S-3 slates are meant to last 45 years or less.
The different colors of slate
Gray, green, purple, black, and red. You can make a good looking roof by mixing a couple of these colors together too. Just ask your slate or tile roofing contractor, the most common being gray-black, gray-green, and green-purple.
will the color change over time
Weathering or semi-weathering green and gray slates can develop brownish and pinkish tints, due to iron in the slate. At the time of new installation, the percentage that will turn color is unpredictable. It can be as little as 5 to 10 percent or nearly 100%. The only way to keep the color from changing is to get slate that has come off another roof that has already weathered.

buying backlinks

Back links are a important part of  the whole ranking on Google and Bing. The more Backlinks you have pointing to your website the higher you rank, but they need to be good quality Backlinks. Now there is a bunch of people out there that are offering to post Backlinks for you but most of them are crappy Backlinks and will hurt your ranking before it helps you.
They are using software that creates false fictional  accounts and posting crappy mind numbing dribble filled articles with your links in them. Google is smarter then that people . They have come up with a algorithm that decodes all that crap. trust me they do. One is called Google panda and another is Google penguin. When I first started out I did the same thing as every one else and tried to take the easy way.
I would see some one offering 1000 Backlinks  for 10 dollars and jump on it. if you had it all added up I had 25,000 Backlinks to my site. And in the beginning I was on page five and had gotten there on my own but I wanted page one and I wanted it fast. But the reality of it is you just have to take it one step at a time. If you blast 1000 places with your link all at once Google penalizes you. and let me tell you, I went from page five one day to page 8 the next then the next day I was on page 13 then the next day I went all the way to page 40 and couldn’t find my page. So all that money was wasted and it hurt me.
Don’t get me wrong you can still buy Backlinks but be smart about it. See this article you are reading is a hand wrote and hand posted article talking about real things so Google will eat this one up and it will help my new site rank fast. See after that experience I went through I learned the right way to go about it and decided to help others and warn others to stay away from all them ugly heartless frauds who do nothing but trick you and take your money and then kill your rankings .
So If you would like good quality articles like this one that are hand written and hand posted on PR4 – PR9 web 2.0 sites that will help your ranking and not hurt it come see me at Big-daddy Backlinks and I will help you make that happen for you.