Slate might be one of the most durable roofing materials, but of course maintenance is still required. In fact, shoddy roof maintenance and repairs on slate roofs is the primary reason people end up having issues with them. They last a lifetime, but just as it’s important to have a roofer experienced with slate to do the installation, it’s important to find the same type of professional for maintenance and repairs.
A spring annual inspection is a good idea according to the experts. You can count on them taking a good look at the roof and seeing if there are any broken tiles. Slate is stone, so it’s going to be very protective of your home. Yet there are times when tiles break or shift, and those maintenance issues certainly need to be addressed.
That’s why while owning a slate roof is an advantage, annual inspections and occasional maintenance are going to still come into play. You don’t want a missing, broken or shifting tile to cause you to have to make interior repairs to your home. You might also want to think about the fact that you want to keep trees away from your home. That goes for any roof on a home, and so tree branches need to be trimmed back.
You might look up there and see a chipped corner on a slate tile or something similar. Chipped corners don’t always translate into repairs being necessary. Yet you do want to watch, and of course any tiles like those will be looked at during an annual inspection. What you’re really supposed to be on the lookout for are tiles that are badly broken.
And of course the best way to do that is to get an experienced slater up there to do the work. If you call a roofing company in your area and are told that people don’t work on slate roofs anymore, don’t listen. There are roofing companies with experienced slaters. You just have to find the best one.
Slate may be a choice that is more often found on historic homes, but that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. Don’t let someone tell you that the slate roof needs to be removed, unless that’s what you want to do. Slate can be repaired, and a roof like that is beautiful and long lasting. Check out which companies in your area can handle slate roof maintenance and repairs for you.