John,
Here’s the photo from across the road of the chimney relaying and the patch the tar babies put on this roof.
Removed old mess ,salvaging what I could,dried in-then camera battery played out. Relayed shots tomorrow.
Walter
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It looks like the whole roof should be repaired!
I hate when people tar over natural slates, its just not right!
You're right. It's a home with rental apartments that has seen very little care over the years.
The owner had some bad leaks which I will solve,but it will still look like he++ when I'm done.
The slate really should come off and be relaid totally or re-roofed with an Archy shingle.
It's rare I work on a property that's this run down.
Walter
That looks familiar - the prior owner of my home had tried to "fix" a leak caused by improperly installing a wood stove pipe by tarring over the slate. One of my projects from last summer.
Do you know of a US source for slate roof vents? I have found a UK source for them, but it's prohibitively expensive to have them shipped here. The vent looks kind of like a slate, fits in the slot in place of one slate, but is triangular in vertical plane and has a vent on the edge. This allows venting a bathroom fan throught the slate roof.
Here is a link to one type, but really not the type I had in mind:
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=45984&ts=99114
Alternatively, if you have other ideas on how to vent a bathroom fan through a slate roof, that would be helpful.
Thanks.
I've only vented a bath fan thru the roof once-I'll try to take a picture tomorrow.
woodman, your description sounds like something I saw displayed at an ABC Supply.
Stephen
>>>>Do you know of a US source for slate roof vents? I've never seen a vent with that tall of a back pan on it. We'd normally cut a slate to fill the void above a Lomanco 750 or similar. If you're stuck on that design, I can make one to your specs.http://logancustomcopper.com
http://grantlogan.net/
It's like the whole world's walking pretty and you can't find no room to move. - the Boss
I married my cousin in Arkansas - I married two more when I got to Utah. - the Gourds
go to the ABS Supply web site
click on the link for a company called AWARD METALS
I think that is the product you want-looks like you can get it in copper as well
( not that I want to cut into Grants' action,LOL)
Stephen
Are you thinking of their "Stealth" vent? It looks a bit large (smallest is 24") and appears to be designed for attic ventilation rather than venting a fan.
Maybe you were looking at a different product>?
Woodturner,Does the roof have a ridge vent?Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
No ridge vent, no ventilation of any kind. That's pretty common for 1930's era slate roofs around here - no venting. However, the sheathing boards are spaced with a 1/4" gap or so, so there is probably some air flow that way.
you are right- I missed the part about venting a fan.
i would almost surely use a Broan model with the flapper.
sorry for the confusion-
stephen
Stephen,
Have you had any time to take pictures of that bay and hipped porch yet?
Walter
sorry walter--------- we are under snow right now so work is at a standstill.
I am at about hour 65 of what I expect to be about a 130-140 hour project.
I still have some work to do on the roof ABOVE the bay-and on the roof ABOVE the porch-which i would like to complete before starting in on the new slates.
expecting temps. in the single digits next week-so I suspect at this point it may be a couple/several weeks before I can resume progress.
when i have new pictures i will absolutely share'em
stephen
Stephen,
We've finally got a Winter going here too- after warmth all Fall and into early Jan. it's -8 here this morning. No roofing today!
Thanks for the update. Walter
Woodturner,
Here's a picture of the one I put in about 8-10 years ago. I think it was Broan, but I can't be sure. It wasn't really designed for a roof but if it had leaked I'm sure I would have heard about it before now.
Walter
It's just to the right of the vent stack-picture isn't that great.
Edited 1/24/2007 12:52 pm ET by theslateman
What kind of a vent was it? You said it wasn't for a vent - was it just a normal wall vent?
Did you do any special flashing or anything?
Thanks.
Woodturner,
I meant to say it wasn't intended for a roof installation,but rather a sidewall vent for a bathroom fan exhaust.
The GC couldn't get the duct out elsewhere-a brick house-so we went thru the roof. The flange wasn't huge but I used IWS and some other metal too if I remember correctly.
The top is goosenecked sort of with a flapper inside the opening. It couldn't leak or someone would have made me aware of it.
I'll look on a website to see if I can identify it. Walter
I'll try pasting this link in.
http://www.broan.com/display/router.asp?ProductID=1363
Edited 1/24/2007 1:34 pm ET by theslateman
here's the one we use...
the model 636
View ImageMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike,
Sorry about the picture size-didn't feel like setting up a ladder to get any closer.
Yes thats the same one I used on that roof- the GC brought it in- I thought it was for wall venting. I knew it could be made watertight,but the flanges aren't really large.
Walter
in low slope, we extend the flanges with Grace Ice & WaterMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike,
Same thing I did on this roof- these slates were 12"x20",with a steep pitch-but as the picture shows they act as snow guards.
Walter
OK, enough of this chit-chat, where's our next batch of pics?
jt8
"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned."-- Buddha
John,
This job was far from my best work-it started when Stephen and I talked about Crappy repairs to slate roofs. It was an apartment building that really should be re-roofed with Archys-this was only a temporary fix.
The nails were just steel nails,not even galvanized-so numerous slates are just loose and falling out. I've invoiced out this repair and when I talk with the owner I'll suggest a re-roof in the Fall. There are a lot of good slates on that roof which I can use elsewhere for future repairs on other homes.
You can see from some shots how the nail is gone with the head fused onto the slates. These were really nice Monson slates-some of the best roof slate ever quarried.
Wow, that reminds me of the slate we had in Pa. They got punky like that. The nails seemed to self seat after a long time, cuz the slate puffed up around them...nasty , dusty and really fragile.
When I was about 15, I was a grunt for a slater, we did all the turrets in Bethlehem Steel neighbor hoods..he'd scribe a pattern and chuck it down at me ( me with the cutter) and I'd tote or bucket them up to him..I still have nightmares of them pats coming at me like a frisbee or worse, like a sawblade.
Really, that was how we cut them and got them back up.
Mike was a pretty good tosser, I am still alive. But a slate at a 45 degree arc, is a wild pony to ride.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
The secret to a long life is knowing when its time to go. M. Shocked
Duane,
These aren't punky at all-they're harder than the hinges of Hel#. Wonderful slates that were nailed with iron nails which combined with the slates iron content to almost fuse together.
If the nails hadn't failed the cretins with the tar pots wouldn't have slathered it all over the place and I wouldn't have had to repair this roof.
Hated to be seen on this roof since the repairs are only a stop gap measure,but am looking forward to the annual Fall slate harvest.
Walter ( As Forrest would say) licking my chops
Don't pay no mind to me, I am on a new med and really not wel with it..carry on.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
The secret to a long life is knowing when its time to go. M. Shocked
I've read a good few books about natural slating, I've never hearad of them. They look really good, little or no grading in them I'd say. We have lot of different slate vents here, you would hardly notice them in the roof. If you ever need some for a high end job I could ship them over. They cost about $60-80.
Just a thought
Emmet,
Yes they are great shingles-note the drilled and countersunk holes for the nails head.
It's a pity such a fine piece of stone has been tarred up in this way. The Monson slate from Maine is very well known in this country. The slate Sphere mentions earlier in this thread is 40 to 50 year slate from Pennsylvania,hardly worth the effort to install it.
I'll post some shots of a job a year ago where we used new Gwendolyn Quarry black from Quebec-not as good as Monson but appears to be decent stone.
Walter
Walter,
thats cool, I'm really looking forward to seeing the pics. I did a quarter round roof in October last, I took a few photos of it while under construction, but never took any of the final project, there was too much scoffolding in the way. I will be down that way on Sunday so will take some photos of that also
Emmet,
Here are some pictures from that job. I'll get a bunch together from start to finish and put into a photo sharing album and put the link on here for you and anyone else who might enjoy seeing them.
This roof had it's original wooden shingle roof in place,then an asbestos shingle-diamond pattern on the main roof and regular ones on the cone. We removed both old roofs, re-fastened the sheathing, prepped the decking then slated the whole area.
The one picture of the cone shows a building across the street with the Mansard roof of the soft Penn. slate which has been on for 25 years and is halfway thru it's life expectancy.
Great looking work,When I was learning my trade, retired carpenters (wearing whites, I still wear them) would stop by job sites and pitch in cutting scalloped shakes for gabled ends, etc. The original scalloped slates in your post were done on the job or ordered, back in the day ?Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Chuck S,
I don't think those shots had any scalloped slates in them ,and I can't find any on this hard drive. My other computer that I've loaned to a friend has some.
I'll try to get those off my other machine. We normally reuse what we can and cut the balance needed from the same size rectangular slates. They are easy to make with the hand help guillotine cutters we use.
Walter
Walter,
My dumb. What I saw was shakes.
View Image
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Chuck,
I never thought about those! The GC took care of residing with new ones after we had done all our slating. Walter
Walter,
That looks like a cool slate job you did, if you have the final pictures you should post them.
What kind of metal is on top of the cone roof?
Emmet
Emmet,
I'll pull the pictures together next week and post some more of them. Thanks.
The old metal on this building was all 26 gauge galvanized metal which hadn't seen paint in lots of years. Walter
If seeyou had seen that turret roof, he would have wanted to copper it.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=41708.73
jt8
"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned."-- Buddha
John,
We did use some copper at the eaves of this turret
dam... well that's clearer than mud....
View Image
i guess it's a Broan roof jack.. we've used them for 30 years.. i keep about 3 in stock and we repaint them to match or coordinate with the roofing
they are made for roofing andwill vent a 3" or 4" duct.. some kits cdome with a nice screw-in collar , which makes it alot easier to make the final connectionMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Newtone, manufacturer of bath and kitchen vents, makes a roof mount exhaust vent cap. It has a gravity back-draft cap and a 3"-4" flush mount flange on all four sides. Takes a 4" solid round duct. Bottom flange goes on top of the shingles, ( or slates), 9" strips of I&W over the side flanges, and another strip across the top. Shingle neatly around the sides and top. It is made from mill finish aluminum. I primed and painted it to match the shingle color previous to installation, and added a piece of alum. expanded metal mesh to keep any cold little critters out. Been 15 years now, no problems. I would think you could use this same vent for a slate roof, maybe going with 12" strips of I&W just to be sure.
getting a little chatty...
Walter,
What's the preferred method when repairing/replacing slate tile: use a slate hook to hold the replacement tile, or to nail through the replacement tile between the two adjacent tiles and cover the nail head by sliding with a piece of copper flashing under the adjacent slates to cover the nail?
I've seen it both ways and always thought the hooks made it look too obvious a repair was done.
Thanks
lek
Lek,
Both schools of thought have their advocates,but I'll tell you my feelings.
I usually use copper hooks for a few reasons. From the ground on a two story house they are barely noticeable.When "bibbing" a centerpunched slate the metal bib tends to lift the slates above slightly actually making that repair more noticeable than using hooks. Also by punching a third hole in the center of the slate it is weakened ,the weight being held by the one nail will sometimes cause them to break in the center. With hooks the weight is being borne by the hook-no extra hole in the slate.
When there is a gap in the sheathing right where a hook should be placed,I do sometimes bib them in. When doing valley work I keep copper nails in one pouch and hooks in another. I find it faster and better and not obtrusive at all.
Walter
hey, walter... eric says to send the book to you
so send me your mailing addy.. either here
or email me at
mfsmith1 AT cox.net
i think you'll like Fiasco..