History Of Slate Roofs

Patterned slate roofs by introducing slates of different colors or shapes in a specific design or in courses individual accents or banding can be created as part of the design characteristic of a slate roof.

History of slate roofs.

Slate roofs first appeared in america in the 16th century but it wasn t until 1785 until the first slate quarry opened and slate was made available to general consumers. To find the roots of slate roofing you have to go way back in the history books. Slate is a fine grained foliated homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low grade regional metamorphism it is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. History of slate roofs.

In period styles of residential and commercial architecture. Slate roofs of quality j. Iron in early american roofs the smithsonian journal of history 3 no. Slate is available in different sizes that vary from 24 length x 12 width to 12 length x 6 width.

Foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering but instead is in planes perpendicular to the direction of metamorphic compression. An excellent reference for the many designs and details of slate roofs peterson charles e. Slate has long been a regionally prominent roofing material in the northeastern u s. Reprint of 1926 edition now available from the vermont structural slate co inc fairhaven vt 05743.

Each piece of slate is split by hand. Slate roofs are a critical design feature of many historic buildings that cannot be duplicated using substitute materials. The slate roof is often considered the best type of roofing. To this day vermont is a major producer quarrying primarily s1 quality stone.

Slate roofs can and should be maintained and repaired to effectively extend their serviceable lives. Edited by peter c. However it was not until the second half of the 19th century that slate became mass quarried. However slate roofs are often expensive to install in the us for example a slate roof may have the same cost as the rest of the house.

In america slate roofs did appear in the 1600s but the first quarry did not open until 1785. More than 700 years in fact as there is evidence that slate was used as a roofing material in north wales england during the early 14th century. It was reserved for high end buildings usually in big cities in the 1600 and 1700s but once slate became available locally the costs came down and it began showing up in more. And nearby parts of canada because of the abundance of slate quarries in the area slate also became popular in the rest of the u s.

A slate roof may last 75 to 150 years and even longer. Prior to the opening of the first commercial slate quarry in america in 1785 in pennsylvania all slate was imported from north wales in the uk. For layout reasons these patterns are most frequently incorporated into standard slate roofs. When replacement is necessary details contributing to the appearance of the roof should be retained.

Often the first part of a slate roof to fail is the fixing nails.