Repairing/replacing slate tiles

[Mart]

Hi all,

I have an area on my slate roof which has previously been 'questionably' repaired. The recent high winds has finally loosened some of the tiles so it needs immediate action.

The actual repair looks to be simple enough, i'd plan to replace all the slates that don't match with reclaimed slates and also secure any originals that have slipped. As far as I can tell the rest of the roof is in good condition with no leaks, all of the felt membrane has perished.

The biggest challenge is access. I was thinking about hiring a scaffold tower however I'd need to actually climb on to the roof to reach some of the higher slipped tiles. I'm not sure how delicate they are and whether i'd likely cause more damage in the process but I can't see any way around doing this.

Is this diyable or best left to a roofer? I'd welcome any advice

 

[stuart45]

You can't walk on slate directly, you need to use a roof ladder.

 

[Cubist]

The trouble with slate tiles is that they can be remarkably delicate and can break quite easily by someone climbing or walking over the roof. The job you have there though looks like it could be handled using a roof ladder, which is hooked over the ridge, and all the work done while using the ladder to spread your weight. The issue though would be that unless you use wire clips to secure the replacement slates you would end up having to strip a much larger area than you may expect to allow the slates to be nailed to the battens - always assuming the battens are in good order.

 

[Mart]

Thanks for the feedback. I have a roofer coming out to quote soon. Reality is I'd need to rent some kind of scaffold tower and roof ladder so depending on how much they quote I'm leaning towards letting them deal with it to avoid me damaging the roof or myself!

Battens look fine and I'd be ok with using tingles where I couldn't nail the new slates in.