A roof deals with quite a harsh environment. It is exposed to the wind, sun, frost, snow, birds, rain, algae and moss to name a few things a roof has to cope with. So while a whole roof can survive a lifetime or more, individual tiles can suffer breaking or cracking.
Causes of slipped tile
A slipped tile could be owing to a number of things:
- An individual breakdown of the slate or tile which has triggered the nibs which hold the tile to come off or the nail holes in the slate to break.
- Extreme winds have freed the tile from the wooden batten that it sits on
- Weathering of the nails which keep the slates in place. Nowadays stainless or steel copper nails are used but traditionally nails with lower deterioration resistance were used. Extensive failure of slate nails is called ‘nail sicknesses and usually needs a full roof refurbishment. An indication of nail sickness is if the bottommost edges of each row of slates are not harmonized with each other.
- Decaying of the wooden lath which the slates / tiles are secured on to. This could be confined to a small area which is not appropriately protected from the elements or it could be a wider setback. Modern roofs use tantalized wood planks but older roofs may use unprocessed wood which is more prone to decaying.
- Erosion of the nails which fix the batten on to the joists.
These sorts of difficulties can only be precisely diagnosed by examining the roof to determine the cause. In order to avoid most of problems like this it is better to just get a reputable contractor such as Roofing contractors canton Michigan ( for more information watch this ) to install your roof in the first place. Extreme weather or strong winds situations can initiate slippages and the decision has to be made as to whether this is a one off occurrence or whether the same letdowns are going to be recurrent year after year. Where poorer materials have been used then it is possibly only a matter of time before more complications are faced. If it’s only a problem with a couple of collapsed tiles or slates then these can just be substituted. If many slates or tiles have slipped then re-roofing may be a better option.
Refurbishing the roof
If the roof needs refurbishing then the current slates or tiles counting ridge tiles will be detached along with inferior wooden battens and any torching or underlay until just the wooden rafters are left. Then a new structure is constructed. A new breathable sheath is added and new tantalized wooden battens pinned onto the rafters using galvanized or stainless steel nails. Concrete and clay tiles are either preserved using nibs molded into the tile which sit on the timber batten or using pegs. Slates are pinned onto the batten with wooden or pegs copper nails. The edge tiles are then bedded down with cement. Depending on the insulation necessities, insulation can either be laid on the floor of the attic or added between the roof rafters