Received approval to construct a new building in Colonial Williamsburg. Only provisio is that the roof must be either cement tiles or real slate, and I am leaning toward slate. (The rest of the exterior also has to be authentic materials: wood, stucco or brick siding, no hardie, vinyl or eifs; wood trim, true divided lite windows, no fiberglas columns, etc.)
I have an architect doing the plans, but I’m curious about what you have to say about the slate. I know nothing. Are there certain thicknesses to be avoided? certain sources that are better? Exposure?
We are struggling a little on how to vent the attic. The building will have two fake chimneys, one at each end (they will be real brick, of course) and we will use them as the exhaust path since there won’t be gable vents. The colonial staff is concerned about a continuous soffit vent not looking right, so we’re looking into alternates and adaptive methods there. Ought to be an interesting project.
“Put your creed in your deed.” Emerson
“When asked if you can do something, tell’em “Why certainly I can”, then get busy and find a way to do it.” T. Roosevelt
Replies
You could go with a hot roof and avoid the need for roof vents, soffit vents, etc. altogether.
We sprayed the underside of our roofdeck with 6"-8" of Corbond. No ventilation, etc. and no problems with our fake slate curling in the sun either. Take a look over at buildingscience.com, they have some fantastic resources on their site that explain where our vented roofs come from and why they may cause more problems than they fix.
You would kill two birds with one stone. Avoiding the needs for extra vents makes the house look more authentic from the outside, and the better insulation package will lower the operational costs also.
Why don't you consider using copper half-round ventilation dormers?
Jeff
Tell me more. Got a picturer?"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
See link - http://www.coppercraft.com/dormer.htm
Locals here can make up a copper half-round for less $$
Jeff
Thanks, I'll look into that."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Eddie,
Yes there are certain sources to shy away from- like the Chinese quarries.
A standard thickness slate of 1/4" to 5/16" is a good shingle to use.
Buckingham slates from Virginia used to be top quality but I hear there best slate is behind them- buyer beware.
Here are some shots taken in the last couple of days of a Quebec slate 10" x 16" with a 6.5" exposure.