We have a 100 year old slate roof on our house. It looks like the previous owners was having some leaks in a particular section, and rather than spend a lot of money on repairs, had a roofer use some kind of a silicone sealant around the edges of the slates. There’s probably 10-12 slates that have this kind of treatment.
My question is, what should I do about it? Should I leave it well enough alone, or should I find somebody to fix this area of the roof (it isn’t leaking now)? What would be the repair for this kind of situation, pull off the old slates and put on some different ones (I have some of the original slate as spares)? Is the silicone a passable repair?
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Calling the slate expert!
"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
Celts,
A picture would be very helpful to help diagnose the exact problem , but I'll guess like Grant did that an inexperienced roofer used silicone 'cause they couldn't find the leak.
Maybe they're held in with the silicone or it might be to just stem what they thought were leaks coming in the side laps of the slates.
If it's good grey slate from Maine it's still got some life in it.
If it's only cosmetic you could remove the silicone with a sharp sheetrock knife.If it's helping keep water out then I'd suggest relaying a section or area.
Post a picture if you can for better advice and a more accurate diagnosis.
It looks like the previous owners was having some leaks in a particular section, and rather than spend a lot of money on repairs, had a roofer use some kind of a silicone sealant around the edges of the slates. There's probably 10-12 slates that have this kind of treatment.
Walter will weigh in directly on this, but my guess is the previous "roofer" used silicone caulk to hold in replacement slates rather than the several other accepted methods. Or, a piece may have broken off and they've re-attached it with caulk. If I've guessed right ( I can't imagine why else the perimeter of slates would be caulked), the repair is only as good as the caulk.
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"I can't imagine why else the perimeter of slates would be caulked"I can - it's a common DIY or handyman "fix", though we both know it was a waste of time.
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"I can't imagine why else the perimeter of slates would be caulked"
I can - it's a common DIY or handyman "fix", though we both know it was a waste of time.
Well, the OP said it wasn't leaking. My experience says a leak will be amplified 7 out of 10 times when caulk is applied indesciminately.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
Good point.
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Dontcha just love it when you approach a defective flashing or repair and you know that at there are at least 4 other people before you by the number of colours/different types of caulking applied to the problem.
Oh yeah - How 'bout that Rajon Rondo?
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I wish I could add to that but.............
D........... good laugh though!