Repairing and replacing individual slates and their fixings on the older and steeper roofs of coastal Fairfield County.
Fastest: call (833) 751-2102. Or send this and we call you back.
Slate roof repair replaces cracked or slipped slates, re-fixes loose ones and renews corroded fixings, working with the stone rather than against it. Slate often fails at the nail before it fails in the stone, so the repair starts with the fixings. Non-ferrous nails are set to suit the slate and the lap, and sound slates are kept wherever they can be.
On the older houses of Greenwich, slate is part of the architecture and is usually repaired one slate at a time rather than replaced whole. The National Park Service's Preservation Brief 29 on historic slate roofs explains that the steeper the pitch, the longer slate lasts, because water drains faster and is less likely to be driven under the slates.
The Park Service's principle that matters most is that non-ferrous slater's nails, solid copper or stainless steel, should always be used, because plain steel and galvanized nails rust out well before the slate does. Nails driven too deep crack the slate, and exposed nail heads let water in. A slate roof seldom fails in the middle of a field. It fails where a fixing has rusted, a slate has slipped or an earlier nail was driven badly.
Wind and water add to those failures on a house near the Sound. Flashings, fixings and gutters are where a shorefront house shows its weakness first, so they are checked before the stone is touched. The Park Service's principle for metals, matched or isolated metals with non-ferrous fixings, applies at every junction.
Slate is durable stone, and the fixing is usually the weak link. Plain steel and galvanized nails corrode, and corroded nails let slates slip or crack. Non-ferrous nails are the standard the Park Service sets for historic slate.
As a nail corrodes it loses its grip, the slate drops, and the slate below takes the extra weight. A slipped slate also exposes the nail heads of the course beneath it, and those heads let water in at the top of the next slate down.
Driving the nail is the other half. A nail driven too deep cracks the slate it holds, and one driven too shallow does not hold the stone at all. An overdriven nail is replaced rather than left to crack the stone over time.
Yes. The steeper the pitch, the longer slate lasts, because water drains faster and is less likely to be driven under the slates. Shallower sections need more care at the lap and the fixings.
Water on a steep slope runs off before it finds a gap, and wind has less chance to drive it up under the lap. Steep sections still need their fixings checked, but they seldom hold water the way a shallow one does.
Shallow sections are where a slate repair needs the most attention. They are inspected first, and the scope notes them so the homeowner can see where the work is concentrated and why.
Usually yes. Cracked, slipped and rusted slates can be replaced or re-fixed section by section, provided the decking and flashings are sound. Full replacement is for a roof where most of the slopes have failed.
The decking under the slates decides how far a repair can go. If the boards are sound, the work stays with the slates and fixings. If the decking is soft or rotted nails have weakened the boards, the repair grows, and the scope is written only after the decking has been looked at.
Salvage matters. Sound slates can be reused, and a technician sorts them as the work goes, so that what is kept is kept on purpose. A new slate's color and thickness are shown on the roof before it goes in.
It depends on the scope and the address. In Stamford, ordinary repairs are generally treated as repairs, while larger roofing work runs through the Building Department's own track. Confirm the position for the address before work starts.
Stamford's Building Department lists a roofing application track, and its frequently asked questions say a permit is not required for ordinary repairs to structures. The FAQ is dated, so the homeowner should confirm the current position directly.
Slate on a historic house can carry its own review. The authority to ask is the one for the address, and this site does not say whether any particular property is in a historic district.
Cost follows how many slates and fixings are involved, how easily they can be reached and what the decking and flashings need. It is explained and approved before any work starts, and this site prints no figure for it.
Pitch and access matter. A steep slate roof on a large house needs more care in walking and more time to lift and re-fix each slate. A section with several planes and valleys needs careful work at every joint, and slate that must be matched or salvaged adds time.
Under the slate is where cost can change. Corroded nails, soft decking and failed flashing only show once the stone is lifted, and each option is explained before any work is approved.
Slate is brittle and heavy, and a slate that is stepped on can crack or slide. Do not walk a slate roof or lift a slate to look underneath it. Never drive a nail into slate to test it, and keep people and vehicles out of the area below the slope, because a broken slate sliding off a roof can injure someone on the ground. Ask for the fixing type and flashing metals to be written into the scope, and check the contractor's registration on elicense.ct.gov before anything is signed.
The technician marks cracked slates, slipped courses and rusted fixings across the whole roof. The attic is checked for daylight, stains and nail points coming through the boards, because a slate that looks sound from below may have a failed fixing.
Each slate to be replaced is lifted from the course above so the slates around it are not cracked. The old fixings come out, and the decking beneath is checked for soft wood or split boards. Sound slates taken off are set aside for reuse.
New slates are fixed with solid copper or stainless slater's nails, placed to suit the slate's size and the roof's pitch. Each nail is driven to the depth that holds the slate without cracking it, and a proud nail head is set again. The nail type is named in the written scope.
Loose slates that remain sound are re-fixed with the correct nails, and any that have slipped are brought back into line. The technician checks the lap so that water runs over the course below rather than into it.
Flashings at valleys, chimneys and dormers are checked for corrosion, gaps and short lengths. The metals at each junction are matched or isolated, and any flashing that is corroded or too short is replaced rather than patched.
The most common slate repair. A cracked or slipped slate is replaced and the nails around it renewed. Matching is the real task, because older stock can differ in thickness and color. Where the match is close rather than exact, the technician says so and shows the options.
Where the stone is sound but the nails have rusted, the repair re-fixes the slates with non-ferrous fixings. This addresses the cause the Park Service names, not only the broken slate that shows it. The work is slow and is done slate by slate, with sound stone kept in place.
Slate roofs meet walls, chimneys and dormers at flashing joints, which are often where the first leak appears. The repair replaces the flashing with a metal that suits the junction and resets the slates around it. It can be the most important repair on the roof even when the slate is sound.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what slate roof repair and replacement should cost.
Greenwich is where much of the older slate in this service area is found. It is one town with many villages inside it, from Cos Cob and Old Greenwich to Riverside and Glenville, and its older estates carry slate and tile on their larger houses. Those houses often have several planes, valleys and chimneys, and each of those is a joint for the flashing to be checked.
A house on the Sound takes the same winds that drive storm damage along this coast. East winds along the axis of the Sound drove surge into the western end of the water during Sandy, and slate on an exposed slope can be lifted at its edges in a gust. On houses like these, the fixings and the metals at the junctions come first.
In the inland rows of Wilton and Weston, heavier tree cover holds snow longer and can drop limbs onto a roof. A slate roof under a tree takes that impact, and a fallen limb can crack a slate that is otherwise sound. Those roofs are checked for cracks around the top courses after a heavy storm.
Repairing clay tile and its fastening on the older estates and larger houses of coastal Fairfield County.
Repair and replacement of the metal at roof-to-wall joints, valleys and openings on older houses across Fairfield County and lower Westchester.
Repair of counter-flashing, step pieces and the crown seal where a brick chimney crosses a roof in Fairfield County and lower Westchester.
A written look at covering, flashing, decking and ventilation, used to decide between repair and replacement on Fairfield County roofs.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Not in a way that lasts. A cracked slate is replaced with the closest match available, and the fixings around it are renewed. Filling or sealing a crack can hold for a time, but it hides the real problem, which is usually the fixing. The Park Service's guidance treats the fixing as the thing to repair.
A slate is held by its nails, and a corroded or undersized nail stops holding it. Gravity, wind and the daily movement of the roof then pull the slate down the slope until it drops or sits proud of the course. Re-fixing with non-ferrous nails addresses the cause, and the slate itself is often sound.
The Park Service's guidance calls for non-ferrous slater's nails, either solid copper or stainless steel, and notes that plain steel and galvanized nails rust out well before the slate does. Ask for the fixing type to be named in the scope. Nail depth matters as much as the metal, because a nail driven too deep cracks the slate.
The decision is made from the roof itself: the stone, the decking beneath it, the fixings and the flashings. The technician sorts the sound slates and shows which can be kept. The choice between repair and full replacement is set out in writing, with the reasons.
Keep people clear of the area below the slope, and do not climb up to put it back. Photograph the gap from the ground and call (833) 751-2102. The technician will check the fixings on the slates around it, because a single loss often means nearby fixings have weakened too.
Yes, if it is home improvement work in Connecticut. The contract must be in writing and carry the contractor's registration number, the signing date, the start and completion dates and the last day the owner may cancel. A contract missing those terms is not valid or enforceable against the homeowner.