Bodging a slate roof patch

anybody

Any impervious sheet material - alumiminium sheet, cement fibre board, galvanised sheet. Nail a strip of lead or copper about 1" wide to the exposed lath between the upper pair of slates, push the sheet into place under the above slates and over the strip, and bend the strip of lead / copper over the sheet to stop it slipping out.

Might look unsightly, but it's only temporary to keep you dry over winter.

AWEM

Genuine slates are very cheap, I cant see any point pathcing with anything else, unless you're truly brassic. If so, patches of roofing felt would do for a while.

NT

Agreed, just replaced a few slates on our roof. The 10 x 20" slates were about =A31.20 each. Slaters ripper =A317 ish, box of 4 x 40 mm galvanised clouts couple of quid and some plastic "sim-fix" retainers, expensive at about 30p each.

Others have posted links to guides on the procedure, it's very simple. The hardest part I found was getting the top of the replacement slate onto the top lath. My ripper could do with being an inch or two longer so it can come in from the side and still easily reach the top lath whilst allowing the replacement slate to slide up it.

What may not be obvious is always work from a roof ladder do not walk up the slates as you will crack 'em.

Oh they look handy, need to replace some slates on our utility room and old stable, think I'll give them a try. I've got some lead, but that looks a quicker and neater option.

Sim-Fix, might not be quicker as sliding the inverted T bit between the two lower slates can be tricky on a "tight" roof. I found the notch in the end of the ripper the best way for shoving it up. I think they are neater than lead and as we are very exposed having the bottom edge fixed(*) seems like a good idea.

(*) If you get the top edge of the slate onto the top batten there isn't much movement but still more than a properly nailed slate.

For once i totally agree reclaimed slates are only £1 each from most reclamation yards, madness to use anything else.

they're £2 each at Leominster.

Even at £2 it's worth it, unless you trying to patch something the size of Sarah Beenys new gaff.

Thanks all for the advice, which seems to have boiled down to "it's easy enough to do a normal fix". So I retrieved my slates (have reasonable numbers of spares knocking around), and went and got some lead (the plastic ones might have been an option but not available locally), and had a merry time this afternoon cutting and nailing. I have no doubt I will find out how successful I have been later, but it looks at least moderately convincing :-)