History Of Slate Roofs

For layout reasons these patterns are most frequently incorporated into standard slate roofs.

History of slate roofs. In period styles of residential and commercial architecture. Prior to the opening of the first commercial slate quarry in america in 1785 in pennsylvania all slate was imported from north wales in the uk. Foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering but instead is in planes perpendicular to the direction of metamorphic compression. And nearby parts of canada because of the abundance of slate quarries in the area slate also became popular in the rest of the u s.

Slate roofs first appeared in america in the 16th century but it wasn t until 1785 until the first slate quarry opened and slate was made available to general consumers. In america slate roofs did appear in the 1600s but the first quarry did not open until 1785. Williams slate co c. That opening allowed it to be available to general consumers.

Slate is available in different sizes that vary from 24 length x 12 width to 12 length x 6 width. Often the first part of a slate roof to fail is the fixing nails. Iron in early american roofs the smithsonian journal of history 3 no. A slate roof may last 75 to 150 years and even longer.

However it was not until the second half of the 19th century that slate became mass quarried. Slate is a fine grained foliated homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low grade regional metamorphism it is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. Slate roofs of quality j. To this day vermont is a major producer quarrying primarily s1 quality stone.

Slate roofs can and should be maintained and repaired to effectively extend their serviceable lives. Reprint of 1926 edition now available from the vermont structural slate co inc fairhaven vt 05743. An excellent reference for the many designs and details of slate roofs peterson charles e. The slate roof is often considered the best type of roofing.

To find the roots of slate roofing you have to go way back in the history books. History of slate roofing. Slate has long been a regionally prominent roofing material in the northeastern u s. Slate roofs are a critical design feature of many historic buildings that cannot be duplicated using substitute materials.

Each piece of slate is split by hand. Patterned slate roofs by introducing slates of different colors or shapes in a specific design or in courses individual accents or banding can be created as part of the design characteristic of a slate roof. When replacement is necessary details contributing to the appearance of the roof should be retained. It was reserved for high end buildings usually in big cities in the 1600 and 1700s but once slate became available locally the costs came down and it began showing up in more.

History of slate roofs.