This website is provided by Joseph Jenkins, Inc., The Slate Roof Experts
Styles
of Slate Roof Installations
Standard
Pattern Style

Common in USA . All slates in field of roof are same length and width.
For more information about the fundamentals of slate roof installation
styles read this
article.
Random
Width Style


Slates are same
length, but vary in width.
Staggered
Butt Style


Slates may vary
in length, or be laid on the roof to appear varied in length.
In either case, the bottom exposed edge is staggered. The
degree of stagger can vary from roof to roof. The photo
above shows a 1" stagger on two VT sea green roofs
about 80 years old.
The photo below
shows a staggered butt roof with 3 lengths of slates
(16", 18" and 20").


The roof above
is made of random width, mixed color, new and salvaged
slates in a staggered butt style. The slates include VT
unfading purple, VT mottled green and purple, VT sea green
(new and salvaged), VT unfading green, VA Buckingham (salvaged),
and NY red (salvaged). Lengths range from 16" to 20" and
widths range from 8" to 14".
The
photo below shows a staggered butt roof with 3 lengths
(16", 18" and 20 ") with 4 colors of new
slate: VT sea green (3/8 of roof surface), VT unfading
purple (1/4), VT black (1/4), and VT unfading green (1/8),
using 6 widths (7", 8", 9", 10", 11" and
12"). This slate was donated to the Natural
Building Colloquium East (2005) by Camara
Slate Company.

The
photo below shows a staggered butt slate roof with all the slates rounded
by hand prior to installation. Lengths are 18", 20" and
22" with a mix of widths including 9", 10",
11", 12" and 14". The slates are about 50%
new and 50% salvaged. Colors include VT unfading purple
(new), VT unfading green (new), VT sea green (new and salvaged).
Half of the roof is a mix of salvaged VT sea green slates.
The remainder are new slates.


The
photo below shows a staggered butt style slate roof,
with 3/8 Vermont unfading green slate. 3/8 Vermont "sea
green" (semi-weathering green), 1/8 Vermont purple
and 1/8 Vermont black, in three lengths (14",
16" and 18") and seven widths (7", 8",
9", 10", 11", 12" and 14").
The slate was attached with 1.5" copper slating
nails. The ridge will be finished in a saddle
slate ridge using 8"x16" Vermont green
slates and 20
ounce copper step flashings. The slates were donated
for this demonstration roof installed at the Ohio University
East Campus for the International
Preservation Trades Workshop, 2005, by Camara
Slate Company.

Another staggered
butt slate roof (above) using heavy new VT slates with
multi-colors.
More
about staggered butt slate roofs.
Quaint
Cottage Style Slate Roofs
Ragged
Butt Style

Same principle
as staggered butt, but the exposed edge is cut into random
shapes or angles. Roof above is made from a mix of recycled
slates.


The two photos
above are ragged butt style slate roofs with a mix of
Vermont slates and Buckingham (Virginia) slates. The
photo below is another ragged butt slate roof.
More
about ragged butt roofs.
Quaint
Cottage Style Slate Roofs
Textural
Style
Above
is a random width slate roof (PA black slates). The textural
effect is created by periodically inserting two slates
on top of each other where one slate would normally be.
The lower slate in the pair is dropped down a couple inches
and the slate on top is raised up a little. This provides
thickness texture to the roof as well as staggers the exposed
butt creating a unique and tasteful architectural style.

Above
is another textured PA black slate roof installed in a
very unique style. Longer slates are used in diagonal rows
with thicker slates used nearer the bottom of the roof.
The same roof also utilizes thicker slates at random to
enhance the textured look (below).

Graduated
Style

Traditional
style of slating probably originating in the UK, Wales
or Scotland. The slates vary in both length and width.
Typically, the slates also diminish in thickness as they
approach the top of the roof. The roof above includes a
mix of Vermont slates. More
about graduated slate roofs.
Mixed
Color Patterns

The unique
roof above mixes VT unfading green, sea green and purple
slates with NY red. Note the unusual ragged butt style.

Another mix of
VT sea green and purple slates with NY red (above).
Mixed
Shapes Slating Style

It is common to mix slates of the same
length and width, but of different shapes. Above is a common
style, installed with recycled Vermont "sea green" slates;
below is a less common style, but quite dramatic nonetheless.

Patterns
One of the
unique characteristics of slate roofs is that slates
can be used of different colors to create unique patterns,
thereby creating landmark
roofs.




The above set of roofs were installed by
Brent Ulisky and Orion Jenkins of Joseph
Jenkins, Inc. The pattern was determined by the homeowners
from a blank schematic supplied to them by the contractor.
The slate is VT unfading green and VT unfading purple attached
to rough-sawn hemlock roof decking with copper nails. All flashings are 20
ounce copper. The ridges are saddle
ridges of VT purple slate with 20 ounce copper step flashings.
Inscriptions



European Slating Styles:
Traditional German (below):

Traditional Spanish
(below):

Installing
Slate Hips and Ridges__Read
the article in Traditional Roofing
Quaint
Cottage Style Slate Roofs
General Slate Roof Installation Specifications
Slate
Starter Courses - The Five Most Common Installation Mistakes
Slate
Roof Installation Styles
Installing
Copper Snow Aprons
Why
Slate Roofs Don't Need Self-Adhesive Underlayment
Slating
Conical Roofs
Can
I Install My Own Slate Roof?
Graduated
Slate Roofs [Article
1], [ Article
2], [ Article
3]
How
the Holes in Roof Slate Can Affect the Installation
Installing
Slate Roofs and Avoiding Common Mistakes (Word
download) [PDF]
Sample
Slate Roof Installation Contract [Download
It]
Top
10 Mistakes made When Installing a Slate Roof
Avoid These 21 Contractor Errors
Some
Things to Think About When Installing Slate Roofs
Basic "How
to Repair a Slate Roof" Instructions
We
Sell Roof Jacks___[Using
Roof Jacks]
Basic
Slate Roofing Tool Sets
What Architects Need To Know About Slate Roofs (Powerpoint)
What
Home Inspectors Need To Know About Slate Roofs (Powerpoint)
There is more information about installing slate
roofs in the Slate Roof Bible.
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