Victorian House Slate Roof
Slate was the predominant roofing material in the victorian and edwardian eras.
Victorian house slate roof. So you have roofing slates for sale. Natural slate lightweight hardwearing and long lasting welsh slate was the most common victorian roof covering. Features of this house. Failure is usually due to the nail fixings becoming corroded causing the slates to slip although with age slates can eventually start to absorb water and become soft.
Although the move away from thatch and later shingles meant a stronger roof. Well here s a bit of advice when you call a company that buys salvaged. Wood roofing was used primarily for early victorian homes. In any case you now have a pile of good salvaged roofing slates that you want to sell.
Or you tore off a perfectly good slate roof because a roofing contractor talked you into it. Slate roofing in victorian and edwardian houses. Structure was needed even the heaviest stone slates were relatively common from the. 16th century onwards particularly where fi ssile stone could be sourced from delves.
Slate tile can be expensive and installation requires a knowledgable and specialized roofing contractor. Small quarries or delphs which outcropped near the surface. Located in marietta ga this classically styled victorian home stands out as a great example. In the london area slates are usually from north wales bangor or portmadoc and often from the penryhn quarry at bethesda.
All houses over a certain age with original slate roofs will be the same as is mine. I ve included over a dozen pictures from start to finish on building a turret. This is one of the most distinctive features of a victorian house. Slate roof walnut and mahogany exterior cherry woodwork original 9 foot cherry pocket doors hardwood floors exterior repainted to original 1885 colors within last 2 years central air updated kitchen with brand new stove never used and refrigerator.
Imported from wales to colonial america for fire proof roofs in boston philadelphia and new york it was still slow to catch on for houses. The roofs are usually ornately decorated with small carved ornaments on the gable ends and the ridge where the two sloping sides of the roof meet. You tore down a building and salvaged the slates. They also last much longer than some other roofing materials but these added benefits also come at a cost.
The reality is though that your roof is likely to be at the end of it s life and whilst the slates will be in a decent condition the nails holding them in place will be starting to perish. Slate roofing second only to wood as a natural traditional roofing material slateis a fine grained sedimentary rock that has topped castles and large buildings for centuries in europe. Roofs during the victorian era were almost exclusively made from slate which set them apart from houses that were built previously. Most slate came from wales and some from cumbria.
This brand new victorian style house looks like it could have been built decades ago with all of it s features that remain true to victorian architecture. Walking distance to schools and downtown shopping.