Slate is just a rock shingle right? And it’s only found on churches and really really old buildings. This is what most people think about slate and in part they are right, but there is so much more to it than that.
The English word for slate comes from the French word escalter, which means to splinter or split. This is because slate is quarried in large blocks. These blocks have parallel fissures and then are hand split to produce the small rectangular shingles we see on roofs.
It was first used as a roofing material in Wales in the 13th century. Slate has a huge Welsh history as this is where a majority of the Quarries and workers were from at least for the first few hundred years of slates industrial life.
We would like to post more about slate and its history as it is a building material that is so often overlooked, with a long, rich history. There is little information available and we would like to inform people before a contractor tells them to tear off a perfectly good slate roof. Don't demo before you talk to a slate roofing expert!
If you're interested in learning more about the benefits of slate roofing and slate roofing repair, give us a call or schedule a free consultation today.
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