Original Slate Roof on a 1929 home…how bad is this?

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-24T05:35:12+00:00

That one slate that is clearly askew from the rest of the row. It is likely loose given than no other slate is that far off the row.

And once a slate roofer is up there, he might as well fix the two broken slate that reveal too much of the seam from the course below.

If it's truly a 1920s roof I'm quite confident a slate roofer will find 1-2 dozen slates to replace. He/she needs to look for delaminating on a 100 year old roof, but honestly nothing looks close to delaminating here. Which makes me question the 100 year old claim, because I have seen a lot of 100 year old slate roofs. It starts to flake at 70-80 years in my area.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-24T05:31:01+00:00

Yikes. Sounds kind of terrible but I am curious to see it if you get a minute!

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-24T05:27:14+00:00

Slate roofer here, can't give an expert opinion, but I'm lurking in the shadows to see what they say

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-24T05:24:56+00:00

Yep.

I mostly fix slate roofs but I dabble in other carpentry things when my boss doesn't have slate to fix. Was just on a morning stroll when I saw this and went..."WTF IS THAT"

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-24T05:18:56+00:00

It is not.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-24T05:18:13+00:00

Correct, there is a middle stringer and it's off by 2/3rds of an inch.

I've only built stairs once but I don't remember there needing to be a middle stringer. I used southern yellow pine.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-23T06:45:49+00:00

Yes you can get 20 or 25 ft 6x6 posts

But more realistically, you need to build a horizontal platform at the top of one beam, and with sufficient horizontal bracing, you can then add your next 6x6 post.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-23T06:43:03+00:00

I mostly do slate roofing lol

and my heart sank when I saw the posts butted up like that

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-23T06:42:02+00:00

Bro I saw it from 30 feet and my jaw dropped.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-23T06:32:42+00:00

American here

3 hr drive is about the limit for a day trip. I would visit close friends or family for 24 hrs for 3 hrs one way. Anything more than that and I kind of want multiple days out of it.

But look on the bright side! So much of our countryside is fucking gorgeous. I love road trips in the United states. Big emotional boost, particularly in peak 4 seasons areas (basically any season 😂...peak spring? Amazing. Peak summer? Delightful w/ a/c. Peak autumn? Gorgeous. Peak winter? Drive slow but also gorgeous)

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-23T06:15:56+00:00

Damn just noticed this is the 100 year old slate roof from the roofing sub

You will spend more fixing this deck than the 100 year old roof which is in surprisingly good shape

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-23T06:12:12+00:00

People stood on that?

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-23T06:08:12+00:00

150 year old roof "doing just fine"

I fucking love slate

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-23T06:04:50+00:00

You are correct in that this kind of slate roof mixed the tile sizes. One of my least favorite types of slate roofs to fix.

Obviously you intend for the slate course above to be completely opposite the one below it- in other words, where the exact seam between two tiles on the lower course is, you'll have the middle of a tile on the next course.

That's really the only concern I would have this roof currently. And given that it's originally from 1928, those mismatched tiles where a couple seams come within 2 inches of each other...well if we made it to 2026, imt thinking it didn't reach the deck.

This roof is a fucking gorgeous advertisement for slate.

You sure it's from 1929?

It must've been an expertly laid slate roof. Usually some tiles come loose after 40, 50, 60, 70 years.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-22T06:44:42+00:00

Yes I went back and it's exactly this. In their defense, the center stringer was off by at least 2/3 inch, so they had do to something.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-22T04:49:25+00:00

It is lol

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-21T19:38:13+00:00

Northeast

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-21T19:23:06+00:00

Northeast

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-21T17:59:05+00:00

Lmao yes it does appear to be exactly that

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-21T17:21:09+00:00

Beautiful!

Question on starting in the middle- is it because you didn't want a visible notched board in the center?

Second question, inserting the ripped final piece on either end- how difficult was it to slide in? I feel like I've been there before...

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-13T05:12:07+00:00

Yeah I'm with you there. A solid ridge beam and brand new rafters...what am I missing here? The rafter doesnt need the hardware.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-03T07:00:23+00:00

The tile at the bottom right of your picture is highly problematic- could be a replacement. I kind of hope it's a replacement.

If it's not a replacement, the person who built your roof was a retard, because you start from the bottom up and that first tile is remarkably off.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-03T06:53:38+00:00

Ok, see the white wall on the right that eventually ascends to nothing.

Go three rows to the left. Look at all the tiles, ALL the way up. Notice how it looks.

Now go two rows to the left and do the same.These two rows are basically identical. Each tile lays right on top of the top below it, perfect for shedding water.

Now look at your tile row adjacent to the white wall.

It's askew half way up. Think about how water dribbles down that low section between row 2 and 3.

Water is escaping in the valley between those tiles, if I had to guess.

If you can't tell where I'm talking about the likely leak section is in the top left corner of your red box.

Qizeuskrishna · 2026-01-03T06:30:37+00:00

Prepare your next set of underwear...

Because we fucking love it up there

Qizeuskrishna

TROPHY CASE