The biggest threat to slate roofs is not always hail!

Furious storms that whip through Sydney make everyone nervous especially homeowners that have valuable slate roofs. The 1999 hail storm that hit Sydney caused enormous damage to all kinds of roofing – no material was spared.

Recent storms accompanied by hail have caused sporadic damage. Storms such as these tend to grab headlines; meanwhile damage by human stealth goes unreported.

Storms don’t have to involve hail to cause damage. Wind and rain in combination can loosen flashings around chimneys and ridge capping. Sometimes guttering is torn loose.

Inexperienced tradesmen that arrive to repair storm damage are often “lead foots” that break slates with heavy boots. Broken slates along eaves courses and around chimneys are often caused by feet not hail! Careless tradesmen eg plumbers, rarely report the damage they have done. In their defence, sometimes they are not aware of the damage they cause and have little understanding of how brittle slates can be.

If a tradies comes to fix your leaky roof check what he is wearing on his feet! Soft footwear on slate roofs are essential eg Dunlop Volleys.