Week 20: 14th September

 

The roof is starting to be finished.

Our roofer, John, is highly experienced but this is the first time he has worked with Tapco slates.  He (and therefore we) is highly delighted with the tiles and tells us that the roof will never come off.  There are vertical battens on the lower layer and horizontal battens very close together, on the top layer.  The nail gun is on overdrive.

 

Tapco is made from resin bonded, crushed virgin limestone and has the random texture and edges of natural slate.  The slates have a 40 year warranty and excellent weathering characteristics.  They are lightweight but very strong and can be walked on (which will be useful when working on the solar tiles).  Most importantly, they are particularly suited to shallow pitched roofs (they actually go down to 14 degrees although the pitch of our roof is only 20 degrees).  They look pretty authentic and are even allowed in conservation areas.