In Brittany, France, roofs are made of slates (ardoises). They used to be nailed down, now they are held by hooks (crochets).Some roofs are 100 years old and still ok. They just need to be checked by the local roofer (couvreur) before the winter to avoid water penetration.
If needed, the roofer will fix some slates back properly and change the ones that may have slipped and fell down.
As you can see from this picture, one slate didn't like the strong storm we recently had!
It is interesting that you point this out, because as a surveyor I often find roofs which have loose, missing or broken slates and which have been totally ignored by the occupants of the house, sometimes for years.
ReplyDeletePeople simply fail to understand that if water gets into a house where it should not then damage will occur, sometimes this damage can be very costly to repair. A missing slate for example if left can allow water to penetrate the roof timbers which can then rot and in extreme circumstances could allow the roof to partially collapse - just think of how many old barns there are in the country with no roofs left.
If you are not sure of any building problem get a Surveyor to have a look and tell you the extent of the problem and how to sort it out.