Beautiful Roofs
The vernacular architecture of both Cornwall and Devon contains some spectacular examples of traditional slate roofing styles.
Sadly over time, many of these beautiful and historic roofs have been lost and replaced with inappropriate, often imported, materials.
However, since our origins in 1990, we have saved and restored countless exquisite roofs, using materials sourced from the area and employing traditional slating techniques.
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Traditional Scantle Roofing
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The term "Scantle' in Scantle Slate Roofing is believed to be derived from the timber gauge or 'scantle' on which the measurements for lath spacing were recorded. The slates were often laid over one rag slate course at the roof's eave. The original concept was to use a range of slate heights, all of varying widths, laid in rows of the same height. The slates were hung over riven laths and held with wooden pegs ("peggies"). In some cases a small lime mortar bed was applied to the face of each slate, and this method became known as "wet laid". Another method was to 'torch and parge" the underside of each slate and lath with a similar lime mortar layer. Originally no under-felts were used, and all forms of slating used a lime mortar mix around the head of each slate course. This mortar was composed of a mixture of sand, lime putty and hair.
"Rag" slating differs from Scantle slating because of the size of the slate. These can vary from 9" to 30" tall, with some widths achieving 72". These slates were nailed at least twice directly to the common rafters, which were placed approximately 12" apart. The headlap at the highest point of the slate varied between 3" and 4". Finally a lime torching was applied to the mis-shapen heads of slate.
Both types of slating are the characteristic roofing style of Cornwall and many parts of Devon, with materials being sourced from nearby quarries. As a Company we have made it our strict policy to use only local materials. We utilise not only reclaimed, locally sourced, scantle and rag slates, but also new slate from the Delabole, Trevillet, and Millhill quarries.
Over the past twenty years The Scantle Roof Company has been a major influence in the renaissance of traditional building and roofing styles in the South West.