Slate roof tiles are fixed by nails on the boarding, that is fixed on the rafters. All tiles necessary for connections to eaves, ridges or valleys have to be cutted by hand. This means setting the slate to the required size and shape using the slater’s hammer and slater’s stake. These connections are therefore necessarily run by experienced professionals.
Slate roofs can be made of Natural Slate or Fibre Cement shingles.

Natural slate is a rock created by high pressure and high temperatures out of argillites. A special feature of this rock is his cleavage, so the shingles in a thickness of 5 mm can be produced. While the making of slate tiles was previously handmade, today at least the main shingles are shaped by machines.

There are various types of cladding, which differ in their necessary roof slope and shape of the shingles. The oldest and at the same time technically most demanding type of cladding is the Old German-Style Covering. Out of this the Fish Scale Covering evolved. This covering is slightly more economical due to pre-built shingles. Other types of cladding are the Universal Covering, the Rectangular Double Covering and the Wild covering.

Below are some examples of special solutions carried out by our specialists in the oeserdach group:

Integrated cowl
Integrated heart valley
Integrated left/right main valley
Integrated side valley

Natural slate is also wonderfully suitable for facing of facades; here also other shapes of shingles only suitable for facades are existing. 

Roof shingles made of fibre cement are made as a mixture of fibres, concrete and water. They are pressed to 4 mm flat panels and punched into different shapes. The shapes are primarily based on the ones of natural slate, and also the types of cladding are similar.

Cladding types approved for roofs with fibre cement panels are the German Covering, Rectangular Double Covering, Rhombus Covering, Pointed Angles Cladding and the Horizontal Coverage.