Start at the lower edge of the roof and position the first batten so that the slates tiles give the required overhang over the fascia set the distance at both ends of the roof and run a string line between check along the line to make sure that the distance is fairly consistent and satisfactory fascia boards may sometimes wonder a little bit but this can be checked by eye looking along the front face.
How to felt and batten a slate roof.
Lay the underlay starting at and parallel to the eaves maintaining a consistent tautness.
What roof pitch do i need for what slate size generally speaking 20 degrees is the lowest advisable pitch for a slate roof depending on the size of the slates and how much that the roof is exposed to.
If a batten end is to be set in mortar be sure an appropriate treatment has been applied.
Holing gauge batten gauge headlap 10mm.
Underlay is generally held in place by the tile battens but where nailing is required nails should be extra large head felt nails of 3 35 mm shank diameter and 20 mm long.
Joints should be directly over rafters with the batten square cut tightly butted and skewed nails.
The most commonly used slate size in southern england is 500x250mm and 400x250mm in scotland and the north of england.
Start at the lower edge of the roof nailing the batten into place at the centre of the rafter.
It also allows you to determine the holing gauge distance from hole to tail of slate and the number of linear metres of batten per m 2 of roof.
Roofing felt was introduced primarily to act as a secondary barrier against wind driven snow and rain but its use also causes a reduction in air movement within the roof space particularly if the roofing felt is impervious and this effect is often compounded by the introduction of insulation.
This is not required for dry fix systems.
Batten gauge length of slate headlap 2.