Slate roofing on a Concord home starts with the roof deck, not the stone. We strip the old three-tab shingle or wood shake down to the plywood or OSB sheathing, then check every rafter and truss for rot before a single new slate goes on.
Real slate weighs 800 to 1,500 pounds per roofing square, so we verify framing before the first course goes down. Copper valley and step flashing handles winter downpours and the temperature swings that make cheaper metal peel and spall.
On the 1960s and 1970s ranch-style homes here, we recover the existing deck with a self-adhered underlayment and keep sound stone where an inspection clears it. Skipping a full tear-off keeps usable slate out of the dumpster.
