I learned from a professional roofer how to quickly and reliably repair a hole in the roof

Slate is one of the most common roofing building materials in our country. It is reliable and relatively inexpensive, so many people prefer to cover the roof with it. And if the slate is, let's say, in a state of "rest" and external factors do not affect it, then even after fifty years its integrity will not be violated. The only thing over time, the slate darkens and lichen or moss can grow on it.

However, creating such ideal conditions for the roof is almost impossible. Most often, slate is destroyed through the fault of the person himself. Well, for example, last year I climbed onto the roof to install the cap on the pipe and, stepping on the wave, saw that an annoying crack had formed on the slate.

Also, nature itself is capable of violating the integrity of the roof. My grandfather said that once upon a time a very large hail fell in their region, due to which more than a dozen holes formed on the roof.

In general, there can be a lot of destructive factors. When cracks or holes appear on the slate, then most often we make a cement-sand mortar and seal all damaged areas with it. It takes a lot of time and this measure is only temporary, because after the first winter such a patch simply cracks and falls off. Using some kind of sealant is also not an option, over time it dries up and begins to let moisture through.

Once I managed to talk to a professional roofer and he shared a secret how to quickly and reliably repair a hole in the roof. I could not even think that it could be done so easily.

First of all, we take a regular metal brush.

And we carefully clean the surface around the hole or crack.

And then we need a bitumen-polymer or butyl-rubber sealing tape, which can be bought in many hardware stores (I had no idea about its existence before). It comes in various colors, lengths (up to 10 m) and widths (up to 30 cm). Such a tape is intended not only for slate, but also for any other roof, as well as drainage and ventilation systems. It is durable and has perfect adhesion to almost all materials (concrete, metal, stone, wood, etc.).

All that needs to be done after cleaning the surface is to cut a piece of a suitable size, remove the protective film from it.

And just stick it on the damaged area. However, there is one more thing (this is not written in the instructions), although the tape is self-adhesive, for better adhesion, the roofer advised, if possible, to slightly warm it up with a construction hairdryer, and only then press down well and iron it by hand. You can watch the whole process in more detail in a short video below.