Despite the fact that the roof covering of asbestos-cement sheets is durable over decades, external atmospheric and climatic factors exert their influence on the material. Something has to be replaced, something patched up, somewhere shut down. Here, the application of knowledge in the field of construction is required, and if you know how to repair a crack in the slate on the roof, then such work will not seem difficult.
Cosmetic repairs will help extend the operational life of the roof for up to 10 years. Therefore, the topic is especially relevant. In the past, roofing was repaired using oil paints and fabric strips. This technique was not famous for its special effect, and the state of the overlap improved only a couple of years. Today, modern materials are freely available, making the process of eliminating cracks and chips on the roof more efficient.
Simple reconstruction of the roof of the house
The leakage of the roof indicates damage to the integrity of the material. To get rid of such a problem, you can use one of the effective methods. Any of them is easily applicable in practice and does not differ in complexity, but it is important to know how to repair the crack in the slate on the roof. In 90% of cases, installation of a patch or sealing of the affected portion of the roof will be required.
Check out the options for leaking roofing, the easiest and fastest method to eliminate leaks, and the slate patch technique. It is important to talk about such details in advance.
The most common technology for recovering damaged asbestos cement sheets is the use of asbestos paste.
How to work with the material: application features
Using asbestos paste to close the cracks, take care of the preliminary dismantling of the damaged roof fragment and lower it to the ground.
What will be needed to prepare the composition
The mixture consists of two components: asbestos and cement. This paste is easy to cook at home.
Components:
- asbestos - 3 parts;
- cement - 1 part;
- water - 0.5 parts;
- dispersion polyvinyl acetate glue - 0.5 parts.
Water and glue can be added as needed, until the paste reaches a creamy consistency.
For cooking:
- prepare a separate container;
- pour the required amount of asbestos and cement (proportion 3: 1);
- mix the components thoroughly;
- add water and dispersion glue;
- mix the paste until a homogeneous creamy consistency is achieved.
How to work with asbestos mixture
Knowing how to repair a crack in the slate on the roof, you can get to work. Try to use cooked pasta immediately. During storage, the composition loses its properties. Therefore, prepare as much grout as you need to repair the roof of the house.
Preparatory moment
Before sticking the roof, prepare the damaged area:
- clean the slate from debris;
- thoroughly rinse the place of the broken slate and degrease it. For such purposes, gasoline is suitable;
- if an ordinary crack has formed on the surface, stick a fiberglass tape (sickle) along the entire length, extending it by 5 cm to each side of the crack (vertically);
- Fill the crack voids with crude rubber or trample them. The fibrous material can be further treated with a hydrophobic composition.
Application of asbestos-cement paste
The composition is applied to the damaged area gradually, uniformly distributing each of the layers on the surface. In this case, the total thickness of the applied paste should reach at least 2 mm. After drying the patch, the seam is necessarily treated with sandpaper.
When performing restoration, try to cover so that the area of the coating extends beyond the crack. After repairing the sheets of broken slate, you can not worry about the roof leaking over the next 8-10 years.
Use foil
Asbestos paste is not the only option for treating damage that has formed on the roof of the house. If you do not know how to repair a crack in the slate on the roof, use foil instead of paste, on which a little universal glue is applied and applied to the damaged place from the wrong side. A tight fit of the patch is ensured by the rounding of the corners, so they bend less. The connection of the foil with the reconstructed surface is durable due to the universal adhesive used and reliably protects the inner space of the attic from the penetration of water and moisture.
If you want to close up that part of the roof where the fastener passes, then close the crack with foil and drill a hole for the fasteners in another part of the sheet.
After repair, the removed slate sheet is mounted in place. Do not forget to use special rubber gaskets for nails to protect the corrugated board from damage during installation. After finishing the reconstruction, mask the patch to match the tone of the roofing material. At this stage, work is carried out in dry weather, and when applying paint, use a brush or roller. It is better to apply several layers, starting to re-paint only after the first has completely dried.
Some of the methods do not involve dismantling damaged products in the place where the slate burst. How to close the crack, if you need to climb up, read on. Such work is being done directly on the roof, and insurance is vital for this.
Silicone paste for roof repair
Often, silicone paste is used to repair the roof . The tool is characterized by increased adhesion to materials made from asbestos cement.
Getting started, the damaged area is prepared: cleaned of dust and small dirt crumbs, using a brush to clean metal products. To do this, use acetone or a special solvent.
Before sealing the crack, it is filled with crushed asbestos chips, which are then poured with silicone glue for slate. It is not difficult to carry out such restoration, and the whole process takes a maximum of 24 hours and ends at the stage of tinting the treated area under the general style of the roof. At the same time, coloring plays not only an aesthetic role, but also gives the connection additional reliability. Coloring in this case is simply necessary. The top layer allows you to fix the multilayer patch, since asbestos-cement sheets themselves are porous.
Repair damage with mastic
It is important to remember that at the joints the slate sheets are processed with mastic with a special reinforcing filler of a wavy structure.
Bitumen is melted in a separate container, previously crushed. Foam and impurities formed in the process are removed. The melting process occurs at temperatures above 200 ° C until bitumen is completely dehydrated. The grout does not only consist of bitumen, a filler is added to the composition, which is preheated to a temperature of 110 ° C.
Mastic in a hot state, using a spatula or other suitable tool, is applied to the surface prepared for repair.
Sometimes, to repair damaged sheets, they use a kind of rubber paint for slate. The tool has increased adhesive and strength properties. This method of slate recovery is gaining popularity.
How to use mounting foam to seal slate cracks
Applying mounting foam to restore, the slate is pre-cleaned and degreased. Foam is blown into the resulting crack, but a little free space is left for the sealant, which, after the foam hardens, is squeezed out in a dense layer over the foam. Bitumen mastic is applied over the formed patches, which helps to seal the crack in the slate and protect the inner space of the attic from the ingress of precipitation.
Now you understand the complexity of slate repair. How to repair holes and cracks - you know, you understand the details, and this is the main thing when carrying out restoration work with asbestos-cement sheets.