How safe is slate
Slate is made from a mixture of cement and Asbestos. Whole sheets do NOT pose a danger to humans and the environment and do NOT emit any impurities into the atmosphere. However, when cutting or sawing holes, asbestos particles can enter the air. Therefore, in order for the material to be absolutely safe, it is additionally painted. In addition, this procedure makes it stronger.
Once the slate has been cut and drilled, it is best to bury all slate waste so as not to endanger yourself and others. In no case is it necessary to throw crushed slate into spontaneous landfills or expensive.
As well as how to drill slate. Important features
Slate is a fairly common roofing material because it combines durability, reliability, low price and ease of use. However, if mishandled, such material can easily break. In the article below we will describe how to drill the slate and cut it so that the material remains intact and the coating is of high quality.
How to drill a slate letter and the best way to make holes
When it comes to performing work, craftsmen think about how flat or wave-shaped slate drills are. In fact, slate drills are not at all necessary. For work, you will need roofing screws of various lengths or special slate nails. Sharp ends allow these consumables to pass freely through the slate without breaking or cracking.
Those craftsmen who prefer to act in the old fashioned way can use a traditional drill to drill the slate. The only thing that is necessary in this case is to know which drill to drill the slate with. For THESE purposes, suitable drill bits, the section of which slightly exceeds the diameter of the slate screws or nails.
Material advantages
Slate roofing has many advantages:
- The roof covering does NOT catch fire;
- Resistance to temperature extremes and high humidity;
- Durability;
- Low price in comparison with other coatings;
- Reliability and good quality of the material;
- Convenience of laying;
- Possibility of installation without special tools.
The use of slate screws. How to drill correctly
Self-tapping screws for fastening slate are highly durable. Therefore, the use of such fasteners is much preferable to forced slate drills. over, you can choose screws in length and color, so that they match the shade of the coating and DO NOT stand out. Self-tapping screws equipped with a special drill or pen are also on sale. The clutch makes it very easy to make a hole in the slate, rather than making significant efforts. So, if you are still in doubt about how to drill a slate sheet, opt for just such a mount. For work, you only need a screwdriver, wrench or screwdriver. It is worth noting that self-tapping screws with drills are more expensive than nails, however, they are much more convenient to use.
Before laying the slate roofing, it is worth checking how well the lathing for fastening the material is made, as well as whether the gutters have been installed. It is advisable to build a water drainage system before the start of roofing work, since then it will be much more difficult to do.
Cutting material
When working with slate, it is important to know not only how to make a hole in the slate, but also how to properly trim it.
Experienced builders use several ways:
- To work with slate, you can use an angle grinder with a stone disc. This work should be done in pairs. The fact is that as the slate letter is cut, small particles of asbestos are released, which quickly rise into the air. Therefore, one person should water the cutting area with water, while the other is cutting the material.
- An angle grinder with a diamond wheel can be used to trim the slate. The advantages of this method are that it will make it possible to make a drink of any configuration. In addition, parallel grinding of the sheet edges is possible during operation. In this case, even more asbestos dust is generated, so it is necessary to work only with protective glasses and a respirator. It is advisable to do this outdoors. Before starting work, you need to wet the line of the future cut well and wait a few hours. As a result, the dusting slate will be much more convenient and lighter. However, the work must be done as carefully as possible so that the slate does NOT crack.
- A cutting machine is used to cut slate. In this case, a disc is used to work with a stone. First of all, the cut contour is watered abundantly with water. Next, make the first cut with a stone along the contour. The resulting recesses are well moistened again. Then the disc is re-drilled. It will take about four passes to make the indentations of sufficient depth. At the end along this contour it will be possible to easily break off the slate.
- A cutter is usually used for working with flat slate. First, markings are made on the material, along which the cutter draws a line under the ruler. You need to do 3-4 repetitions. After a sufficient depression is obtained, pieces of slate are broken off along the contour. It is noteworthy that with this method of operation, very little asbestos particles appear. Alternatively, you can use a traditional hacksaw or an electric jigsaw running at low speeds. In any case, the slate must be trimmed very carefully so that the material does NOT break.
We have given only the simplest and most affordable ways of sawing slate. In reality, there are many more. For example, professional builders use much more sophisticated techniques and tools. But home craftsmen can use the available devices, based on their own skills and capabilities.
Cutting with a hacksaw
If you have an angle grinder or other electrical tool at your disposal, you can cut the slate using a simple metal hacksaw or a sharp joinery knife. It is interesting that it takes no more than 2-3 minutes to cut a slate letter with a hand tool. To avoid damaging the letter, follow the steps in the following order:
- Take a leaf and place it on two sticks on the ground. Do not take too high supports, as after the end of sawing the letter will fall and break.
- Before cutting the flat slate, tents on it with a scaffold cut with a construction pencil. Soak clean cotton rags in water and place along the line you draw. After three hours, when the water is absorbed and the slate becomes more pliable, get to work.
- Take a hacksaw in your hands, bring it over the cut, positioning it at an angle of 45 degrees to the surface. Holding the edge of the sheet with one hand, begin to move the tool back and forth, Cut the slate along the mowing line. It is NOT worth putting too much effort, acting without pressure to avoid breaking the letter.
Like sawing slate. Cutting technology and tools needed
In suburban construction for any householder slate. The most irreplaceable material. It can be used to quickly and inexpensively make a roof for a garage, shed, gazebo or even a garden house. The non-decreasing demand for it speaks for the ease of installation and affordable price. However, it should be remembered that it contains asbestos, a mineral that is dangerous for the respiratory tract and mucous membranes of a person. In sheets that are not exposed to external influences, it is in a bound state, held by a binder. Workers are in danger when cutting material. This article will tell you how and what to cut slate, so as not to violate the integrity of the letter and to protect yourself.
Physical properties of the material
To make slate, manufacturers mix asbestos with cement and water, pour it into molds and leave it to dry. To prevent dusting, both sides and cuts are coated with a special paint that gives the material the desired shade and makes it smoother. Slate has the following physical properties:
- Great weight. The weight of one sheet of standard size exceeds 30 kg. Among the roofing materials, it has a lot of weight, surpasses that of ceramic tiles.
- Fragility. It is quite easy to break the integrity of a slate sheet. On the one hand, this is bad, since you need to be more careful about transportation and storage. On the other hand, this is a definite advantage, since cutting a sheet is not particularly difficult.
- Colour. Unpainted slate is easy to recognize by its light gray shade, which is impossible to confuse with something. If it looks unsightly or does not blend in with the finish of the house, just buy paint and apply it to the roof surface.
- A variety of textures. Manufacturers of building materials produce wave and flat slate. Not differing in composition, they have a different surface and a different scope. The wave type is more often used to cover the roof, and the flat type is used to protect the walls.
Spray using an angle grinder
Since the times of the USSR, it is customary to call the angle grinder an angle grinder, which were produced in the friendly republic of the same name. Dusting slate with this versatile tool is better with an assistant, following this technology:
- Carefully take out the slate letter to an open area and place it on two supports, which will raise it above the ground to make it easier to work.
- Determine where you will cut and draw the line you will cut along. Liberally moisten the area of the future incision with water. First, the plasticity of slate increases when wet, and secondly, less hazardous asbestos dust is formed.
Alternative methods
Sometimes it happens that you need to spray the slate letter urgently, and there is no angle grinder, no jigsaw, no hacksaw at hand. The only way out in this case. Break a letter with your hands. Experienced craftsmen have two tricks on how to make the rift smooth:
- With a sharp knife. Line is applied to the surface of the slate where the cut is needed. Then he took a sharp household or clerical knife, repeatedly draw along this mowing line, over and over again deepening the line. When the cut is deep enough, the letter is gently broken.
- With a drill. A line is drawn on the sheet, marking the place of the future cut. Use a drill to make holes along this mowing line every 5 cm. Then, carefully break the slate along the resulting perforated strip. The smaller the pitch, the easier it is to break the letter.
Due to flaws in the process of sawing slate, most of the defective sheets are formed, which is not always used. If you do not have experience in cutting, when buying material, take care of 10% stock, which compensates for losses as a result of careless actions during cutting.
How can you cut slate: the most common options
Here are the most common cutting options for asbestos-cement sheets.
Sawing with a cut-off machine
A special circle is installed on the machine, which is used when cutting a stone. In the wetted area, the incision is performed without additional effort. The line that appears is moistened again and the incision is deepened. The process is repeated several times, after which the obtained depth will be enough to easily break the profile along the intended mowing line.
How to cut slate: helpful tips on methods and tools
In a large assortment of roofing materials, a special place is given due to its good mechanical and operational characteristics and availability. Occupies slate. However, these sheets have one pronounced disadvantage. Insufficient impact resistance, therefore, when cutting, there is a high probability of damage to them.
Asbestos-cement sheets continue to be very popular today as a roof covering. During the construction process, the need for cutting slate repeatedly arises. Quite a fragile building material. Since non-professionals often work with it, it is very important to know how to cut slate, than you can spray it.
Rules for working with asbestos-cement letters
There are many options for how to cut slate, however, regardless of your choice, certain safety measures are required. Dust from asbestos, which is part of the sheets, which enters the human body by inhalation, has a negative effect on human health. It doesn’t matter how you spray, how you cut it. The main thing is to minimize the amount of asbestos dust. The release will significantly reduce the use of protective equipment such as a mask, goggles and more.
When sawing, wet sheets emit significantly less dust, therefore, before cutting the slate, it is moistened with water. over, the raw material is easier to cut, since the wet asbestos cement acquires elasticity.
In this case, location is essential. Sawing should be done outdoors with a downwind position while cutting. So the dust will be blown away.
Cutting angle grinder
It is more expedient to work with a tool equipped with a stone disc for two people: someone will work with an angle grinder, and the other. Moisten the incision area with water. The liquid is poured in a thin stream using either a hose or an ordinary plastic bottle. This simple method will help limit the abundant release of asbestos dust. Mixing with water, the dust will simply flow down the dirt. Otherwise, dust will quickly fly through the air and clog the tool.
Any remaining dirt from the angle grinder and other items must be removed immediately, as After some time, it hardens and it will be quite difficult to remove it after that.
When using an angle grinder, cutting with a diamond disc, sawing can be carried out in any direction, and the edges of the cuts are also ground in parallel.
When cutting asbestos-cement sheets with a diamond disc, be sure to use protective equipment.
As an example, let’s see how to cut a wave slate using a simple angle grinder and a stone cutting disc.
Before cutting, the letter is placed on a support table. In this capacity, special boardwalk or wooden stairs can act.
An improvised tool is made from a block of wood with an emphasis of the required length for marking the profile. For example, if you need to divide it across in half, then this kind of ruler will need to be moved in the direction of the width of the sheet, while making marks on the crests of the waves. When connected, a cut line is obtained.
As already noted, you need to saw the ADSL wet. It is necessary to water the material during the cutting process. One cuts, and the second pours water into the cut and a little bit on the disc to cool it. Can be adapted for watering Spray from a plastic bottle with holes in the cork.
Sawing is more convenient to organize as follows: first cut through the convex parts, and then connect the cuts together.
If the spraying is performed without an assistant, then on the cutting line it is necessary to lay rags soaked in water and leave them for a couple of hours.
Wet asbestos-cement letter is cut without much effort, so do not put too much pressure on it with an angle grinder.
The technology of cutting the material is greatly simplified in winter, since the spray of a wave slate angle grinder is possible directly on the snow, then the dust will mainly remain on the snow cover.
Application of second tools
For sawing asbestos-cement sheets, a jigsaw with a reduced speed or a simple hacksaw is suitable. The main thing is to be careful and NOT to overdo it with the use of force in order to avoid breaking or splitting the material.
Cutting of flat slate can be done with a conventional cutter. They put it on a flat plane and outline the cutting line, say, hold a cutter along it under a ruler, leaving a straight line of scratches. The risk deepens in several passes, after which a thin rail is placed under it, breaking the letter along the intended mowing line.
This method is also suitable for material with a wavy profile, it must be cut in the direction of the wave. Cutting with the cutter is quite fast and more gentle compared to the introduction of an angle grinder, since the amount of dust formed during the sawing process is not very large.
Is it possible to cut this roofing material without any tool at all? It turns out, yes. For example, to get a cut mowing line, you can use a slate nail, which punches holes along it. Any thin object of sufficient length is placed under the profile and carefully cracked. How smooth the cut is depends on the frequency of the holes made and how carefully the break is done.
The work can not only be facilitated, but also to get a smoother cutting line, if you make a device that resembles a comb. Holes are drilled on the wood strip with a pitch of 20 mm, into which the Corresponding nails are inserted. The device is placed on the profile along the mowing line of the cut and gently hit with a hammer. As a result, the letter breaks easily and neatly.
Acrylic silicone paints: the best qualities
A relatively recent market novelty. Acrylic silicone paints. They combine better quality and acrylic and silicone compounds.
So, for example, if you want to protect slate from dirt, cracks, mold and destruction from water, then Purchase VDAK-1283 paint. This material has good water-repellent properties and has passed serious tests during the production process: 90 cycles without changing the protective properties in a special chamber. This suggests that such paint will behave remarkably well in the Russian climate for at least 10 years. And what is good, it can be tinted according to the RALL and NCS catalogs.
The largest manufacturers of such paints. “Penta”, “Tiprom” and “Sophexil”.
Polyurethane paints: cheap and cheerful
After drying on slate, polyurethane paints create a three-dimensional structure that protects the material well from contact with the environment. They are well resistant to sudden changes in temperature and have a high coefficient of elasticity.
Flat slate will receive maximum protection from modern solvent paints. They penetrate asbestos fibers three times deeper than water-based paints, and in total the coating lasts more than 20 years.
If you are looking for how to paint flat slate cheaply, then take a concentrate paint, which needs to be diluted several times. But at the same time, it is better to dilute the paint itself a little less than according to the instructions.
See what a wide range of shades of Special Slate Paints:
Silicone paints: water repellent properties
Unfortunately, on the windy side of the roof, such paint can fade to almost gray in 10-20 years.
Stage 2. Inspection
The second thing is to carefully examine the slate for cracks. Before painting, flat slate must be thoroughly cleaned and even repaired. If the crack is very thin, like a thread, then nothing needs to be done with it: a couple of layers of paint themselves will flow into the crack and the problem will be solved.
For a wider crack, a patch will need to be made. To do this, take fiberglass (in an extreme case, burlap with a tarp is also suitable), saturate it with thick paint for outdoor use, smear the crack and plug the patch. Let dry and paint over again.
Why paint flat slate at all?
Many are confused by this moment: if you save on building material by purchasing slate, then why is it painted with expensive paint? What are the savings then? Explaining:
- Firstly, in this article we will reveal to you a lot of tricks on how to save on painting and achieve an excellent result.
- And secondly, the flat slate itself. Not such a bad material, although it costs half the price of a metal profile. Remember that roofs have been covered with them for a very long time, and even unpainted slate can serve faithfully for several decades, while modern roofing materials have been used relatively recently and it is too early to talk about any durability.
- And thirdly, it’s better than slate and it’s difficult to come up with something when you need to cover the attic roof: the metal rattles godlessly during the rain, bituminous materials melt in the heat, but the slate does NOT get too hot, and absorbs all sounds remarkably.
What is our task? Paint the slate with a paint that will give it an aesthetic appearance, an even and smooth coating, protect it from moisture and prevent it from growing with mosses, and will not fade or peel off over time. In addition, the painted flat slate roof looks very different.!
The slate is flat. Characteristics of classic materials
Among asbestos-cement materials, flat slate is quite popular, the characteristics of which make it possible to use it Not only for arranging the roof, but also in some second areas. For example, asbolists can be used as a material for roofing and cladding, wall panels and enclosing structures, when installing floors and ceilings, and in other areas.
Flat slate, the composition of which includes Portland cement with 10-18 percent asbestos, is considered by some to be harmful to health.
Let’s make it clear: according to the technology, this asbestos is chrysolite, but it does not contain carcinogenic substances, that is, it is absolutely harmless.
Chrysolite asbestos has a fine-fiber structure. The fibers contained in it (8-10%) in the process of manufacturing the material for sheets are evenly distributed throughout its volume, providing the necessary strength of flat slate and the degree of its rigidity.
Flat slate. Specifications
It depends on what type of slate will be flat, its characteristics can differ dramatically.
As you can see, the technical characteristics of unpressed ones are lower, which means that even at the planning stage it is necessary to take into account the Requirements for the coating.
Asbestos-cement flat slate has standard dimensions, but its dimensions depend on the thickness of the product. According to GOST:
- Dimensions: 3000 x 1500 mm. With a thickness of 8-10 mm;
- 2500 by 1200 mm, respectively, at 6-10 mm;
- 3600 by 1500 mm. At 8-10 mm;
All of them have a rectangular shape: for pressed sheets, the permissible deviation. Up to 5 mm. For unpressed. Up to 8 mm.
The characteristics of the material also depend on the quality of the asbestos used in the production. Mineralogical composition of asbestos, fineness of its grinding, diameter and length of fibers. Of course, the quality of the organization of production should also be added, in particular, the equipment used.
Thus, asbolists:
- Resistant to aggressive soils and environments;
- Fireproof (they are classified as non-combustible materials);
- They are easily handled mechanically, since it is very easy to cut flat slate using a hacksaw or circular saw;
- You can work with them all year round and this does not require a high qualification of the performer and large labor costs;
- They can be decorated by applying paint and completing with various finishing elements made of plastic and metal. Corners, stripes, visors, etc.;
- Reliable and durable;
- Cost competitive.
What makes flat slate dusty
Raw slate can be cut with an ordinary hacksaw, saw, but if the sheet is thick enough, it is better to use an electric one.
The material is placed on pads such as wooden blocks or on a flat surface. Accurately, taking into account the thickness of the diamond wheel, mark the cut line with a tape measure. Any cloth is moistened abundantly with water and applied to the incision site for a couple of hours. This facilitates the cutting process itself and avoids the generation of excessive dust. Cutting slate in winter is even easier. He is laid on the snow, an angle grinder is brought to him from above.
On a concrete base with insulation
To ensure the slope of a flat roof, a cement-sand screed from cement mortar M100, up to 10 cm thick, is applied to the concrete base. He allowed the screed to harden, a vapor barrier and insulation are placed on it in two layers. On the heat-insulating layer, flat asbestos-cement sheets and a roofing carpet, such as welded, flexible, etc., are laid. This technology is suitable only for non-inverted flat roofs.
Types of flat slate: pressed and non-pressed
The material is classified as pressed and unpressed, according to the production technology. Unpressed flat slate is characterized by lower weight per unit area, easier to process, but inferior to pressing in strength.
The latter is used for arranging the roof of buildings for various purposes, creating floor slabs, partitions, and protective structures. Various types of utility structures are built from pressed asbolists, and suspended ceilings are made. As for the unpressed ones, the scope of its application. Insulated wall panels, building cladding, internal and external, roofing without cement-sand screed, poultry cages and more. To indicate the type of letter, special designations are used:
- Pressed. LP-P;
- Unpressed. LP-NP.
In the marking, in addition to the type of material, be sure to indicate its dimensions in millimeters and the GOST number.