Slate tile roofs why do roof cleaners avoid them like the plague

I was at a job today and the customer started talking to me and reminded me how we got the job originally 10 years ago. I have now cleaned this roof three times. I got it because nobody else would do slate tile . Why i didn’t know then and I still don’t but there is certainly a stigma around slate tile . I’m really they are my favorite roof to clean. Barrel tile roofs take a while because of there shape and shingle doesn’t command as much money. Slate is the best of both. It gets the price of tile and because it’s flat it can be cleaned much faster than even shingle. . I got two roofs done today before the rain came in . First is a slate tile about 5500 sq pitch was 8/12 and 6/12 . It took less than one hour. The second was barrel tile 3200sq 5/12 and 6/12 pitch and took 1.5 hours. Not to mention was much more difficult to walk and slick as hell. I would love to hear people’s thoughts on slate and why many roof cleaners feel they want to avoid them.

I don’t know why anyone specializing in roof cleaning would turn them down. I’ve done my fair share and I tip my hat to you. That’s awesome time for cleaning that sq ft you mention. Especially 8/12 pitch. Is that more than one guy or just you?

Two people one Cleaning and one grounds person. Cleaning roofs is all about the set up. Cover everything bag all gutters and move all plotted plants . Also have a hose set up on both sides of the house Usually takes about 10 minutes for two people to prep a whole house. This way once you start you don’t have to stop until your done . And because everything is covered and the grounds guy has water everywhere they go. The guy one the roof can focus on Cleaning it instead of having to stop and wait . This reduces your roof exposure and the amount of times you go up and down the ladder. I always see other companies around and i always notice the grounds guys looking like there struggling to stay up with the guy on the roof. And the guy Cleaning has to keep stopping. That method alone will probably double the amount of time to do the job .

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You walked this roof? What type of shoes do you wear on the roof? I’ve been experimenting, and the best so far are rubber boots. Any suggestions?

Would you have walked if the building was not guttered ?

What to were depends on what type of roof . But yes I walk every roof endless or at least 99 percent of them.

Best al around is this . But because there are very stiff they don’t always work well an barrell tile.

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These are what I use most of the time . They grip tile roofs extremely well but absolutely suck for shingle.

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With or without gutters there is no way to treat roofs like this from a ladder. There is way to many areas that you would have no access to without getting up there.

How well do the cougar paws hold up to walking in SH?

Not well at all. I spray flexseal on mine to help but there still short lived.That’s why I use the other boots most of the time. I usually use my muck boots on shingle most of the time . If I get 20 roofs out of the caugar paws i consider it good.

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Thats not too bad, as long as you only have to replace the pad and not the entire boot. Right now ive been using tennis shoes for roofs and the SH is eating the glue that attaches the soles.

I wish it eats the shoe up usually as fast as the pad

Exceeded the limit of the caugar paws today .


It was definitely interesting. The best thing about them is the don’t give out completely. More of a slow slide give you time to contemplate your next move

There is a company here locally in Alabama that make a magnetic soled boot for metal roofs

Sounds interesting and awesome . Please get me the info if you can

I cant remember the name of the company off the top of my head but I will get back to you. I just heard about it from a coworker that does construction a couple of weeks ago

Amazing job what percent mix did you use ? @florida_condo_cleani

50/50 tile
70/30 shingle
90/10 on most metal
75/25 on stone coated
Endless otherwise recommend by the manufacturer. I always call if it’s something I’m not fimiliar with

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You use 10% or 12% I can only get 10% in FL… Thanks @florida_condo_cleani