There have been a lot of changes in the traditional roofing market over the years, especially with the change from imperial to metric measurements and the closing of so many stone roofing slate quarries, so it can be useful to refer back to a book that precedes the changes.

Roof Slating and Tiling is just such a book, another in a series of the facsimiles that Donhead Publishing have been reprinting. This latest was written by Frank Bennett and Alfred Pinion and was first published in 1935.

The book covers a lot of ground -- and not just about slate and stone tiles because although that is its main subject the book does also take a look at the use of clay and wooden shingles.

Basic aspects of the use of these materials are examined - such as sorting and holing slates and sorting and setting them out for a diminishing course roof. Special techniques relating to curved roofs and cupolas are also covered.

The authors also consider the care of roofs and discuss faults that can appear, why they may have occurred and how best to repair them.

Roof Slating and Tiling ISBN 1 873394 46 2, is 384 pages in hardback and priced at £45. It is published by: