Are there any alternatives to roofing bars?
Are there any alternatives to roofing bars? |
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Batten peg |
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A batten peg can be used to space out the battens. However, this is only suitable for small, one-off roofing jobs. The use of a roofing bar is essential for larger roofs as it will improve accuracy and make the job more efficient.
To do this, cut a small piece of wood to the required size, place it on top of each batten in turn, and lay the next batten on top of the peg. Then, nail the batten to the roof using a cordless drill or a hammer and nails. Continue laying battens along the roof until all of the battens are in place. |
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Batten spacer |
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Alternatively, you could use a batten spacer, also known as a ‘batten gauge’, to help you space the battens on the roof.
The batten spacer is similar to a roofing bar and its length is adjustable for spacing battens. You can’t grip with this tool, though, and it doesn’t have a user-friendly handle. |
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Slater’s gauging rule |
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These four gauging rules or sticks are examples of how slaters traditionally measured slates and lathing before units of length were standardised, and before slaters would have used a calculation to set out a roof. Each rule was simply a piece of wood, marked with the slate sizes which were traditional and regional. |
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