Our slate roof is the last major project between us and a completely finished cottage. We've been trying and failing to schedule a day-long crash-course in slating with a local roofer for weeks. This weekend, with a sunny forecast before us and still no word from the roofer, we decided to throw caution to the wind and jump in. As soon as we did, I realized how silly all of our hand-wringing and waiting had been.
We have all the tools, books, resources, and documentation we need to understand what to do. Literally the only thing standing between us and a completed roof has been summoning the wherewithal to start. As expected, the first part was the hardest. We had to start over multiple times (and remove a fair few slate) until we understood how get the first few courses laid correctly, but we got there.
![Punching Hole in Starter Slate Punching Hole in Starter Slate](http://img1.goingslowly.com/photos/normal/28995818316.jpg)
![Tara & Starter Slate Tara & Starter Slate](http://img0.goingslowly.com/photos/normal/28411248383.jpg)
![Tyler Affixing Starter Slate to Strawbale Cottage Roof Tyler Affixing Starter Slate to Strawbale Cottage Roof](http://img1.goingslowly.com/photos/normal/28995830156.jpg)
![Tyler Affixing Starter Slate to Strawbale Cottage Roof Tyler Affixing Starter Slate to Strawbale Cottage Roof](http://img0.goingslowly.com/photos/normal/28411258833.jpg)
![Tyler Affixing First Course of Slate to Strawbale Cottage Roof Tyler Affixing First Course of Slate to Strawbale Cottage Roof](http://img1.goingslowly.com/photos/normal/28952622081.jpg)
This roof is going to be a work of art! I'm so glad we're underway :)
![Tyler Installing Slate on Strawbale Cottage Roof Tyler Installing Slate on Strawbale Cottage Roof](http://img0.goingslowly.com/photos/normal/29215399812.jpg)
![Roof Jack (Incorrectly) Installed Roof Jack (Incorrectly) Installed](http://img1.goingslowly.com/photos/normal/29289853936.jpg)