Slate Wall Cladding to External Wall

[jach]

Hi,

We are looking to buy a 1920's semi detached house.

The external side wall is cladded in Slate tiles that are in perfect
condition. There are fixed by what appear to be nails and the joints
cemented.

Anyone have any idea why this would have been done? An old fashioned way of wind proofing/weather proofing?

Would there be normal brick behind the slates? Could they be removed?

Would this cause us any concerns with regards to a mortgage?

There are a few other semi detached houses in the area, but no others have slate cladding.

I can't find anything on google regarding this technique.

Best regards,

Jach

 

[biffvernon]

Very useful weatherproofing. Why would you want to remove them?

 

[middi]

Hanging slates or tiles, as Biff said, is a good form of weather proof innovation, if already fitted to a building they are best left alone.

One of the main reason for having roof slates or tiles to clad or partly clad exterior of buildings was due to the many taxes imposed on bricks by various governments which has spanned the life of the brick as used in household construction.

This form of cladding is predominant only where dwellings are of mainly brick construction, and for some unknown reason Kent is the " Capital" of tile cladding. The concensus is that in that region it became fashionable to clad the upper part of the house only by default, following one of those short lived brick taxation which originally hit the scene as far back as the 16th C.

The powers that be would have given an arm and a leg then for someone to come up with VAT on all constructional material.

 

[Gervase]

It's quite common in north Wales too (where slates were common as muck and cheap as chips). It's a good way of protecting the windward side of a house from the worst of the winter weather.

 

[jess marley]

Normal here too in the wet west of England, ours are covered in layers of nasty paint soon to be removed.
Don't even think about painting yours tho', as this will trap in any damp in the walls.

 

[Sal]

yeh very common in the west country - why remove them - they look nice!

My house has them too. what it does indicate is where the prevailing weather usually comes from. which is usually south to west, but its pretty good at keeping the weather out. you might well find removing them results in damp problems you didn't have before.

Sal