Replacement of Battens in Roof Installation: When Is It Necessary?

03 June 2019

In a normal roof construction, battens are attached to the sheathing over the underlayment. Usually, they are wood but can be of other durable materials as well. The roof tiles, slates or metal sheets are affixed to the battens in a secure fashion with the appropriated fasteners. Their orientation is determined by environmental conditions, roof pitch and the type of roofing material that is being installed. While properly installed, quality battens last for a long time, there are times that you will need to replace them.

When You Redesign Your Roof Layout

Anytime that you redesign the layout of your roof as with certain types of renovations and extensions, you will need to replace the battens as well as the other elements of the roof. Storm damage or knockdown rebuilds are two examples of when this type of renovation may occur.

A Full Roof Replacements Might Call for New Battens

Since a full replacement of the roof typically involves the underlayment and possibly the sheathing at least in spots, new battens will need to be installed. This batten replacement does not hold true when you are overlaying a new roof on an old one, though, since you do not remove the present roofing tiles or other surface materials. In a full replacement, you remove all of the old to install the new.

Partial Damage to a Roof

If your roof has damage only in one or two sections of it, the battens might require replacement to fully repair the roof. Of course, it depends upon the extent of the damage as to how many will need replacing. Hail and falling tree branches may cause this type of partial damage.

Deteriorating Battens 

Another major reason for battens to need replacing is when they are deteriorating for any reason. Once the battens start to decay or weaken, the integrity of the rest of the roof can be negatively affected. Wood ones suffer from this issue a bit more than the battens that are from other materials such as fibreglass, metal or plastic.

Present Roof Is Not in Compliance With Local Building Codes

At times, older structures must be brought up to current building codes, even when the roof is in good condition. A situation such as this might call for the battens and roof to be replaced.

For further details about when to replace the battens on your roof, consult with Higgins Roofing. Re-roofing, roofing and roof maintenance are our specialties, and we deliver quality result with each project that we perform for our clients.