Slates

mrebel wrote: »

Am doing a bit of research into slates and they all 'seem' to be the best thing since sliced bread but does anybody have any good or bad experiences. or would you recommend any

In short you get what you pay for with slates

man made slates will eventually fade and will likely need to be replaced within your lifetime. Wouldn't be my choice for a roof.

natural slates come from different countries and vary in quality.
LBS and Capco are the two main suppliers of natural slates in ireland.
Natural slates are not all the same even though they may look similar.
Its worth paying more so avoid the cheapest natural slates and avoid the cheapest grade of slate when there is more than one grade available in a particular slate.

Make sure you ask is there any pyrite in the slates, some slates may rust and discolour your roof. avoid if the answer is yes. when I was doing my roof a few years ago you'd expect to pay in or around 2euro for a good slate

If you cant afford a decent natural slate, consider a clay tile. I'd do this before I'd put on man made slates or cheap natural slates

look at a few roofs of your selected slate if you can, the sales rep should be able to tell you where there are some

make sure you get some with experience to put on natural slates

Go for natural slates, even if it's pricey.
You can't afford it now ? But can you afford to change your roof every 15-20 years with fake slates ?

If the work is well done, you'll be quiet all your life, and a good bit of the life of your son/daughter(s) as well.

We really should change fully a roof only once per generation...

Get some good slates, ask your roofer what he thinks : he'll do a better job if he likes the slate .

Concentrate on the technical side,and let your wife choose the color !

Exposed house ? two (copper)nails and a (stainless steel)hook.

About the natural slates, all you need to know is here ( informations taken from a UK slate supplier)

Quality Checklist
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A QUALITY SLATE

Quick checklist
A brief summary to make sure you choose a good quality roofing slate:

CE marking : A must! : It’s a legal requirement.
Strength (MoR) > 60MPa It’s less likely to break.
Carbonate content < 3 % ...and the lower the better.
Water absorption A1 < 0.3%, and the lower the better.
Sulphur dioxide S1 Avoid S2 and S3.
Thermal cycling T1 Which means it won’t rust. Avoid T2 and T3.
Proof A proven history of successful use in the country.

To ensure performance of the product for at least 30 years, request that the slates have A1, S1, T1 and strength of at least 60 MPa.

What does this mean?
Water Absorption test gives an indication of the rock’s water absorbency and how a slate may react when wet. Values up
to 0.6% are classed as A1; values over 0.6% are classed as A2 . The lower the % the better.

Thermal Cycle test relates to the stability of any pyrite in the slate, predicting its reaction and whether it will oxidise
(rust). There are three classifications
–
T1 / T2 / T3 which indicate the extent of the damage this may cause to the slate.
Ensure to go for T1 —the best.
T1 denotes the slate is free of oxidisable pyrite ; Applied to slates that exhibit colour changes that neither affect the structure of the slate nor form runs of colour
T2 exhibit pyrites / leaching pyrites; Applied to slate that forms that colour runs but no structural changes T3 exhibit pyrites / leaching pyrites / oxidising pyrites; Applied to slate that form runs of discolouration and may form holes around inclusions
Carbonate Content gives an indication of the amount of carbonate in the slate. A lower content makes the slate more
resistant to pollution and colour change. There are three classifications: up to 5% / 5 -20% / over 20% –generally the lower the figure, the better the slate.
The Sulphur Dioxide Test indicates how the slate will perform in an acidic environment, which is more typical in cities.
Acidic deposition can dissolve carbonate in the slate causing material loss and structural weakness. Slate with a carbonate
content of up to 20% is classified as either S1 / S2 / S3, a result that directly affects the thicknesses of the roofing slate that can be produced.
Slates with a carbonate content above 20% are tested in a different way and should be considered as
probably not fit for purpose
.

Cass007 wrote: »

have a look at the Snowdon clay slate - has a 60 year guarantee and looks as good as natural slate

Snowdon clay slate tile is only on the market since mid 2013, not many finished jobs to look at so hard to gauge how it looks...

I am almost in the process of roofing my house and have been thinking of what slates to get. Reading the past comments, does anyone advise to pick Tegral, as there have been so many issues with them, even recently? My local hardware has stopped supplying Tegral.
They sell a spanish ELITE slate, however i don't know much about this slate as I cant find much information on the internet about them.
Has anyone heard of these slates, good or bad, and has anyone chose them for there roof? if so, have there been any problems with them?
they are cheaper than tegral but a few hardwares around,in particular my local one, have stopped supplying Tegral due to the warping with them and complaints etc.

I'd agree with DamoKen - go natural if you can swing it cost wise.

I was in the same boat as you and actually prefer the look/uniformness of artificial slate but couldn't trust any of the slate manufacturers - especially after reading some of the stories on here.

So I decided to take the plunge and shopped around for a natural slate. I went with a very flat Spanish slate and am delighted with the results. Got them for around 1E ex VAT. I also got them clipped as well as nailed with cost a bit extra, but means that even if a slate is weak, it is less likely to crack/break.

Blue bangors are the best option, but a lot dearer. I see a lot on DD for sale in small amounts, so if you were prepared to do a bit of driving and haggling you could probably pick up a few thousand at the right cost.

The slater's usually charge a little extra for natural Vs artificial. You also tend to get a bit more breakage with natural - but most places will take back a full pallet if you have them left.

Also - think about your roof caps. We went with clay as they are 'supposed' to retain their colour longer than concrete.

patsy sally wrote: »

I am almost in the process of roofing my house and have been thinking of what slates to get. Reading the past comments, does anyone advise to pick Tegral, as there have been so many issues with them, even recently? My local hardware has stopped supplying Tegral.
They sell a spanish ELITE slate, however i don't know much about this slate as I cant find much information on the internet about them.
Has anyone heard of these slates, good or bad, and has anyone chose them for there roof? if so, have there been any problems with them?
they are cheaper than tegral but a few hardwares around,in particular my local one, have stopped supplying Tegral due to the warping with them and complaints etc.

We went with SVK slates and very happy with them. Unfortunately we didn't have the budget for natural. In total we paid €5,700 for all roof materials; felt, battens, 4000 slates, vents, nails, lead and crampions etc. and getting them fitted for 80c a slate (this price includes fitting of the felt, battens and all the flashings too). They have the same colour guarantee etc. of the other brands, Capco and Tegral but haven't come across anything negative written about them as I have for the other brands. Now, I'm not naive - this might be just because they are not as widely used but that put my mind at ease!

Tom Hagen wrote: »

tegral rivendale your only job fine slate

Why are they?

Just two weeks ago you were asking advice on which slate!

tedimc wrote: »

I'd agree with DamoKen - go natural if you can swing it cost wise.

I was in the same boat as you and actually prefer the look/uniformness of artificial slate but couldn't trust any of the slate manufacturers - especially after reading some of the stories on here.

So I decided to take the plunge and shopped around for a natural slate. I went with a very flat Spanish slate and am delighted with the results. Got them for around 1E ex VAT. I also got them clipped as well as nailed with cost a bit extra, but means that even if a slate is weak, it is less likely to crack/break.

Blue bangors are the best option, but a lot dearer. I see a lot on DD for sale in small amounts, so if you were prepared to do a bit of driving and haggling you could probably pick up a few thousand at the right cost.

The slater's usually charge a little extra for natural Vs artificial. You also tend to get a bit more breakage with natural - but most places will take back a full pallet if you have them left.

Also - think about your roof caps. We went with clay as they are 'supposed' to retain their colour longer than concrete.

Hi tedimc

Could you pm me the details of your slate supplier. 1 euro per slate from natural is a very good price.