Slates or tiles

reilig

Just considering my roof materials and would like to get people's opinion as to whether I should use slates or tiles?
Has anyone with a recent build got an idea on cost and on quality from different suppliers?

Daniel

CJhaughey

I went with Lafarge concrete tiles, they are cheap ~80c to 1.10 depending on transport.
they are heavy and resist high winds and because they interlock are standardised and easy =cheap to lay.
If you want a more aesthetic look there is a new one called valentia that has a riven look.
but of course it costs more.

smashey

Good call CJ. I was looking at the Lafarge range there as well. Very good.

@Reilig. Are there any more dwellings in the vicinity and if so, what do they have?

I was considering concrete tiles initially, then I had the roofer on site while pricing up the erection of trusses etc, he asked what was going on the roof? I said concrete tiles and he looked around and pointed to several houses in the area, and asked "which look better!"

I chose artificial slates....

sinnerboy

There is particularly nice artificial slate - Cambrian slate - is this the one you mean . I used it and it does look good . It uses acutal slate in the mix . It "lays" like a tile however i.e. simlpe ovrlapping , not double lkie real slates . It also features a moulded side lap detail which allow it to be used down to about 20 degrees

http://www.lafarge-roofing.co.uk/wps/portal/Roofing-UK.uk/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLN3SJtzDzBMmB2SYeFvqRmKLuRuiiXvFmQUhiQfre-r4e-bmp-gH6BbmhoRHljooA80NAxw!!/delta/base64xml/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS80SVVFLzZfMURfQkVT

Slate

Alot of cheap tiles & slates on the market including imitations. Warning - have a look at alot of new houses ( 1-5 years old ) and you will already see flaking, cracking and minerals coming to the surface on the cheap end and severe colour fading and deterioration. If your going to spend €100-250k on building a house, a couple of extra thousand on a upper end tile or slate is worth considering. Alot of very expensive new houses have been spoilt because they went for cheap. Also make sure you base your cost not just on the individual price but is there any allowance for breakages? Can you get a refund if you order too many? What is the coverage per square metre? Make allowances for how many will be lost due to cutting if the house design is complex. Costs also vary for fitting depending on the type.

Look at a completed house perferably more than 6 months old for the type of slate/tile you are considering and see how its looks after some weathering.

fitzie79

What are the price ranges for tiles/slates? How do you calculate the amount of tiles/slates needed, i.e. how many tiles/slates do you need per m2?

Slates

fitzie79 wrote: »

What are the price ranges for tiles/slates? How do you calculate the amount of tiles/slates needed, i.e. how many tiles/slates do you need per m2?

600x300mm slates 13.6/m²
500x250mm slates 20.4/m²

These are the standard slate sizes for preholed natural and fibre cement slates in this country

bkb

Slates, would you have a preference between Cromleigh and Rivendale, or would you steer clear of them?

Slates

bkb wrote: »

Slates, would you have a preference between Cromleigh and Rivendale, or would you steer clear of them?

It depends what your looking for , If you can afford it I would got with Natural Slates, if not I'd go with the Rivedale slate as they are made by an Irish company and have a better guarantee.

Make sure you have a roof pitch that allows you to see the slate, it a waste of money buying relief slates if you cant see them on the roof

tdiman

My planning states 'Roofing material shall be non profiled slates / tiles blue/black, or black in colour.

Does this mean I cannot go for cement tiles or am limited to a particular type of slate /tiles ?

I know nothing about slates or tiles yet.;)

CJhaughey

My reading of the condition is that you cannot use the Roman style curved tiles.
I had a condition that stated the roof material was to be flat black slate, I used the Larfarge concrete tiles in black and they are fine.
You can use any type of tile/slate as long as they are flat and dark in colour, so any of the tiles/slates mentioned above will do, be they concrete or fibreglass.

tdiman

Thanks CJ

fitzie79

at the recent self-build exhibition in milstreet i came across "rubber" tiles - made from recycled rubber. Apparently they claim to have a 50 year colour guarantee.

Has anyone else come across these tiles?

ibh

My job means dealing with Lafarge for a number of different roofing products especially the concrete tiles (Mini Stonewold) and the Cambrian slates. I was pretty sceptical about the Cambrians to begin with but I have to say I have come to like them. They actually llok better after they have aged a little. The Mini Stonewold's are a good cheap option but would not be the most aesthetically pleasing. But the price is good (approx £0.46stg ea) and they only require about 10-11 per m2.

I'm pretty sure that the rubber slates got some bad press recently, possibly even on here. But i cant remember the details. Were they being imported from US and sold here by some dodgy company?? Maybe not, though i heard bad news about them however.

Slate

fitzie79 wrote: »

at the recent self-build exhibition in milstreet i came across "rubber" tiles - made from recycled rubber. Apparently they claim to have a 50 year colour guarantee.

Has anyone else come across these tiles?

There are a couple of types on the market. The rubber one you looked at I think is Ecostar. It is imported from the USA. There is also a plastic imitation slate made in Ireland called Athyecoslate.

The one that got the bad press was Authentic Roof and it was an USA import as well. As far as I know a new company in the west has taken over the agency from the "dodgy" previous importers