slate

davylee

I would like to know the pros and cons of using natural slate against artificial slate please? Is there much price difference between the two?? Which is better to use and easier to take up should a problem arise? thanks

ballystephen

Real slates keep their colour.Man made can lighten over the years.
Real slates look the biz if COMPETENTLY laid.Certain cheap man made look crap and can curl at the edges after a while
Real slates being a natural product can be not 100 percent identical and need to be graded before fixing.At least with a man made they are all the same.
I did a self build and used redland cambrian slates(man made).
My engineer came around and said "you went for real slates then"
They are very convincing and have a 60year guarantee.Also went for dryridge system.Very happy with result
Good luck

davylee

Tanx for replying. I will look into the redland slates.They sound the job. Sound

Mellor

ballystephen wrote: »

My engineer came around and said "you went for real slates then"
They are very convincing and have a 60year guarantee.

That says more about your engineer than the slates you used!!!:D:D

sydthebeat

Mellor wrote: »

That says more about your engineer than the slates you used!!!:D:D

seconded...

muffler

Always nice to read something enlightening on a Friday morning :cool:

Slates

ballystephen wrote: »

Real slates keep their colour.Man made can lighten over the years.
Real slates look the biz if COMPETENTLY laid.Certain cheap man made look crap and can curl at the edges after a while
Real slates being a natural product can be not 100 percent identical and need to be graded before fixing.At least with a man made they are all the same.
I did a self build and used redland cambrian slates(man made).
My engineer came around and said "you went for real slates then"
They are very convincing and have a 60year guarantee.Also went for dryridge system.Very happy with result
Good luck

Cambrian slates are a reconstituted slate similar to Tegrals Melbourn slates. The most wildely used man made slates are Fibre cement slates i.e Thrutone , Berona . Most of these come with a structural and colour guarantee and are easy to lay with little wastage. You can also get Fibre cement slates that look like natural slates (Rivendale)

RKQ

At the end of the day, its all down to personal taste and budget.
Man-made anything rarely looks as good as the real material. (Wood v's upvc, laminate v's solid timber, natural stone v's plumice)

Man made "slates" are slightly cheaper, easier to lay and therefore quicker and cheaper to lay. The smooth thrutone are perfectly stanard in shape, thickness and colour - to be honest they don't look abit like slate!

Natural slate costs more, may be heavier on the roof and can look great if well laid. Natural slate takes real skill to sort and lay.

So if you go for real slate get a real roofer!:D