Roofing materials

CJhaughey

OK we are at the point of deciding what roofing material to fit.
I have had some quotes from a company in the north that sell rooftiles called Balmoral and Britlock.
these are both interlocking tiles and have a channel moulded around the back and side of the tile that locks into the next one.
www.sandtoft.co.uk has pics if you are interested.
However many, many houses around here are using Tegral thrutone slates which are quite competitively priced @ €1.00 + vat ea.
The two interlocking slates that I mentioned first have a a 60 year g,tee and are quite heavy plus I am not sure if the local roofers are familiar with this system.
has anyone here used these types of slates?
or would I be better off using real Brazilian slate or just going for the bog standard thrutone/eurocem style painted slates?
I am not too keen on painted slates but would value some opinions..

thanks

rooferPete

Hi CJ,

The resin bonded "slate look alikes" have had a an interesting history in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, there was a company making similar slate finishes here although I haven't seen them in a while.

Tegral thrutone at €1.21 each ? I think you are most likely looking at "Supercem" or "undercloaking" at that price, if I wanted a quality finshed fibre / cement slate I would not accept less than the Tegral Riven finish.

I would be interested to hear how much you are quoted for the Riven if you wouldn't mind sending me a PM should you get the info.

Brazillian slate can be very brittle, nothing wrong with them but the slater must take care or you could end up with a lot of broken slates in the next two years, that's how long it takes for the cracks to open.

There are some very good quality Spanish slates available and of course the Welsh slate must never be ruled out.

My advice for what it's worth is choose your supplier with care, I am not saying there is anything wrong with Sandtoft just that a lot of suppliers have entered the Irish market and disappeared just as fast.

If you visit www.roofingireland.com you will find Richmond Building Products listed under materials, they research the products before they offer them to the Irish consumer and carry many different products from different countries.

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Victor

I would generally stick to the tried and tested. Suggesting that the builder use something that is unfamilar also puts you in a postion where you bear some of the responsibility if something goes wrong.

The price quoted to you by a salesman may have no bearing with what your builder will charge you.

Note that, seeing as many slating systems have a double layer of slates that it takes more than 2m2 of slates to do 1m2 of roof (but this will build a good roof), so comparing price per slate can be misleading. You need to compare the nett coverage and wastage and cutting. Your builder is in a much better position to do this than you.

Slates also vary is size. Roof tiles tend to be much smaller than slates.

CJhaughey

Good points being made here.
I understand that the Balmoral slate is a Clay slate and is moulded and fired.
The Britlock is a 80% slate waste 20% resin slate.
I understand what you are saying WRT proven slates, and will get some prices for the Riven finish.
Another concrete slate that has also come to my attention is the Redland "Valentia blue" for which I was quoted a price of €790 per 1000.
I have estimated my roof at 130m2 by multiplying the length of the house 13596mm by 8m gable and a 45º roof pitch is this correct?

Victor

Make sure the tile / slate you are using is suitable for the slope. 45 degrees is steep, but not unusual.

rooferPete

Hi CJ,

This is just a guide because I don't know the height from the wall plate to the ridge and assuming the 8 m is the width of the house.

Length of house 13.569 round up to 14 m allowing a little for soffit.

Rafter length guide at 7 m

7m x 14 = 98 x 2 sides = 196 sq metres roof area to be covered.

Wide open to correction on this one Kadman appears to have dissolved the RooKad partnership

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pred racer

IMO Those Brazilian slates never sit quite right on a roof,
dunno if im making sense, but the roof always looks like nobody bothered to grade the slates first ie thick on the bottom/thin on the top.
Ive seen jobs done by very competent roofers with these and they just dont look right when they are finished, and as rooferpete has said, they seem to give big probs a couple of years down the line.

Johngoose

Just wondering what have people used for their roof e.g. what tile/ slate.What material are people particularly happy with?Thanks