Natural Roof Slates

De_man

anyone got an opinion on Chinese natural roof slates?

i've examined a few and i reckon they're very soft for the irish climate
would really appreciate any views as they are much cheaper than locally
sourced slate or if you have any other suggestions where i could source
reasonably priced slate please pass them on


thanks in advance

a pint of plain is yer only man

AdrianR

Believe it or not, I've seen some chinese natural slate turn white, but I'd say they were particularly poor quality. The cheapest natural slate I've come across were €3 ea and that was a few years ago, that was still 3 times the price of supercems (Spelling???). Even the €3 natural slate have a natural flaw as they contain specs of iron which can run, this is why they are so cheap, but to be honest it's not noticeable. I used them on my house after seeing them on someone elses house where they had been on the roof for a number of years, and they did look fine. I can't remember the manufacturer/supplier but I cand find out, I think they came from Spain.

roofer

de man
i used chinese slates on a roof recently,i thought the quality as far as consistency is concerned was very good.i have heard of them fading over the years,but that was from a supply competitor who wasnt sellimg them. they seem to becoming more and more popular. from my experience they sit much better than most quarries available (except welsh blue bangors).only time will tell if they have a problem with fading. best to get an independant opinion,the boys selling them will tell you they are great, the boys who dont will try and push their product on you.
roofer:D

FrankGrimes

do a search here if its possible and you'll find that RooferPete gave his insight on this very question and his opinion was that Spanish and Chinese slates are poor quality - he would only recommend Welsh Blue Bangor slate I believe.

You can get Chinese slates from €1.35 new with pre-drilled holes and the chipped edges (done by hand in China). In the end I went with Tegral Thrutone Plus man-made slates on RooferPete's advice and was very happy with them, though at €1.59 each they ain't cheap, but they do have a 20 year colour guarantee.

AJL

Hi Frank,

i am of the same mind and going to heed Rooferpetes advice. I know a roofer who said the same thing to me and would only use tegral man made. Is that price for thrutone plus? Did you get a price for the tegral rivendale slate?

AJL

Pocari Sweat

Are tegral man made slates OK for lasting more than 20 years ? I saw a roof with similar man made slates and after probably 30 years on the roof they are fading badly, lost their polished finish and are rough looking like damp hardboard and seem to be curling.

The cost of welsh blue bangor are at the lowest from some northern suppliers who pallet reclaimed graded slate from 1.20 a slate for the smaller sizes, but there are all sorts of sizes for the older ones from 16" x 8" to 3 foot by 2 foot.

The new natural slates from companies like Capco, are top quality and apparently the thinner the slate the more expensive they are. Natural slates are put on thicker lower down on the roof and get thinner towards the top.

De_man

thanks to everyone for the info, i've especially enjoyed reading roofer petes
advice to the previous posters

I think i've narrowed it down now to tegral "bretona" or welsh bangor blue, it'll all depend on the funds over the next couple of weeks:)


thanks again