Rubber Slates

Noviceman

Hey,

New to this forum and wanted to ask a question about slates for my house. I saw old posts on this forum about rubber slates from the US and PetetheRoofer bascially said they were rubbish. Does anyone know anything about these as I am thinking of using these, I saw them on a house yesterday and they look really good.

jasperok

i dont know anything particualarly about rubber slates but at the sei self builders show in galway last weekend i came accross some slates that looked fantastic and were made from recycled car rubber and plastic - they really look nice.
come with a 50 year guarantee and are suitable for water scavanging.
1.65 a slate.
i'll see if i can dig up the name.

mjffey

that was probably Ecoslate

Noviceman

yeah, i was there in Galway aswell, that's where i saw it, i have got quotes on it and am seriously thinking of doing it, saw a house with it and it looks fantastic, was talking to the owner and he's delighted with it, my only doubts are what i saw on this board by PetetheRoofer

Builderwoman!

Considered them too but there were no guarantes about colour runs, fading etc so we steered well away from them. Would highly recommend you call The Blue Bangor Slate Co in Tallaght <snip> and we have a beautiful clay tile roof with lovely ridges and ends (people actually stop on the road to admire it...not joking). They sell all types of slate, not just Blue Bangor as the name might suggest. They were a great help and very cost effective.

jasperok

oh? what did PetetheRoofer say?

Noviceman

check out an old thread on this board for what PetetheRoofer said

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=51319305#post51319305

Builderwoman, that's interesting what you said about the clay tiles? what part of the country is your house in? Have you pictures? We drove around the countryside lastnight looking at different roofs, this is driving us cracked. We're veering away from the rubber tiles now also, my wife wants the natural slate, but I think that's too expensive, I will give that crowd you suggested a ring

Builderwoman!

Noviceman I was like your wife wanted natural slate but it just wasn't in the budget. We're in Kildare. Check out http://www.bluebangor.com and they may have pictures of clay tiles there in their gallery. I don't have pics to hand will have to talk to other half about digging some out.

Slates

Noviceman wrote:

check out an old thread on this board for what PetetheRoofer said

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=51319305#post51319305

Builderwoman, that's interesting what you said about the clay tiles? what part of the country is your house in? Have you pictures? We drove around the countryside lastnight looking at different roofs, this is driving us cracked. We're veering away from the rubber tiles now also, my wife wants the natural slate, but I think that's too expensive, I will give that crowd you suggested a ring

Rubber slates no thanks, what type of guarantee do you get with them? are they Agrèment certified or covered by a code of practice, if not dont touch them.

Most of the larger slating companys sell Fibre cement slates that look like natural slates but at ¼ the price, Tegral have a slate called "Rivendale" and capo also have one but the name escapes me at the moment

2 stroke

Rubber slates sound like a good way of reclycing old tyres but I would worry about what would happen in a fire especialy in terraced or semi detached housing.

Slate

The slates shown at the Galway show were Ecostar - this is a primarily a rubber slate. There are 2 other products on the market that are plastic slates - Authentic Roof and AthyECOSlate. Although they are both "plastic", they are made from completely different materials. There is a lot of confusion between the three and all three have different properties regarding fire rating, colour fastness, wind resistance, durability etc.

Viking House

I think it is great that you are considering using a waste product.

binnox

Just want to give my story on looking for slates for a low pitch roof 18 degrees. I ended up with Athyecoslate as it the only one that worked at such a low pitch and did not cost a fortune. I looked at the tegral option but it cost three times as much and could not be worked like a normal slate would be (it will work down to 15 degrees which is lower that athyecoslate).

There are three things that it is important to be aware of..
- The cost is about 1.60 a slate so not too dear but the headlap is only 7 inches (5 if you down to 18 degree) so you will need more than regular slates.
- The roofer really liked them as they were easy to work and because they are plastic there were no breakages(if they get dropped when putting on the roof they do not shatter so no waste). He plans on using and recommending them in the future.
- Most importantly they look really good and looking at them you will not know that they are plastic. They look like a good slate roof but a little blacker.

I did not start looking for a green roofing option I just wanted something that would work with the low pitch and keep me close to budget as I had not accounted for the extra cost of having a low pitch and had only priced normal tiles. The roof is in and so far so good.

Hope this helps,

Binnox
Cheers,

Binnox

RKQ

I assume these rubber slates are similar to shingles used in USA for years.
They are user friendly and can be repaired / replaced using good diy skills.

Rubber or felt might fade slightly but I can't see them losing colour in sunlight. Still they may not have a long life! Asphalt has a lifespan of 15 years.
(Still never seen white faded car tyres!)

Rule of thumb - materials supposed to last life of building - so thats 50 years in Ireland but may be 30 years in USA. So what works there may not be as good here.

Make sure it has IAG Certificate or budget for replacement in 20-30 years.

gally74

helllo
i looked into these aswell, look up the conditions of the guarntee on the ecostar website,

it says the slates have to be laid on a material (like bitchumen) thats on plywood, not lats and felt like in ireland,

id be worried they would warp up after a few years, went natural myself int he end

wazzoraybelle

If you live by the sea I would give rubber slates a miss as the salt air makes rubber brittle, also I have heard of rubber slates curling but the technology may have improved.

Slates

binnox wrote: »

Just want to give my story on looking for slates for a low pitch roof 18 degrees. I ended up with Athyecoslate as it the only one that worked at such a low pitch and did not cost a fortune. I looked at the tegral option but it cost three times as much and could not be worked like a normal slate would be (it will work down to 15 degrees which is lower that athyecoslate).

There are three things that it is important to be aware of..
- The cost is about 1.60 a slate so not too dear but the headlap is only 7 inches (5 if you down to 18 degree) so you will need more than regular slates.
- The roofer really liked them as they were easy to work and because they are plastic there were no breakages(if they get dropped when putting on the roof they do not shatter so no waste). He plans on using and recommending them in the future.
- Most importantly they look really good and looking at them you will not know that they are plastic. They look like a good slate roof but a little blacker.

I did not start looking for a green roofing option I just wanted something that would work with the low pitch and keep me close to budget as I had not accounted for the extra cost of having a low pitch and had only priced normal tiles. The roof is in and so far so good.

Hope this helps,

Binnox
Cheers,

Binnox

What sort of a build up did you require under these slates to allow their use at an 18° pitch, would you know the rafter length and the exposure rating of you house ???