Attn: Slate Roofers – Please Read
Please share, comment, and respond if you feel the same way as this post. The industry needs to come together as a whole and the more people who read and comment, the louder the voice.
What is Slate?
The Slate industry is being picked apart by bigger companies with deep pockets. The word slate no longer means “a fine grained rock”. Here is a list of exhibitors who are falling under the category of Slate at the International Roofing Show in March ’17:
There are only 2 booths on this list that fall under natural slate (Evergreen & SRCA). Tile is not slate. Synthetic slate is not slate. I noticed that a manufacturer of synthetic slate even had the gall to market their plastic as “Vermont Slate”. Of course a legal battle could ensue over what exactly is slate, but this will only feed the lawyers.
What To Do?
To own a slate roof is a luxury that most people under appreciate. The natural beauty and eco-friendly aspect of owning a roof that can last 100 years, with minor repair, sets the bar as high as can be for what a roof constitutes. Big business understands the value added to the superior nature of this type of roof and is using it as a marketing effort. The homeowner or architect may or may not know any better, but synthetic slate is flat out not slate. Slate is a rock that comes from the ground. Synthetic slate is a plastic or rubber that is fabricated in some factory. The difference is clear.
Natural slate is compromised because people believe it’s too expensive and it’s too hard to install. If you’re a short term thinker than it makes sense to come to these conclusions. Unfortunately the point that the long term benefits out weigh the short term costs is being muddled.
Organizations like the National Slate Association and Slate Roof Contractors Association exist to help promote slate and construct guidelines for appropriate installation. Slate roofs do not need to be removed for shingles for convenience sake. Architects, consultants, contractors, and even home owners need to be aware that slate does still exist and there is still a place for the finest roofing material available. That is until Elon Musk changes the world with his solar glass tiles…
If slate is your business this post should concern you. The saying strength in numbers holds true and your thoughts matter. Feel free to comment on this post, comment on the Facebook link, or email me direct at tom@stortz.com.
Without getting into the longevity of a glass roofing tile. First look at the longevity of solar panels. They typically have a 20 year life span with significant loss in efficiency after about 10 year. It is a major investment that will serve its purpose as a solar roof for less of a life of an asphalt shingle.
There is no substitute for real slate. Over the years I received calls from customers asking me to remove there slate and replace and replace them with shingles. In most cases I refused,and explained to them the slate will outlast the shingles. As for the solar tile I didn’t see how they were cut and how they are wired into the electrical system
Tom
As you know “simulated” means “to look like”. From a far distance away it may look like slate but not to a discriminating eye. “performs like”……no way.
as in many purchases “buyer beware” applys and it is imperative that the consumer is cautious. These materials have not been on the roofs very long and problems are very evident.
keep spreading the word Tom.
As far as I have seen most imitation slate has become a class action lawsuit. The pressed mud flaps will not hold up but are xlose to the same per square.
There is no substitute for real slate,bottom line!! Synthetic slate dries out within 15 years. Asphalt shingles last longer.
As a second Generation Slate roofer with 37 years experience installing Slate roofs it is obvious to me that no roof compares to a properly installed quality natural Slate roof. Properly installed and Quality Slate material being key! Out here in the West Coast there is way too much inferior imported Slate material and a real lack of qualified installers.
Hi Allan,
I live in Los Angeles but I am building in Washington State near Seattle
how can I find a quality product and installer ?
Thanks……Kieran
We live in a disposable society- point blank. Most people seem to be more interested in fancy packaging and marketing than quality and serviceability. Statistics show that the average homeowner currently only stays in a house for 7 years, so why would they care if a roof lasts 20, 50, or a hundred years? Most care first about price, second about appearance, and third about performance. Couple this with multi million dollar marketing companies that just so happen to produce roofing materials, and its no wonder cheaper, lower quality synthetics are outselling naturals. I am only seeing this trend grow here in the northeast.
I personally believe the solution is in the hands of us roofers- to stop going after the quick and easy sales (I am guilty of this). To properly educate ourselves and our customers of the many ways that natural slate outperforms, outlasts, and is a better overall value than synthetic or asphalt. To learn how to properly repair existing slate and stop giving owners the impression that existing slate roofs are a ticking timebomb because of subpar repairs and incorrectly diagnosed situations. Before you set foot on a slate roof- read the damned SLATE BIBLE! It’s really that simple.
I believe we are teetering on the edge of a renaissance in the construction industry, and it’s gonna go one way or the other here. Either we’re gonna keep feeding into the problem by selling our customers cheap products installed by untrained workers, or we do the right thing and make quality paramount to profit and take some pride in being ROOFERS.
Thank you for sharing information.
Slate is slate, metal is metal, tile is tile. There are more than enough venues for marketing your specific roofing product, no need for jumping on the bandwagon and just lumping yourself right on in there.
Synthetic is just that, a copy. I pride my self in installing the real product. Slate and tile. Installed with copper or stainless steel fasteners and flashings. I am happy with each project knowing I have installed a 1000 year roof.
Illinoise
We have alot of synthetic slate roofs in my area. 😉Let me to show you that roofs condition after 9-11 years. MO / that material is a joke and harder case for homeowner ever
Thanks for writing and sharing this article, Tom.
High quality NATURAL SLATE roofing will and has lasted for literally HUNDREDS OF YEARS. The cost of natural slate versus fake slate is comparable in some cases and the installation costs are becoming closer too. Use independent sources such as the SRCA and NSA to get factual and accurate information before making a decision.
Tom
Thank you for bringing the issue of faux slate (fs) to forefront. As a quarry owner, I have been fighting this issue with out much success and have seen our industry decline because of false or less than accurate marketing by the fs products.
As I know that All good things must end, it is the natural progression of product lines and I am not opposed to slate being replaced with the next generation of better roofing products. Maybe Elon’s glass will transform the energy sector and I am fine with societal improvements but I do not believe that mud flaps are a transcendent roofing product.
My biggest issue is that fs’s make various claims that indicate that they are better than slate. I can not compete with fs marketing campaigns. One, I don’t have the huge money required to posture natural slate in better light. Secondly, the fs supply a sector of the roofing market that we can not service. I could elaborate of the causes or the reasons but it is not the significance for this article.
I my inability to defend natural slate from the fs products is directly related to my inability to procure real information about the fs products. Real testimony, real photos, real failures and as importantly real successes by the fs’s. If I could obtain this than I would create a site “before you buy a fs Roof . Com. A site where the marketing stops and reality has a place to be reviewed.
I know that not all projects have the budget for natural slate but at least we could allow the owners and architects to make an informed decision.
Thanks for providing the forum to seek my mind.
Sincerely
Jonathan Hill
Greenstone Slate Company
I’ve been blessed to be able to sale 1,000’s of squares of slate roofing.
Be it from Vermont’s green tone and Evergreen, or Buckingham Va, or the Spanish black.
Slate is very elegant on the right home. And yes, I’ve gotten in fights with home owners wanting to remove the slate roof because one slate fell in their yard or for some stupid idiot that wanted to coat the slate.
But there is a place for the lightweight rubber slates as there is a place for the high end clay tile on the right house.
As for marketing, what ever happened to checks and balances?? Who allowed these companies to be in the slate division.
Last I checked, AIA still has
Clay tile division
Synthetic division
And
Slate roofing division.
All have there place in separate sections of a specification. Integrity needs to be applied to the manufactures placing their products correctly.
Great write up Tom Stortz! I am so tired of reading in various professional roofing magazines about 130-200 year old slate roofs that are being torn off and replaced with “not slate” plastic shingles because the existing slate roof had reached its life expectancy. I would think 130 years is a pretty good run for any roofing material? The only pros of a “not slate” plastic shingle vs. “real slate” natural slate is that it is lighter in weight and can be installed using a pneumatic nail gun which decreases labor costs. Polymer composite roofing tiles are not SLATE!
There is no substitute for real slate,bottom line!! Synthetic slate dries out within 15 years. Asphalt shingles last longer.
Very much helpful information. Clearly explained about the slate and styles of solar tiles. In the future, many people will choose solar tiles because of the benefits it gives. Thank you.