my parents are in need of a new roof. im advising against asphalt shingles and either want to do cedar shingles or slate. however slate is heavy and expensive.
i know they make some look-a-like slate products, but my google searches are coming up empty, can anyone shed some light on slate alternatives?
im also looking for a general $/sq ft, if anyone has an educated guess, of wood vs. slate or slate alternative.
Wood shingle (blue labe) will require stripping the old roof, adding roofing felt, then adding 1X furring, and lead coated copper flashing in all valleys, cause you can't weave a shingles. The last roof I did on a roof area of say 4,000 square foot roof area was around $40,000. The installer was absolutely the best roofer around even told me we should reduce the exposure for a better and more expensive roof. Don't forget you do have to maintain a wood roof, so figure you will be power washing it in 4 years and then adding a preservative, which most likely isn't green.
Slate: Way More! To find a guy who knows how to put on a slate roof, you might want to take a vacation in Vermont and figure on driving around the state for a couple of days looking for places with slate roofs being replaced or restored.
Keep in mind a slate roof weighs alot so you might be looking at beefing up you structure. That is a cost which can only be figured by understanding your structure.
Imitation: plastic laminate= wood
Real thing: Cedar= Cedar
Real thing: Slate = Slate
If you want to know how much slate cost call Sheldon Slate in Granville, New York. They are good people, and can give you an idea as to what the material will cost, shipped to your location.
Be warned it is not inexpensive. They have made some very nice
countertops for my projects, and also slate tile for a Japanese Bathroom which was used on floors, ceilings, and walls.
won and done williams
May 29, 07 9:43 pm
i have a little experience working for the 'rents and $$$ are everything. are you sure you want to put the money into the roofing? asphalt shingles really do blend into most older residential neighborhoods in a good way, and the money you save can be put into more important things, like ensuring they don't go vinyl with the siding. i know i'd personally rather have cedar siding than roofing.
i've pushed my parents to do work on their house ever since my first year of m.arch. six years later we're finally getting the project started. i'm glad to help them out, but if i had it to do over again, i'd wait till they came to me.
treekiller
May 29, 07 9:51 pm
thatch lasts longer then slate and is a renewable resource.
MArch n' unemployed
May 29, 07 10:09 pm
great info. thanks.
i really have no intention of using slate because of cost, although i could have sworn that i've seen a slate-like product...you know, lighter, cheaper...any ideas?
Ms Beary
May 29, 07 10:18 pm
your google searches are empty? i don't believe you. try 'composite' in with your search words.
how about metal "shingles"?
holz.box
May 29, 07 11:21 pm
shoo, bring the roof down to the ground...
like the gouesnard haus in sarzeau or these
Check out if they have a warehouse near you and check them out. They are great guys. I was at their warehouse today actually with my boss, here in Phoenix Arizona, and they do have some interesting products. They were showing us composite slate and shake examples plus metal stamped slate / shake. They look like the real thing and are fire resistant and will withstand 110 mph winds... depending where you live, if thats important for you or not lol. Honestly... might as well go metal, the owner of the warehouse was telling me how you can just appy it over exsiting roofing avoiding stripping down everything creating additional costs. I was sold.
tinydancer
Jun 1, 07 1:45 pm
make sure to check your area as well on wood shingles-some places you can't insure them because of the fire hazard.
dookie
Jun 1, 07 3:51 pm
Synthetic Slate: Carlisle EcoStar
snooker
Jun 1, 07 4:29 pm
Last time I looked at synthetic slate it was coming from Africa, and you couldn't find any information on what the product was composed of. I thought it a bit strange. I did look alot like a hardie board with a glazed texture finish.
archMONSTER
Jun 1, 07 9:22 pm
Interesting Snooker. Yesterday I even asked the owner of the warehouse what the stuff was made of and he didnt even know. He was like... alittle bit of everything lol!. Everyone in our office was trying to guess what material it is made out of today. We have a few old timers who remember abestos shingles coming out and being the greatest thing since slice bread. Hopefully this mystery ingredient is not so harmful!
snooker
Jun 2, 07 11:49 am
Amoroso: It did infact look alot like asbesto's siding, that was part of the reason I was not to keen on it. I did stick it on a window sill of my office on the 4th floor just to see what would happen to it over time, and after 4 years I can say it looked just the same.
jackalope
Jun 2, 07 6:58 pm
holz.box,
I must know what/where that stone house is -- in your top photo. Is that gabions??
David Cuthbert
Jun 2, 07 7:48 pm
go copper. They could be the only green roofed house in the neighbourhood - and you can get your plumber to fix the roof if it l
eaks
holz.box
Jun 2, 07 9:28 pm
jackalope:
gabions, definitely. rocks from the altmuehltal.
it's the 9x9 haus [a statement against the banal]
maria-hilf-straße, stadtbergen, DE (outside augsburg)
the neighborhood and building dept. didn't like it, they agreed to allow it to stand for a few years and then it was "supposed" to be plastered and roofed like all the other houses. rather nice trick on the architect's part.
the houses cost was "sponsored" by local building industries...
the cages are hung from the facade
more tasty goodness:
and copper's great, but all the local methheads love to snag it up whenever they see it - surprised the local library clad in copper hasn't been dismantled thus far...
kwarch
Jun 2, 07 9:50 pm
sorrry to take a step back & question the original logic, but....
30+ year organic asphalt shingles are a really good value roofing.
spend a little extra on full coverage ice & water shield underlay, and you'll have a very happy client...
it's a house & human life expectancy is...?
cheers,
snooker
Jun 2, 07 10:44 pm
I say go blue label and lead coated copper valleys!
nwenso
Jun 7, 07 11:08 pm
check out enviro-shake. Haven't used it, but came across it during product research for a Balinese design
Medusa
Apr 29, 17 11:47 am
Asphalt shingles and vinyl siding look really, really nice all of a sudden when you're the one responsible for paying for it and maintaining it. I speak from personal experience. There is a reason why these materials are ubiquitous.
my parents are in need of a new roof. im advising against asphalt shingles and either want to do cedar shingles or slate. however slate is heavy and expensive.
i know they make some look-a-like slate products, but my google searches are coming up empty, can anyone shed some light on slate alternatives?
im also looking for a general $/sq ft, if anyone has an educated guess, of wood vs. slate or slate alternative.
thanks
I think "rubber" slate is around $50/s.f. ?
how about a standing seam metal roof?
Wood shingle (blue labe) will require stripping the old roof, adding roofing felt, then adding 1X furring, and lead coated copper flashing in all valleys, cause you can't weave a shingles. The last roof I did on a roof area of say 4,000 square foot roof area was around $40,000. The installer was absolutely the best roofer around even told me we should reduce the exposure for a better and more expensive roof. Don't forget you do have to maintain a wood roof, so figure you will be power washing it in 4 years and then adding a preservative, which most likely isn't green.
Slate: Way More! To find a guy who knows how to put on a slate roof, you might want to take a vacation in Vermont and figure on driving around the state for a couple of days looking for places with slate roofs being replaced or restored.
Keep in mind a slate roof weighs alot so you might be looking at beefing up you structure. That is a cost which can only be figured by understanding your structure.
Imitation: plastic laminate= wood
Real thing: Cedar= Cedar
Real thing: Slate = Slate
If you want to know how much slate cost call Sheldon Slate in Granville, New York. They are good people, and can give you an idea as to what the material will cost, shipped to your location.
Be warned it is not inexpensive. They have made some very nice
countertops for my projects, and also slate tile for a Japanese Bathroom which was used on floors, ceilings, and walls.
i have a little experience working for the 'rents and $$$ are everything. are you sure you want to put the money into the roofing? asphalt shingles really do blend into most older residential neighborhoods in a good way, and the money you save can be put into more important things, like ensuring they don't go vinyl with the siding. i know i'd personally rather have cedar siding than roofing.
i've pushed my parents to do work on their house ever since my first year of m.arch. six years later we're finally getting the project started. i'm glad to help them out, but if i had it to do over again, i'd wait till they came to me.
thatch lasts longer then slate and is a renewable resource.
great info. thanks.
i really have no intention of using slate because of cost, although i could have sworn that i've seen a slate-like product...you know, lighter, cheaper...any ideas?
your google searches are empty? i don't believe you. try 'composite' in with your search words.
how about metal "shingles"?
shoo, bring the roof down to the ground...
like the gouesnard haus in sarzeau or these
Check out if they have a warehouse near you and check them out. They are great guys. I was at their warehouse today actually with my boss, here in Phoenix Arizona, and they do have some interesting products. They were showing us composite slate and shake examples plus metal stamped slate / shake. They look like the real thing and are fire resistant and will withstand 110 mph winds... depending where you live, if thats important for you or not lol. Honestly... might as well go metal, the owner of the warehouse was telling me how you can just appy it over exsiting roofing avoiding stripping down everything creating additional costs. I was sold.
make sure to check your area as well on wood shingles-some places you can't insure them because of the fire hazard.
Synthetic Slate: Carlisle EcoStar
Last time I looked at synthetic slate it was coming from Africa, and you couldn't find any information on what the product was composed of. I thought it a bit strange. I did look alot like a hardie board with a glazed texture finish.
Interesting Snooker. Yesterday I even asked the owner of the warehouse what the stuff was made of and he didnt even know. He was like... alittle bit of everything lol!. Everyone in our office was trying to guess what material it is made out of today. We have a few old timers who remember abestos shingles coming out and being the greatest thing since slice bread. Hopefully this mystery ingredient is not so harmful!
Amoroso: It did infact look alot like asbesto's siding, that was part of the reason I was not to keen on it. I did stick it on a window sill of my office on the 4th floor just to see what would happen to it over time, and after 4 years I can say it looked just the same.
holz.box,
I must know what/where that stone house is -- in your top photo. Is that gabions??
go copper. They could be the only green roofed house in the neighbourhood - and you can get your plumber to fix the roof if it l
eaks
jackalope:
gabions, definitely. rocks from the altmuehltal.
it's the 9x9 haus [a statement against the banal]
maria-hilf-straße, stadtbergen, DE (outside augsburg)
area: 130m^2 / 1400 sf
architect: titus bernhard
the neighborhood and building dept. didn't like it, they agreed to allow it to stand for a few years and then it was "supposed" to be plastered and roofed like all the other houses. rather nice trick on the architect's part.
the houses cost was "sponsored" by local building industries...
the cages are hung from the facade
more tasty goodness:
and copper's great, but all the local methheads love to snag it up whenever they see it - surprised the local library clad in copper hasn't been dismantled thus far...
sorrry to take a step back & question the original logic, but....
30+ year organic asphalt shingles are a really good value roofing.
spend a little extra on full coverage ice & water shield underlay, and you'll have a very happy client...
it's a house & human life expectancy is...?
cheers,
I say go blue label and lead coated copper valleys!
check out enviro-shake. Haven't used it, but came across it during product research for a Balinese design
Asphalt shingles and vinyl siding look really, really nice all of a sudden when you're the one responsible for paying for it and maintaining it. I speak from personal experience. There is a reason why these materials are ubiquitous.
Blah.