I am writing on behalf of my parents, who live in a large brick bungalow in South Wales. Their pitched roof, which was constructed as a replacement to the original felt flat roof about twenty years ago, and is made from fibre cement tiles, itself needs replacing due to wear and tear.
I am informed that the fibre cement tiles that make up the roof may contain asbestos, but that new regulations mean that modern fibre cement tiles are no longer made with this ingredient, and that this may mean that they are less durable.
My parents are therefore looking at various options for replacing the tiles with various different materials: a) modern fibre cement tiles, b) powdered slate and resin tiles, c) zinc tiles or d) a material called Tapco.
They have done some research but have been unable to find much information about the different materials online, or indeed anyone who will give them professional advice without charging.
I was wondering whether anyone on the Archinect forum would be able to offer some basic advice as to the expected lifetimes, costs and any other pros and cons of each of these materials. For example - does zinc change colour with oxidization? How heavy are Tapco tiles compared to fibre cement? How durable are powdered slate tiles compared to the other materials? Which material is most environmentally-friendly? etc.
If anyone could possibly give any useful advice I would be very grateful. Also if you are an architect in the Cardiff area and have experience of working with these materials, please leave your details and we may well be in touch soon!
Many thanks
Richard Thomas
gruen
Aug 25, 16 7:20 am
Sorry, you won't find what you are looking for here. Archinect prohibits us from giving free advice & we are closed for the season anyway.
Volunteer
Aug 25, 16 8:57 am
I would think a responsible roofer in the area would be able to walk his parents through the pros and cons and costs of all the choices. Get several estimates from different roofers, and look at roofs in the area that have been redone in the last several years and talk to the house owners.
proto
Aug 4, 23 4:22 pm
this is the way
JeromeS
Aug 25, 16 10:50 am
take Volunteers advice and divide the cost of each system by the expected lifespan and you have the life/cycle analysis for making your decision.
Wood Guy
Aug 25, 16 11:25 am
Zinc roofing is top notch. Solid zinc, not zinc-plated. Second only to real slate for looks and longevity, in my opinion. None of the fake options really compare, but may be all that's affordable.
Richard Balkins
Aug 3, 23 11:34 pm
Real slate is made of stone. In which case, it depends on the type of rock used for the slate. One type of slate is from a rock material called slate. Other types of rocks have been used like granite and basalt. Granite and basalt would be very high durability. Even longer than regular slate rock. Basalt would be one of the longest-lasting materials of stone on earth and could last probably 150% to 300% or maybe more than regular slate given geological makeup of basalt compared to natural slate.
If you want roofing that lasts century-plus, you probably will not want to be using man-made artificial products. However, with stone roofs, you won't be using typical roofing nails, obviously.
Having said that, what is underneath the roof tiles will also affect the effectiveness of the roof assembly over time. Standard roof underlayment won't last as long. So, you may have to approach a different strategy for moisture barriers that will last this duration. On top of that, you need an underlying roof structure that will last an even longer time than even the slate and a lot longer than your plywood sheathing and regular roof framing. With this type of weight, the roof will need to be very much heavier built than your typical roof stud framing or typical trusses. You're talking heavyweight-carrying roof structure.
After that, you will need to transfer the loads ground with sufficient load carrying capacity and footings that either spreads the weight load or goes to solid/competent bedrock, or uses a properly designed and engineered deep foundation system.
You are dealing with a house, it will be important to know what kind of roof framing is underneath. Some roof framing is not suitable to use the heavier stone roof tile. The weight of the roofing does matter in your consideration.
There is not enough information to tell you which direction to go with on this particular application. In this case, I would recommend you or your parents to hire a competent architect and a professional engineer (in this case, at least a structural engineer). This is my recommendation for you to do... that is to start with consulting an architect.
proto
Aug 4, 23 4:21 pm
"Real slate is made of stone. In which case, it depends on the type of rock used for the slate. One type of slate is from a rock material called slate. Other types of rocks have been used like granite and basalt. Granite and basalt would be very high durability. Even longer than regular slate rock. Basalt would be one of the longest-lasting materials of stone on earth and could last probably 150% to 300% or maybe more than regular slate given geological makeup of basalt compared to natural slate."
Are you for real?
Richard Balkins
Aug 4, 23 6:25 pm
There's a lot of artificial stuff that is marketed as slate but is not the real stuff. Some are just some artificial stone stuff. Was pointing that out.
Hello,
I am writing on behalf of my parents, who live in a large brick bungalow in South Wales. Their pitched roof, which was constructed as a replacement to the original felt flat roof about twenty years ago, and is made from fibre cement tiles, itself needs replacing due to wear and tear.
I am informed that the fibre cement tiles that make up the roof may contain asbestos, but that new regulations mean that modern fibre cement tiles are no longer made with this ingredient, and that this may mean that they are less durable.
My parents are therefore looking at various options for replacing the tiles with various different materials: a) modern fibre cement tiles, b) powdered slate and resin tiles, c) zinc tiles or d) a material called Tapco.
They have done some research but have been unable to find much information about the different materials online, or indeed anyone who will give them professional advice without charging.
I was wondering whether anyone on the Archinect forum would be able to offer some basic advice as to the expected lifetimes, costs and any other pros and cons of each of these materials. For example - does zinc change colour with oxidization? How heavy are Tapco tiles compared to fibre cement? How durable are powdered slate tiles compared to the other materials? Which material is most environmentally-friendly? etc.
If anyone could possibly give any useful advice I would be very grateful. Also if you are an architect in the Cardiff area and have experience of working with these materials, please leave your details and we may well be in touch soon!
Many thanks
Richard Thomas
Sorry, you won't find what you are looking for here. Archinect prohibits us from giving free advice & we are closed for the season anyway.
I would think a responsible roofer in the area would be able to walk his parents through the pros and cons and costs of all the choices. Get several estimates from different roofers, and look at roofs in the area that have been redone in the last several years and talk to the house owners.
this is the way
take Volunteers advice and divide the cost of each system by the expected lifespan and you have the life/cycle analysis for making your decision.
Zinc roofing is top notch. Solid zinc, not zinc-plated. Second only to real slate for looks and longevity, in my opinion. None of the fake options really compare, but may be all that's affordable.
Real slate is made of stone. In which case, it depends on the type of rock used for the slate. One type of slate is from a rock material called slate. Other types of rocks have been used like granite and basalt. Granite and basalt would be very high durability. Even longer than regular slate rock. Basalt would be one of the longest-lasting materials of stone on earth and could last probably 150% to 300% or maybe more than regular slate given geological makeup of basalt compared to natural slate.
If you want roofing that lasts century-plus, you probably will not want to be using man-made artificial products. However, with stone roofs, you won't be using typical roofing nails, obviously.
Having said that, what is underneath the roof tiles will also affect the effectiveness of the roof assembly over time. Standard roof underlayment won't last as long. So, you may have to approach a different strategy for moisture barriers that will last this duration. On top of that, you need an underlying roof structure that will last an even longer time than even the slate and a lot longer than your plywood sheathing and regular roof framing. With this type of weight, the roof will need to be very much heavier built than your typical roof stud framing or typical trusses. You're talking heavyweight-carrying roof structure.
After that, you will need to transfer the loads ground with sufficient load carrying capacity and footings that either spreads the weight load or goes to solid/competent bedrock, or uses a properly designed and engineered deep foundation system.
You are dealing with a house, it will be important to know what kind of roof framing is underneath. Some roof framing is not suitable to use the heavier stone roof tile. The weight of the roofing does matter in your consideration.
There is not enough information to tell you which direction to go with on this particular application. In this case, I would recommend you or your parents to hire a competent architect and a professional engineer (in this case, at least a structural engineer). This is my recommendation for you to do... that is to start with consulting an architect.
"Real slate is made of stone. In which case, it depends on the type of rock used for the slate. One type of slate is from a rock material called slate. Other types of rocks have been used like granite and basalt. Granite and basalt would be very high durability. Even longer than regular slate rock. Basalt would be one of the longest-lasting materials of stone on earth and could last probably 150% to 300% or maybe more than regular slate given geological makeup of basalt compared to natural slate."
Are you for real?
There's a lot of artificial stuff that is marketed as slate but is not the real stuff. Some are just some artificial stone stuff. Was pointing that out.