Topic: Slate Roof..

[faux fiddy]

I'll finish the rubber roof thread later, I think it is good stuff, it worked before, but the reality is that now that the claims checks are arriving I'm thinking about putting a pitch on the flat areas, having an attic and gable ends, and getting the roof work done for the rest of my life.

The Adjuster pointed out the hail damage on the three tab skirts around the perimeter of the roof and I am sure I can do the work. I figured if I put a new three tab roof on it would hail enough to ruin the new "lifetime" three tab the next week. (This happened to whole neighborhoods in this area a couple years ago.)

I saw a deal on slate roof . There must be almost 20 pallates of it for a smokin' deal, probably less than the cost of 50 squares of three tab, 30 if I forgo putting a peak and gables on. I just like the idea of rock and a true lifetime roof.

 You tube has several videos, including the common fork-ups of people who don't usually do this sort of thing that  I can study.

Just curious, has anyone done a slate roof?  What does 50 squares look like? I think the package deal would have plenty, like a couple if not  several flatbed trucks. But it's all Greek to me.

[Markcb750]

I have had several slate roofs done, figure 15 to 20 dollars a square foot (2000/sq) if your roof is suitably structured for that much weight. (typically 16 in centered trusses or 2 x 10 rafters.and 3/4" sheathing.)

I recommend one of the recycled artificial slate roofs.  I like several that are primarily made from recycled tire materials.  This roof should stand up to hail and winds above 110mph and it will not require re-structuring the roof.  There are a lot of very fancy artificial slate roofs that cost as much real slate.  I do not recommend them because they are brittle, and I doubt their ability to stand up to branches/ hail.

A good artificial slate roof will cost 8 to 12 dollars per square foot including the extensive flashing required in valleys.  There are several very good underlayment products that are much better then felt paper and seal around nails well. 

[Skunk Stripe]

Steel roofs are another option. I notice those getting more use around the world and even becoming somewhat common here. They usually have something like a 50+ year life span and usually require little extra bracing of the roof.

[Bob Wessner]

Steel roofs are another option. I notice those getting more use around the world and even becoming somewhat common here. They usually have something like a 50+ year life span and usually require little extra bracing of the roof.

Some time in the not too distant future we are likely to be looking at a new roof. How do these hold-up to hail damage (would it look like a car after such a storm  ) or from small falling pieces of tree branches. We live beneath a large walnut and very large oak.

[faux fiddy]

I have screwed on several metal roofs. As far as I know hail can ping it a little, but it does have sheathing behind it that helps.  The only other problem with metal is they expand and contract more and eventually the screw holes wallow out a bit and get loose. And I'm not sure that the local code allows metal, either, at least there are very few if any metal roofs in town.

As far as cost, I would have to beef up the roof a bit which might be a big chore. I am sure that the trusses are on 24" centers, so I might have to double them up somehow.


As far as the slate I found a lot for sale. I think it is what is called grey-green or sea water colored Vermont slate. If that is what I opt for I would be buying that lot, it appears to be plenty but i'll have to check. I think it is about 15 pallates. I can pick the   materials about as cheap as three tab.

The roof isn't leaking or anything, so I have time for cogitation.

[Markcb750]

Steel roofs are another option. I notice those getting more use around the world and even becoming somewhat common here. They usually have something like a 50+ year life span and usually require little extra bracing of the roof.

Some time in the not too distant future we are likely to be looking at a new roof. How do these hold-up to hail damage (would it look like a car after such a storm  ) or from small falling pieces of tree branches. We live beneath a large walnut and very large oak.

It depends on how the metal roof is installed and the material used.

If the metal is nailed to stringers and a metal roof will act just like a car roof, hail will cause significant damage, but would not cause the degradation of life like it does on a shingled roof.

If the metal is applied over sheathing it will suffer less damage as the wood will reduce the dent caused by an impact from a branch or hail 

There are several gauges of steel roof available, and several finishes.  I prefer the standing seam designs.  I tried to stear clear of the aluminum based roofs as they will dent more easily even when fully supported.

[Kong]

Bob,

I put steel roofs on two out buildings as well as one shed-roof on my house last year and will be putting the same on our main roof after I replace it this summer.  We have trees and limbs aplenty around here, a good bit of hail in the spring and fall too.  We haven't suffered any damage from falling stuff.  All of the roofs I've put it on have been sheeted and most of the metal actually lays flat on the plywood.  There are ridges of course, but they are considerably stronger than you might imagine.  The coating on mine is painted and so it can be had in many colors.  I'm somewhat surprised that I haven't seen it offered as powder-coated, must have something to do with the cost.

As for the cost, and this is just off the top of my head, as I recall we paid a little less than $2.50 per linear foot of panel; the panels are three feet wide.  Panels are available cut to length in about a week, delivered.  Trim panels come in 10' lengths and on average cost about $15 each, seals for vent pipes and such are somewhat expensive, ~$25-$100 depending on diameter.  Flashing around chases or chimneys can be tricky.

We are quite lucky in that the local truss builder is also the cheapest vendor for a number of metal roofing manufacturers.  So if are building a place you can get them to make trusses for you and at the same time do a layout for your roof and order the metal cut-to-order to do it at the same time because they have all the measurements right there in front of them.  They also give 2 hours of crane time with delivery, so that's one less thing to worry about.

In the end the things I like best about the metal roofing are how fast it goes on and how easy it is to install. All it takes is a couple of guys with good drills and it goes right down.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Standing seam metal, yes- probably the way to go.
Probably would want the pros to install if you have mutilple gables and valleys.
 

[demon78]

Yeah guys, in our ongoing house build we specified steel roof for the 50 year life ( I should be buried and forgotten by the time wears out) the only thing I've noticed is when it pours it's a little nosier, same when it hails, but you get used to it, your attic insulation covers up a lot of the noise and it's slippery, don't go up on it when it's raining or snowing, no roofing projects in the dead of winter. Oh yeah so far we've had up to 4' snow on it and no hassles. Also when I was costing it, it was a little more than 25 year Asphalt shingles but it went on quicker than shingles so less labour costs.
Bill the demon.

[Bob Wessner]

I gave up going up on our roof, regardless of its wet/dry state many years ago.  When I was in college, had a summer job in steel construction. We worked 2-300 ft up in lower-Manhattan with no guard rails, etc. I chalked that up to young and stupid.   

[faux fiddy]

it's slippery, don't go up on it when it's raining or snowing, no roofing projects in the dead of winter.

I had a friend make that mistake. I guess he broke his neck on the frozen ground.

I need to take a pic of the slate stuff I can get. I think besides regular good deals, the place that has it doesn't have a clue what it is worth.

[Markcb750]

it's slippery, don't go up on it when it's raining or snowing, no roofing projects in the dead of winter.

I had a friend make that mistake. I guess he broke his neck on the frozen ground.

I need to take a pic of the slate stuff I can get. I think besides regular good deals, the place that has it doesn't have a clue what it is worth.

Do not underestimate the difficulty of doing a natural slate roof well...

just saying it is very difficult

Not impuning your skills.


 

[Duke McDukiedook]

Yeah, wouldn't slate fall under the catagory of artisan specialty niche along with copper roofs et al?

Something you probably would not trust to your standard roof laborer used to nailing asphalt shingle?

[mick750F]

Just curious, has anyone done a slate roof?  What does 50 squares look like? I think the package deal would have plenty, like a couple if not  several flatbed trucks. But it's all Greek to me.

   I've done a little slate work over the years, both new and repairs. It's really not something for the uninitiated unless you're willing to make plenty of mistakes and break many slates....and then call a roofer.

   A square in construction terms is 100 square feet, usually considered to be 10'x10'. Note that that is the coverage of a surface you are applying the roofing to, not the surface area of the covering material. 100 square feet(surface area) of shingles, slates...etc., covers less that 100 square feet of surface because of the overlap during application.

   I'm not sure from your post but it sounds like you have either a flat roof or a low pitch roof? And you have a rubber roof now? Rubber is pretty much your best bet for flat or low pitch roof these days. Are you thinking about putting slates on a flat or low pitch roof? I ask because you mention forgoing the gables and peak. Not sure if your terminology is right but slate is not a flat/low pitch application, nor is any 3 tab system.

Mike

[faux fiddy]

Just curious, has anyone done a slate roof?  What does 50 squares look like? I think the package deal would have plenty, like a couple if not  several flatbed trucks. But it's all Greek to me.

   I've done a little slate work over the years, both new and repairs. It's really not something for the uninitiated unless you're willing to make plenty of mistakes and break many slates....and then call a roofer.

   A square in construction terms is 100 square feet, usually considered to be 10'x10'. Note that that is the coverage of a surface you are applying the roofing to, not the surface area of the covering material. 100 square feet(surface area) of shingles, slates...etc., covers less that 100 square feet of surface because of the overlap during application.

   I'm not sure from your post but it sounds like you have either a flat roof or a low pitch roof? And you have a rubber roof now? Rubber is pretty much your best bet for flat or low pitch roof these days. Are you thinking about putting slates on a flat or low pitch roof? I ask because you mention forgoing the gables and peak. Not sure if your terminology is right but slate is not a flat/low pitch application, nor is any 3 tab system.

Mike

The house is about 50% flat roof, skirted around the edges at about a  9-12 pitch, with about a 6-12 pitch peak between the two flat areas. I really like the idea of carrying the pitches up to have an attic or more space, but  that would mean much work and maybe higher taxes.

The flat area is getting several more buckets of rubber sooon and will be potentially  good for years  until I make decisions and plan budget.

And by all means, I will look around for some help from someone whose work I can look at.

[Skunk Stripe]

Damn! Nice place you got there!

[faux fiddy]

Damn! Nice place you got there!

It was actually my dad's, who died on the 25th of last month. All the checks from the adjuster I just put in his account, now my brothers seem to want entitlement their split of my work.

They flew in claiming to be "here for Dad."  I left them at the hospital to sit with him while I went to pick up materials. I had been there for seven hours.  After I left they beat me to the bank to do the  business  of taking control of his accounts. One of them was with the branch manager, the other was out front,and being a loudmouth he is, I heard his conversation accusing me of forging signatures, breaking into a safe deposit box, pilfering diamonds rings, about everything short of assasinating Kennedy.

Not even sure I want to do much more work on it at this point.. especially if it's for nothing.

[Markcb750]

I have watched two parts of my family split over a few thousand dollars in an inheritances.  Sucks what money does to people.

When ever some one asked me to design/build a flat or near flat roof my response was OK, I'll build it to delay leaking as long as I can.

[Blasbo]

We replaced the 100+ year old slate roof with asphalt a few years back. I hated to do it because slate looked good on the house and it lasts for 100 years. We didn't do slate because of the cost of raw materials and the cost of installation. Our roof is 18/12 and I don't know if slate would work on a flat roof.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Damn! Nice place you got there!

It was actually my dad's, who died on the 25th of last month. All the checks from the adjuster I just put in his account, now my brothers seem to want entitlement their split of my work.

They flew in claiming to be "here for Dad."  I left them at the hospital to sit with him while I went to pick up materials. I had been there for seven hours.  After I left they beat me to the bank to do the  business  of taking control of his accounts. One of them was with the branch manager, the other was out front,and being a loudmouth he is, I heard his conversation accusing me of forging signatures, breaking into a safe deposit box, pilfering diamonds rings, about everything short of assasinating Kennedy.

Not even sure I want to do much more work on it at this point.. especially if it's for nothing.

So I assume no one was given power of attorney or named the executor of the estate?
 

[faux fiddy]

Damn! Nice place you got there!

It was actually my dad's, who died on the 25th of last month. All the checks from the adjuster I just put in his account, now my brothers seem to want entitlement their split of my work.

They flew in claiming to be "here for Dad."  I left them at the hospital to sit with him while I went to pick up materials. I had been there for seven hours.  After I left they beat me to the bank to do the  business  of taking control of his accounts. One of them was with the branch manager, the other was out front,and being a loudmouth he is, I heard his conversation accusing me of forging signatures, breaking into a safe deposit box, pilfering diamonds rings, about everything short of assasinating Kennedy.

Not even sure I want to do much more work on it at this point.. especially if it's for nothing.

So I assume no one was given power of attorney or named the executor of the estate?

We are all "trustees." Loudmouth is  first successor trustee.

Yeah, you really get to know people you share a will with. He is a back biter from long ago though. I'm concerned that he is on the verge of his second bankruptcy when all this came up. He's not much for common sense , especially with money.

[tramp]

we are looking into artificial slate roof and metal
about 7k difference in price, slate being more expensive
but our house is a saltbox and slate would give it more of a vintage look

[faux fiddy]

we are looking into artificial slate roof and metal
about 7k difference in price, slate being more expensive
but our house is a saltbox and slate would give it more of a vintage look

It is definitely a hand crafted look to it, as it is hand crafted. I wouldn't have considered it until I saw 20 pallates of the stuff with an incredibly cheap pricetag. I know it won't be on the flat roof and  have no idea, but it is an enormous amount of materials for  cheap.

May end up with leftovers if it is what I opt for.

Lots of youtube on slate roofs, brief not-to-do's especially helpful.

[Retro Rocket]

Probably almost half the houses in Australia have metal roofs and we have some pretty wild weather as well. It is usually corrugated and very strong and we use roofing screws with rubber washers so leaks are not a problem. They are noisier in the rain but i like the sound....

[faux fiddy]

Probably almost half the houses in Australia have metal roofs and we have some pretty wild weather as well. It is usually corrugated and very strong and we use roofing screws with rubber washers so leaks are not a problem. They are noisier in the rain but i like the sound....

I don't mind the rain. I screwed on a fair bit of metal in Southeast Alaska outside of Juneau. Rains maybe 200 days a year or so and over 160"annually in some parts of Southeast AK. Ketchikan has had years of 202".

No metal here in Norman OK though, not sure if it is allowed by code or standards for some reason.

Lifetime three tab is the new name for the  30 year three tab. Does that just mean the average population is getting older?

Whole neighborhoods here had new roofs installed because if hail damage, and after they were fixed it did it worse a month later. All it takes is one storm. Kept the Mexicanos busy for months, hammers and nail guns off in the distance everywhere.