Replace slate roof with slate or synthetic slate?

[Anonymous]

Our 70+ year old slate roof needs to be replaced and we are struggling with whether we should use slate or can get away with synthetic slate. We live in a NW DC neighborhood with home values in the $825K-1.1M range, we are in the midpoint of that. We are surrounded by homes with older slate roofs like ours, or new roofs that are not slate but I am not sure what they are. We toy with moving at some point so I am concerned about potential resale and return on investment, but not sure when/if that would happen. WWYD? We have been repairing for 10 years and that is no longer an option. TIA.

[Anonymous]

Do you have quotes? What's the price difference?

[Anonymous]

One quote is a 5K difference, another is an 8K difference between real vs synthetic.

[Anonymous]

Good topic. Our slate roof likely only has 5-10 years left, so I'm interested. What's the durability of synthetic slate? How many years expected?

I also read somewhere about synthetic slate that doubles as solar tiles. Looks like slate, but actually pulls power. Probably expensive, but might be a decent ROI.

[Anonymous]

Do you have an HOA? Just asking because ours requires real slate.

Real slate would be my choice, even slightly more expensively, because synthetic slate is new enough I question its longevity under real weather conditions. Also, most of the savings would be in choosing synthetic while you are still building the roof-- real slate is heavy and requires more infrastructure. Once you have the roof in place, I wouldn't save 10% by using an untested material.

We are at the same spot and it is a major expense. But like I said, our HOA would be an obstacle to choosing synthetic, anyway.

[Anonymous]

I'd get a second opinion on whether it truly needs to be replaced. Unless you need to reinforce the roof structure or trusses, it is rare to have to replace an entire slate roof.

[Anonymous]

We looked at replacing our roof with synthetic slate. I heard some bad reviews. In the end, we did real slate in the front of the house and shingles on the back.

[Anonymous]

I had a house with a slate roof for years and loved it. I now live in a high end newer build with a synthetic roof with a 30 year warranty (looks like slate). The problem with the composite material is that it is very brittle and breaks or cracks if any workman have to stand on it. That makes cleaning the eaves harder, and any painting of the exterior roof areas/chimney work will result in further expenses to fix the roof.

If you do go with a synthetic/composite material instead of slate, make sure you keep plenty of extra roof tiles stored somewhere. The companies change their materials over the years and you won't be able to get matching tiles after about 5-10 years. That is a serious pain in the ass.

[Anonymous]

Why stay with slate? Have you looked at architectrual asphalt? We had slate and I would keep as long as it could be maintained without replacement, but I wouldn't do a total roof replacement with slate, too expensive and some buyers don't want to deal with the ongoing maintenance costs.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered a tin roof? They have an expected lifespan of 75-100 years

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the responses. We do not have a HOA so we are free to choose. We had not considered architectural asphalt since we were concerned about diminishing home value but we will look into it. A tin roof would not look good on our house but I like the suggestion. The two types of synthetic slate that we received quotes for are Certainteed Highland Slate and Ecostar - any thoughts on those?

[Anonymous]

Builder here. The general consensus is that there really is a significant price difference between slate and synthetic. The labor is the same - its the same process - although granted the synthetic is not as heavy.

So, folks use synthetic if their roof framing cannot support the weight of real slate. In your case that is not the case so I'd suggest you look hard at using real slate.

Can you get any re-use from your existing tiles to help offset the cost ?

[Anonymous]

oops - builder here - that should say there really IS NOT a significant price difference - my bad.

[Anonymous]

Go with real slate and the durability offered