Can anyone explain - tiles -vs- slate?

My mum is/was considering a re-roof. We've lived here 30 years & it's not been done in that time for sure. The slates on our roof are all sorts of sizes & some of them look like ye-olde tombstone slates. One of the sizes was 17x15, there was a 20x12 & a 15x12 i think that blew off the other day.

The house was built either early 1700s (1700-1710) or early 1800s (1800-1810) & is detached.

Anyway she was asking about slate -vs- tiles as i work for a builders merchant. Thing is, i've no clue about roofing products at all.

Someone mentioned to me that it depends - that slate is generally better, but if you get poor quality slate (they mentioned some french stuff) then it's awful, really awful.

Why would you go for one over the other? Is it just cost? How long would either last?

And what would be some good quality tiles/slates?


I know we used to stock Ravendale 7-9mm but apparently you can't get these any more & we've switched to some Estillo slates. I'm no roofing expert but these FEEL crap as they're wafer thin.

Someone told me the tiles as they're concrete wash away in time & are pretty crap themselves. How true this is i don't know.

If you have thick heavy slates at the moment I would suggest that you go for a Burlington blue slate which should easily last you for a hundred years, or if your slate is in good condition you could re use it over new underlay and battens.

Tiles are made from concrete and will wear away over time. They'll need replaced at somewhere between 30-60 years old. However some of the modern paints/coatings seem pretty good at rejuvenating the shiny surface, so maybe if you had the roof coated every now and then it would last even longer.

Slates don't wear away but will be more expensive to do. They might be much more "in keeping" with your particular house tho, since tiles always look modern.

alan333 said:

Tiles are made from concrete and will wear away over time. They'll need replaced at somewhere between 30-60 years old. However some of the modern paints/coatings seem pretty good at rejuvenating the shiny surface, so maybe if you had the roof coated every now and then it would last even longer.

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Oh look somebody touting roof coating.

Hilarious.

Thanks.

In that case the answer has to be slate then, budget allowing. From what you say, tiles are good if you can't afford slate (much difference in £?) and you're not going to be in the house or your family beyond that timeframe.

Never heard of that slate myself. We've had in Ravendale, Estillio, Kentdale. There's another which name I forget. If getting it done then it needs to be a decent job. No point in a half effort.

CluelessDIYer1 said:

Thanks.

In that case the answer has to be slate then, budget allowing. From what you say, tiles are good if you can't afford slate (much difference in £?) and you're not going to be in the house or your family beyond that timeframe.

Never heard of that slate myself. We've had in Ravendale, Estillio, Kentdale. There's another which name I forget. If getting it done then it needs to be a decent job. No point in a half effort.

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If it's a historic roof with irregular slates I'd strongly recommend getting in an expert, at least for advice. Slates will last for hundreds of years and are well worth preserving, the main threat to slate roofs is the roofer who's default option is to rip off any roof over thirty years old and replace it with a new one. Plenty of people who claim to understand slates roofs actually don't so proceed with caution.

The imported slate you mention is very variable, there is a lot of Spanish, Brazilian and Chinese slate on the market just now and quality is very variable. Quality control on Spanish slate is getting better now but it sounds as though you want some locally sourced slate to match what's there. It can be expensive but if the existing stuff is in any kind of shape you may need only a small amount.

A few pictures would help the forum offer better advice.

alan333 said:

However some of the modern paints/coatings seem pretty good at rejuvenating the shiny surface, so maybe if you had the roof coated every now and then it would last even longer.

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Trading standards have started prosecutions against the installers of this complete garbage waste of money product! vandalism and theft comes to mind.

noseall said:

alan333 said:

Tiles are made from concrete and will wear away over time. They'll need replaced at somewhere between 30-60 years old. However some of the modern paints/coatings seem pretty good at rejuvenating the shiny surface, so maybe if you had the roof coated every now and then it would last even longer.

Click to expand...

Oh look somebody touting roof coating.

Hilarious.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, where exactly did I try to tout roof coatings? I gave a fair and honest answer to the OP's question including a guesstimate of expected lifespan of new tiles, and a suggestion as to how to prolong their life even more.

Although I was heavily involved in roofing for over 25 years (mainly felt roofs but also a fair bit of experience on tiles/slates/metal sheeting etc), I am hardly ever up a ladder now, nor involved with anyone who is. Except my window cleaner I suppose, if he counts.

Perhaps I should have written...

"...some of the modern paints/coatings seem pretty good at rejuvenating the shiny surface, so maybe if you had your new tiled roof coated after maybe 10 or 20 years, then periodically as required depending on the tile porosity, it could last even longer."

I apologise to the OP if he thought I was trying to sell my services or products, but hope that he would understand that even if I was, I probably wouldn't travel the length of the country for a roof coating job.