Synthetic Slate Tiles for repairing Slate roof?

You mean like this place around the corner?

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You got a place right around the corner?
That is great!
You should have a big stack of em
Waiting for the next roofer you will hire.

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Yea that sounds pretty backwards. We do small slate repairs/replacement in a weekly basis. Our usual rate is For easily accessible areas $240 setup/travel and $28 a unit for standard size and thickness slates. We only would ever use real slates On a natural slate roof. I have on occasion used real slates on synthetic roofs when the synthetic has been discontinued. Whenever Possible we use reclaimed slate for repairs to match as close as possible.

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MPA
I always respect your knowledge and the way you do business. The homeowner is not always trying to ā€˜getā€™ the roofer. I am sure your business is very well respected in your area.

Thanks MPA! This is really helpful feedback and information.

@Bloome I was so stoked to find this post mostly because Iā€™ve been trying to locate information about how to replace natural slates with synthetic slate. I didnā€™t think it was possible until I located this post.

We pay $50 per slate for each repair regardless of how few or many slates need to be replaced. This price-point is static amongst all slate-roof contractors. In my opinion, the roofer did right by you if he used a quality tile (ie Boreal) and color matched it well. The Boreal tiles have excellent longevity and as someone with an historic slate roof, I will seek out a professional that will agree to use the Boreal synthetic slate tiles the next time I need tiles replaced. With a 50 Year Warrantee, I imagine these will surpass the lifetime of the VT Slate (which we also have).

I do think regardless of my own personal preference, the contractor should have disclosed his material choices. When you have a slate roof, you expect that if someone is replacing tiles, they are replacing the tiles with the pre-existing material unless otherwise specified. The notion that slate is no longer available is absurdā€¦.

Synthetic slate will never last anywhere near as long as a quality slate. The 50 year warranty is smoke and mirrors. No synthetic slate company has been around anywhere that long.

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While Iā€™m no where near as anti synthetic slate as this article I do feel they should be called out on what they are. They are a roof that can be installed much easier than slate and will look great for a short time (15-20 years I estimate). I would have lots less issues with them if they were more affordably priced. They are basically the cheap and quick alternative to slateā€¦that isnā€™t any cheaper.

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