Historic Resources Committee

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Historic Resources Committee .
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I know for years there have been a lot of companies making various lighter, stronger "slates" out of various materials, some of which have proved to not be durable, or of questionable material makeup, or just not function well.  I am currently looking for something to put on a small building that looks like traditional diamond slates, and have some track record or at least a good chance of durability in the long run.  I am doing some research, but I haven't used "fake" slates before so I thought I'd ask if anyone here might have a recommendation - something you have used and liked, or seen elsewhere, etc.  The more detail the better.

And thank you.

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Martha John AIA
Columbia MO
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We used EcoStar Majestic Slate Shingles on the Historic Cheyenne Railroad Depot almost fifteen years ago with great satisfaction and success.  At the time, they made them from recycled tires.  I do not know for sure what they recycle now but this is an excellent product that has withstood two really disastrous Wyoming hail storms.  I plan to install them on my personal residence this summer.  Check out, http://www.ecostarllc.com/Content/Empire-Slate

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Glen Garrett AIA
Architect
Glen E. Garrett, Architect
Cheyenne WY
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-15-2013 17:46
From: Martha John
Subject: Slate shingle replacements

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Historic Resources Committee .
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I know for years there have been a lot of companies making various lighter, stronger "slates" out of various materials, some of which have proved to not be durable, or of questionable material makeup, or just not function well.  I am currently looking for something to put on a small building that looks like traditional diamond slates, and have some track record or at least a good chance of durability in the long run.  I am doing some research, but I haven't used "fake" slates before so I thought I'd ask if anyone here might have a recommendation - something you have used and liked, or seen elsewhere, etc.  The more detail the better.

And thank you.

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Martha John AIA
Columbia MO
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Many people immediately dismiss the idea of using real slate simply because of cost.  I encourage you to do some research into this - at one point, the better "fake" slate options cost almost as much as real slate, for a fraction of the durability/warranty.

If the roof was originally slate, weight should not be an issue, and properly detailed, a new slate roof will last 100 years or more, as other posters have said. 

There's a great historic roof consultant up here in PA, Jeffrey Levine - you probably have someone in MO who could advise you on this, but you could also reach out to Jeff.  Good luck.
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Katherine Dowdell AIA
Blackney Hayes Architects
Philadelphia PA
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-16-2013 17:39
From: Glen Garrett
Subject: Slate shingle replacements

We used EcoStar Majestic Slate Shingles on the Historic Cheyenne Railroad Depot almost fifteen years ago with great satisfaction and success.  At the time, they made them from recycled tires.  I do not know for sure what they recycle now but this is an excellent product that has withstood two really disastrous Wyoming hail storms.  I plan to install them on my personal residence this summer.  Check out, http://www.ecostarllc.com/Content/Empire-Slate

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Glen Garrett AIA
Architect
Glen E. Garrett, Architect
Cheyenne WY
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-15-2013 17:46
From: Martha John
Subject: Slate shingle replacements

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Historic Resources Committee .
-------------------------------------------
I know for years there have been a lot of companies making various lighter, stronger "slates" out of various materials, some of which have proved to not be durable, or of questionable material makeup, or just not function well.  I am currently looking for something to put on a small building that looks like traditional diamond slates, and have some track record or at least a good chance of durability in the long run.  I am doing some research, but I haven't used "fake" slates before so I thought I'd ask if anyone here might have a recommendation - something you have used and liked, or seen elsewhere, etc.  The more detail the better.

And thank you.

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Martha John AIA
Columbia MO
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Martha,

There is nothing better than real slate which if from a reputable source, detailed and installed correctly, can last 150 years.  The imitation slates or small slate tiles that are used as mere cladding over a membrane just cannot replace the real thing and while I have no experience with those systems, it would seem that at best, they would last a fraction of the years that a real slate roof would endure.  Is there a structural concern prohibiting the use of real slate on your project?  If it's a small, simple roof design, a real slate roof can be installed by a good, conscientious trades person who has experience with other roofing systems such as wood or metal.  If you've not seen or read the book, I would encourage you to look at The Slate Roof Bible, by Joseph Jenkins who provides great information on the use of real slate and lots of details as well as the history of the material, tools of the trade and some good humor mixed in.  I love the material so much, I recently installed it myself with the help of a carpenter on a garage that we designed and constructed.  It can be seen at the following link, just scroll down to the bottom of the web page:

http://www.landmarkconsulting.net/services/     

Good luck with your project!  
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Jack Alvarez AIA
Partner
Landmark Consulting, LLC
Albany NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-15-2013 17:46
From: Martha John
Subject: Slate shingle replacements

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Historic Resources Committee .
-------------------------------------------
I know for years there have been a lot of companies making various lighter, stronger "slates" out of various materials, some of which have proved to not be durable, or of questionable material makeup, or just not function well.  I am currently looking for something to put on a small building that looks like traditional diamond slates, and have some track record or at least a good chance of durability in the long run.  I am doing some research, but I haven't used "fake" slates before so I thought I'd ask if anyone here might have a recommendation - something you have used and liked, or seen elsewhere, etc.  The more detail the better.

And thank you.

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Martha John AIA
Columbia MO
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Martha,

Unless the weight is an insurmountable problem, you should seriously consider real slate. I know of a National Register church, for which a poor decision was made to use a particular fake slate to replace the original 120 year old real slate roof. That decision is now being regretted, because (after 20 years instead of 120...) the fake slate is starting to fail and the manufacturer is no longer making that product. As I said to the Rector, who is a friend, "Real slate will be around forever."

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Joseph Catalano AIA
Joseph Catalano AIA
Sierra Madre CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-15-2013 17:46
From: Martha John
Subject: Slate shingle replacements

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Historic Resources Committee .
-------------------------------------------
I know for years there have been a lot of companies making various lighter, stronger "slates" out of various materials, some of which have proved to not be durable, or of questionable material makeup, or just not function well.  I am currently looking for something to put on a small building that looks like traditional diamond slates, and have some track record or at least a good chance of durability in the long run.  I am doing some research, but I haven't used "fake" slates before so I thought I'd ask if anyone here might have a recommendation - something you have used and liked, or seen elsewhere, etc.  The more detail the better.

And thank you.

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Martha John AIA
Columbia MO
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Jerry Berggren AIA
Berggren Architects
Lincoln NE
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In your subject line you refer to "slate shingle replacements" which implies replacement of individual shingles.  However your comments imply whole replacement.  Since everyone else has commented on the concept of wholesale replacement, I like to offer the possibility of repairing the existing roof.  There are several companies who will do repair work, including furnishing newly quarried or salvage individual replacement slates.  Organizations with a significant number of slate roofs, such as Notre Dame University have on-going maintenance agreements with a slate roofing company to do annual inspections and repairs of their roofs.  There are many details in Joseph Jenkins' The Slate Roof Bible illustrating proper repairs for existing slate roofs.  If wholesale replacement is required, and if any of the existing shingles are still sound, they should be salvaged, either to be blended into the new roof or sold for other projects.  

Regarding wholesale replacement, I basically concur with the previous statements.  That is to say, when presented with the life cycle cost of slate versus any other shingle style roofing material, it is more cost effective.  If you have a compelling reason for choosing an alternative to real natural slate I agree with the recommendation to use Eco-star's product.  We have used it on one occasion where the structure was located in an area with exceptionally high frequency of hail storms.  It has been in place for more than five years and continues to preform as expected.

I want to emphasis that natural slate is unique and that not all roofers are equal.  It is our practice to pre-qualify roofers before they are permitted to bid on our public projects.  There are several quality companies who will bid on projects across the country if they know their competition has similar experience and maintains the same high standards.  If you employ a local roofer without previous slate installation experience, be prepared to spend a lot of time on site to ensure the quality of the installation.  

Jerry Berggren, AIA





Original Message:
Sent: 07-16-2013 21:49
From: Joseph Catalano
Subject: Slate shingle replacements

Martha,

Unless the weight is an insurmountable problem, you should seriously consider real slate. I know of a National Register church, for which a poor decision was made to use a particular fake slate to replace the original 120 year old real slate roof. That decision is now being regretted, because (after 20 years instead of 120...) the fake slate is starting to fail and the manufacturer is no longer making that product. As I said to the Rector, who is a friend, "Real slate will be around forever."

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Joseph Catalano AIA
Joseph Catalano AIA
Sierra Madre CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-15-2013 17:46
From: Martha John
Subject: Slate shingle replacements

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Historic Resources Committee .
-------------------------------------------
I know for years there have been a lot of companies making various lighter, stronger "slates" out of various materials, some of which have proved to not be durable, or of questionable material makeup, or just not function well.  I am currently looking for something to put on a small building that looks like traditional diamond slates, and have some track record or at least a good chance of durability in the long run.  I am doing some research, but I haven't used "fake" slates before so I thought I'd ask if anyone here might have a recommendation - something you have used and liked, or seen elsewhere, etc.  The more detail the better.

And thank you.

-------------------------------------------
Martha John AIA
Columbia MO
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