natural slate

M

mickymcie

Guest
Hi all .. Im in the process of building a house and was thinking of natural slate.
Would any of you have ideas on this or whats the best type. Ive been told that Spanish Slate is the best.. Any solutions or advice?????
 
mickymcie said:
Hi all .. Im in the process of building a house and was thinking of natural slate.
Would any of you have ideas on this or whats the best type. Ive been told that Spanish Slate is the best.. Any solutions or advice?????
Click to expand...

For the Floor? If so God no stay away from it... looks great down but is high maintenance...it's far too weak I've a friend who got most of the downstairs of his house done in natural slate tiles that were then finished with a sealer. To date he has had a few break/crack and even instances of ladies heels going right through them, he is now considering on pulling them up and replacing them with another stronger flooring material.

Good Luck
 
Natural Slate is perfectly fine for the floor also. As long as it's not the thin slates that are meant to be put on the roof. I had natural slate in my former house and it was low maintenance (just seal it yearly by rubbing a sealant on it with a cloth). Couldn't have cracked it if we tried - it was too thick. It looked great.
 
Hi All,

Have searched for peoples opinions and this is the closest thread to what I am looking for.

Which would you put on your new house, Natural Slate or Synthetic Slate (if that is what it is called)
What are the pros and cons , if there are any

Thanks
 
We are finishing off our house and have roofed using natural slate as we prefered the look. Advantages are that you are using a natural product which is never going to fade and only looks better with time. Disadvantage is that it is more expensive, is more brittle and can take longer to roof with it. The Spanish slates are cheaper and smaller, however they break easier and your roofer will probably charge more to lay them than the Bangor slate. If I was doing it again I would go for the Bangor slate which is larger, tougher and more expensive unfortunately.
 
Does natural slate get affected by moss?
Or do all types of slate/tiles get covered by moss to some degree?
 
Of course it is more expensive - the slate price compared to other products isn't bad but you will be charged more for labour, there is more waste and becasue they are smaller you will need more of them.
 
I'm currently at the roofing stage of my build and i used spanish slate (Campo Premiere) from CAPCO roofing. The slates look fantastic and are of real good quality. The slater said they were one of the best slates he has seen.... They were expensive though but the finish and look of the house will be worth every penny!!!!
 
Spanish slate are not the best on the market, but unless you have very deep pockets in terms of value for money they are fine. They come in a variety of sizes and a 20"x10" is a good size for looks and price on fitting. Slates are graded at S1 S2 and S3 in terms of durability. Modulus of rupture across the grain and absorbtion percentage. S1 have a service life well in excess of 75 years, S2 40 -75 years and S3 25 -40. In reality an S1 slate can last over 400 years and there are many slates servicing their third roofs and still going strong. Spanish slate is grade S3 but the way I see it is they are going to last a life time so they will be someone elses problem in 50 or sixty years time. Spanish slates also comes two classes A and B. The former is a more uniformed thickness and needs very little grading, the latter comes in all differing thicknesse and every slate needs gradeing before being loaded onto the roof with the thicker slates at the bottom and the thinner at the top so that they all sit perfectly. I have seen many a roof where the slaters simply take each slate as they come ....thick or thin and fit them resulting in a twisted and unsightly lay. Natural slate is not the cheapest way to roof so if considering it ensure that the roofers are competant and willing to ensure that a perfect lay will be completed by grading as they roof or its a waste of money I.M.O.
Fibre cement slates are fine but inevitably fade and weather after a number of years...but they are cheaper!
 
I spoke to two experienced roofers. Told me to stay away from natural slate unless you can afford the really good slates like bangor These are 3 something a pop!
Iron oxide that is in some of the natural slates can come out and stain the slate as well as form small pin holes. They cost alot more top put on and they are susceptible to breakages. I was definitely told to stay away from Brazilian Natural. Advised to go with tegral thrutone. About 1.50-1.60 each with a 20 year colour garauntee. Know of somebody who's slates started to fade with a tegral roof. The Comany replaced the whole roof at a cost of 25000!!
 
Anyone got an opinion on the Cupa Spanish natural slates.
Bangor were way too expensive for us.

We've gone with Cupa H3. Too late now to reverse that
decision. They are bought, ready to be graded and
to be nailed to the roof. Copper nails were bought,
heavier laths on the roof and the labour is as expensive
as the slates themselves since we got the main
contractor to engage a company who have a good
reputation for doing natural slates.

I was told that the Cupa were very good and that as
long as the roof pitch wasn't too slack (say under 30 degrees)
they should look very well - more rustic than the Bangor
and more greyish/black rather than the purply hues
you see on the Bangors.
 
Hi IPXL,
Just looking at this and you went with the CUPA H3. i am thinking about the same however the prices are expensive. We are looking at 32.67 Euro inc Vat per M2. This is for the 16 x 10 slate.
The price of putting them on is approx 45 Euro per M2. This includes putting on felt Lead, battons, vents and ridges. This seems quite expensive. Is this the sort of prices you paid,
Anyone else got any prices or knowledge of the H3 CUPA slate.
Any input on prices quality etc etc would be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
Hi,

Which Builder's merchant supplies the CUPA slates or is there a particular distributor for them. Would be interested in getting a quote after reading the feedback here. Thanks, apple1
 
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