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Top 5 Benefits of Slate Roofing

18 September 2019

If you are considering different types of roofing for installation on your new home or for replacing your current home’s roof, slate tiles may be the ideal choice. There is a variety of roofing materials in popular use today, including terracotta and concrete tiles, asphalt shingles and timber-cladding. For this reason, many homeowners may not be familiar with the value and qualities of a slate roof.

Slate tiles will give your roof a natural, attractive and refined appearance. They can add the look of polished elegance to homes of many different designs and sizes. A slate roof will also increase your home’s curb appeal and market value. Due to their high thermal mass, slate tiles absorb the sun’s heat during daytime hours to keep your home warmer during the night. Slate tiles on your roof can also help insulate your home from excess heat and noise.

Five Leading Benefits of Installing a Slate Roof on Your Home

When you choose slate as the roofing material for your home, you will gain such major benefits as the following:

1. Multiple Colours and Textures. Slate roofing tiles are available in a wide range of textures, colours and patterns. Textures may vary from extremely smooth and regulated to quite rough, irregular and rustic. Patterns can be uniform or organic and creative. Slate tile colours can range from subtle to strong hues. Although grey and black shades are frequently used on roofs, reds, purples and greens are also attractive.

2. Long-Term Durability. Natural slate can be several million years old. It offers outstanding durability, and many homeowners are amazed to discover that a new slate roof is estimated to last for at least 75 to 100 years. Some slate roofs have been reported as lasting for several hundred years, with very little or no maintenance required. Because slate is a homogeneous metamorphic rock which originally came from sedimentary rock that consisted of volcanic ash or clay, it can withstand even the most severe storms and weather extremes. Slate tiles are also fire and mold resistant.

3. Top-Quality Heavy Material. Slate is a very heavy roofing material. Slate tiles can increase the weight of your home’s roof by as much as 550 pounds. Only houses that are strong enough architecturally can withstand the added weight of a secure, protective slate roof. If you are building a new home, your architect or building expert can ensure that your home is constructed to support a slate roof. If you are installing new roofing on your existing home, your home building professionals will need to reinforce the structure of your home to withstand the extra pounds of new slate roofing.

4. Light or Little Maintenance.
Since slate provides long-term wear and requires only light maintenance or none at all, you can count on low-cost care for a new slate roof. Once your slate roof is installed, it is important to schedule an inspection of your roof by a roofing expert every year. If any of the tiles should become damaged, they can be removed easily and replaced.

5. Cost-Efficient Roof. Slate is a high-cost roofing material. In fact, it can cost two to three times as much as shingle roofing. The cost of a new slate tile roof for your home may be 15 or 16 dollars per square foot, which can be quite expensive if you have a large home or unusual roof pitch. However, when you consider the fact that you should never need to replace a slate roof and that its maintenance costs will be quite low, you will realise the true cost-savings of selecting slate as a roofing material for your home.

When you contact BuildCor Building Solutions with store locations in Campbellfield, Taylors Lakes and Strathdale Bendigo, Victoria, you will benefit from top-quality advice concerning all aspects of roofing materials and installation services. Our experienced professionals will advise you about the true advantages and cost-savings of slate tile roofing installation and will assist you with selecting the ideal colours and textures to enhance the beauty and value of your home.