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Slate Roof Repair & Installation

Need great slate? Here are slate sources, slate specialties, and experienced contractors to help you out.

Click here for a list of slate suppliers and installers

Because the majority of today's roofing contractors are experienced only with strip asphalt shingles and roll roofing, they don't want to bother with slate and other historic roofing materials. Faced with a historic slate roof, the typical roofer will solemnly declare, "It can't be fixed." Of course, that's simply not true. In the online list above are both sources of natural slate and contractors experienced in not only repairs, but new installations of traditional slate.

The issue of cost is sure to arise. Slate is definitely more expensive than asphalt shingles. The countervailing viewpoint is that: (1) a slate roof should last at least five times longer than typical asphalt shingles; and (2) nothing can compare with the look of a natural slate roof. As an acceptable compromise between cost and aesthetics, some designers specify slate substitute materials that replicate much of the appearance of natural slate without the full cost and weight.

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