ameijers wrote:

"Rob Gray" wrote in message
...

wrote:

On Fri, 20 Aug 2004 10:10:59 -0500, (m Ransley)
wrote:


(snip)

From what I have heard what you say above is often the case, but it
depends on where the slate came from. I've heard that slate from this
region lasts usually between 70 to 150 years on a roof depending on the
specific vein. There are other regions that produce harder slate (south
central PA, New Hampshire, etc.) that lasts several hundred years or
more. I was more interested in when to replace the roof in terms of
symptoms since I am relatively sure that my home's slate is in its later
stages of life. In this slate region, 20 years ago over 90% of the homes
had slate roofs. Now it is probably down to 25% with slate roofs as many
of them have failed....


From the trips I have made to New England, it looks like most of the slate
roofs fail from the bottom up, due to ice damming. Suspect it may be a side
effect of people adding modern insulation and heating systems to these
antique houses, especially if the attic is no longer 20 below in winter. A
common repair is eaves or patches of standing seam metal, with the upper
roof still in slate.

Even in a cost-is-no-object new house, doubt I would install slate. If I
wanted that look, I would go with the fake slate made out of plastic?
rubber? unobtanium?, simply becaue it isn't brittle and won't shatter. They
used slate because that is what they HAD, not because it is a great roofing
material. If you have a choice, whatever you put up there should be able to
take at least some impact stress, and be resistant to weather and ice moving
it around. More likely I would go with standing seam in a good grade of
stainless. It'd last longer than I would.

aem sends...


I'm going with a metal roof when I ultimately replace it. This house
would have originally had a wood shingle roof when it was built since
the house was around before the slate industry here which started in the
1850's. Either wood shingle, slate or metal roofs are "right" for older
stone farm houses like mine in this region. Asphalt shingles on a stone
house like this just does not look right..... Any other type of house
and I'd get an asphalt roof since they're cheap and easy....