Re-useing Slate and tile roofing

 The reality is that most roofs are replaced - or at least repaired - every ten years. The costs can be reduced by carefully choosing your home's roofing material. By choosing an appropriate tile or slate for your roof in the long run, you'll use less money, produce less waste material and put less demand on natural resources. Very ECO friendly. Often, a slate or tile roofing system will out last the building in which it is on, and it is removed before the building is torn down, and put on another new building.

 Slate and tile is often found on many of the most impressive buildings including cathedrals, palaces, and castles. Residential homes looking for an aristocratic look have now utilize this durable building material to shield them from the forces of nature while heritage and other prestigious building projects involving restoration, refurbishments or extensions also make use of slate for its unquestioned quality, permeability, color fastness and aesthetic appeal.

Slate is a metamorphic rock exhibiting foliation and is fine-grained. The mineral composition of slate includes quartz and Muscovite or illite. If that sounds like a bit of a mouthful it may help to think of slate as special mud that has been heated and squeezed. Slate formation begins when fine particles of clay and silt accumulate in thin layers in water logged areas. These sediments become a rock called shale and heat and pressure cause the shale to change its chemistry. The clay and silt crystallize into quartz, chlorate, and other minerals which are all very durable materials. This is one of the reasons for slates longevity. Its long lifespan also makes it suitable for the reclaimed tiles market.

Stone slates from sedimentary rocks (mainly limestone and sandstone) are different to the real slates made from metamorphic rock. The main reason for slate's superior roof-tiling quality is its cleavage ability. Although slate can be a more expensive choice, it offers a very natural look and can be laid out in a variety of patterns.

Homeowners need to keep in mind that slate can be very heavy and sometimes requires expensive additional support. Walking on slate tiles can difficult for a non-professional due to its break ability which complicates tasks such as rooftop maintenance, gutter cleaning and painting.

However the benefits of slate also need to be factored into any decision namely its very long lifespan, good fire protection, low maintenance, and resistance to rot and insects. Although colors are limited to those found naturally slate comes in a good selection of sizes to suite most tiling projects. Perhaps your next home could display the sophistication of a reclaimed slate tile roof.