- The debate between synthetic and natural slate
has been one that's been raging a while now
in the roofing community,
ever since synthetic roof slate has risen to prominence.
But instead of deciding which one objectively is better
than the other,
because that's not the case,
we're gonna give you the pros and cons
and comparisons between natural and synthetic slate
to see which one is gonna be better for your home.
The categories that I'm gonna be comparing today
are price, lifespan, value,
curb appeal, and then a special bonus category at the end.
So stick around for that
on this episode of The Roofing Channel.
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Price.
The price for synthetic slate material
will usually fall somewhere
around 10 to $12 per square foot.
But depending on the job,
it can run at a very high end of $20 per square foot.
The price of natural roof slate will start at about $15
and it has a big range,
but at the very high end could be about $30 per square foot.
Now both of these have pretty wide ranges,
but natural slate is definitely more expensive
than synthetic slate,
so point to synthetic on price.
Lifespan.
Synthetic grooves are toted to have
a 30 to 50 year lifespan.
But the thing about synthetic slate roofs
is that they haven't been around for 30 to 50 years yet.
So, it's really claims by the manufacturers.
It could last lower than 30 years,
or it could even last more than 50 years.
Time will tell with that one.
But for now,
we're gonna assume the manufacturers are right
for 30 to 50 years.
Natural slate, on the other hand,
is one of the longest lasting roof materials money can buy.
With a proper install,
you should get at least 75, 80 years out of it,
but really you should get 100 with good maintenance,
but if you're getting a really good install
and you have great foundation,
you could see yourself pushing 150, 200 years.
That is like three generations of roof material.
Natural slate does not mess around.
Point here definitely goes to natural slate.
Value.
Value tends to be a little bit subjective,
but my metric is always the roof mileage.
How many years are you gonna get out of it per dollar
that you're spending on each square foot?
For synthetic slate, I got around 2.5 to 4.2 years
per dollar that you're spending on it.
And for natural slate,
I got about 3.3 to 6.6 years,
assuming you don't have a 200 year roof,
per dollar that you're spending on it.
It's pretty hard to beat a roof that can last
for multiple generations in terms of value,
so for this,
I'm giving the point to natural slate again.
Curb appeal.
This is usually by far the most subjective part of the list,
but this is a pretty special case.
Here's a picture of a synthetic slate roof
and a natural slate roof.
Can you tell the difference?
Well, if you can tell the difference,
you're either a slate specialist or you're a roofer.
For natural slate, you get bragging rights to say that,
you know, your roof is all natural slate.
But curb appeal, if we're talking just how it looks
from the sidewalk,
there's virtually no difference here.
So tie game on this one.
Even though I joked in the beginning of this video
that synthetic slate shingles are better
than natural slate shingles,
slate shingles definitely appear to be winning
this battle so far.
However, there are a lot of things about synthetic
and natural slate that normally wouldn't fall
in a normal comparison video
that need to be considered for homeowners like you.
This brings us to the lightning round of things
that synthetics slate does way better than natural slate.
Warranties.
Since natural slate comes to the earth,
it doesn't have any sort of warranty.
But remember that 30 to 50 years life span
that I talked about maybe up in the air?
There's a manufacturer's warranty backing that
since it's a man-made product.
Availability.
(grunts)
Since natural slate needs to be mined from the earth,
there are times of the year that you can't get it.
But synthetic slate, you can get it any time of the year.
Ease of installation.
Natural slave requires trained professionals to install,
and that can jack up your labor costs.
But synthetic slate,
that can be nailed in like any other shingle.
Eco friendly.
Natural slate is a resource that's mined from the earth,
not too bad,
but synthetic slate is made of 100% recycled materials
and it can be used again on another roof after it's done.
Customization.
Natural slate looks like slate,
but synthetic slate comes in different colors
if you don't want that traditional gray look,
and it's highly customizable.
Weight.
Natural slate is extremely heavy.
And if your house can't support it,
you're gonna have to retrofit it,
which is gonna cost you a lot of money.
Synthetic slate, you can always put that on.
(explosion)
(clears throat)
Okay, things got a little out of hand there for a second,
so let's just bring it back.
Like with any of these comparison videos,
even though I went on a dumb rant,
this really is meant to just show you the pros and cons
of both roofing materials
so that you can make the best decision for your home.
Synthetic roof slate,
it's cutting edge, it's affordable,
it's here to stand the test of time,
it looks beautiful.
Natural slate is time-tested,
it'll last forever,
it'll roof your grandkids,
it looks great.
It's a little expensive,
but if you can afford it,
it's one of the best roofs money can buy.
But is it the best roof money can buy?
(dramatic opera music)