TruSlate or alternatives
Well, it looks like our preferred shingle and stone farmhouse might be a tough sell to the Architectural Control Committee where we own our lot. They tell us they want a more European feel. . . not generally my thing! So I have been trying to figure out how I might Europeanize the house within my tastes :)
We found a Spitzmiller and Norris house that they deem French Norman which has a very similar footprint on the front to our house. If we eliminate the bay windows (upper and lower) and front porch on the French Norman house and simplify them, we are looking at a very similar feel, just different materials. We are hoping to incorporate those slim french doors with the panels on the bottom on both walls of our dining room and in our study (on either side of the front entrance) for a more European feel - even DH likes this house and french makes him cringe.
All this to say - it appears to have a slate roof which may be priced out of our budget. Has anyone ever heard of truslate? Googled and it looks great - very realistic compared to some synthetic slate alternatives.
Any real world experience with this or a similar material. Again, I think real slate is out of our budget in all likelihood since I was really worried about cedar shake and slate would be much more!!
Here is a link that might be useful: Spitzmiller Norman Manor house
Comments (7)
niff
14 years agoI don't know of that particular synthetic slate. I would check with your/a roofer before selecting any fake slate. When we were looking into things, many of the brands still had some issues (like discoloring, curling, etc). In the end we went with Davinci and have been quite happy with them.
Best of luck!
thingsthatinspire
14 years agoWe are trying to do real slate...but are struggling with the cost. I heard anecdotally that truslate does not cost that much less than real slate. I have seen Grand Manor used a lot in Atlanta; it is an asphalt roof that is thicker and is designed to have the shadowing effect and look of real slate. I like how it looks. My architect prefers slateline as an asphalt alternative to slate (only if real slate can't be used - real slate is his preference). Many people who want slate, but can't afford it right now, have their roofs built to hold slate (which is heavier than asphalt)but use architectural shingle or some other substitute, with the intention of using slate next time they reroof.
I know this is an old thread, have you made any decisions?
nutherokie_gw
14 years agoIt's my understanding that GAF truslate is genuine slate attached via a metal hanger system. The shingles don't overlap - at least not by much - so considerably less slate is used and the overall weight is lessened. I've seen it employed around here recently. It's pretty, but I have no idea how it holds up.
athensmomof3
Original Author14 years agoNo decisions yet . . . Saw Grand Manor in person and I much prefer Slateline. Good idea about having it built to hold slate for a reroof. That will be a much easier sell to my husband.
I am still considering a traditional style (not typical red clay barrel) clay roof. . . I think it falls somewhere between slate and asphalt and can look really nice.
finestra
13 years agoHas anyone used Ecostar synthetic slate or Davinci? What are the costs per square including installation?
How have the tiles held up?
athensmomof3
Original Author13 years agoFunny to see this pop back up! I have decided against TruSlate but our builder was asking me about it as it is being evaluated for another house he is building. Frankly, it is not much cheaper than real slate, and who knows if this system is time tested. Also, I was concerned (and so was he) about the quality of the slate actually being used. It did not seem worth it to me to use TruSlate when a real slate, 100 year proven roof, was only a few thousand more. The real market for TruSlate is for reroofs I think . . . it is much lighter than slate and doesn't require the bracing.
I do know the DaVinci looks pretty good but I would worry about the newness of the product, how it would age, would it fade (they all do I think), would it curl, be discontinued, lawsuits, etc.
We went through this process ourselves and decided to do an architectural shingle. We are building a high end house in a small town. Our neighborhood where we bought our lot is either cedar shake or architectural (or grand manor) shingle - no slate. I don't care for grand manor - think it looks strange. We have a two story house with a gable roof so the roof is not prominent. I personally am not offended by a nice architectural shingle (although we got great pressure from the architect to do a higher end roof).
The slate was almost 100k, tile roof (i.e. low end Ludowici (which was very clunky and I didn't even like it) was 80k, Grand Manor was 48k, and architectural shingle was 18k . . . decided to either save the difference or spend it on a place I cared about, like my countertops :)
Hope this helps!
athensmomof3Original Author