Slate appears on the older and more architecturally distinctive Richardson homes, and the recurring issue is individual damaged slates rather than a failed roof. Replacing them properly, without cracking the surrounding field, is a specialist repair and much cheaper than the replacement it gets mistaken for.
Slate Roofing Across Richardson
The residential side of Richardson is largely mature housing, which means original decking, older flashing details and roofs that have already been through at least one replacement. The commercial side along the corridor is flat and low-slope roofing, which is an entirely different discipline: TPO, PVC and modified systems where the failure points are seams and penetrations rather than shingles.
Natural Stone, Measured In Generations
Slate outlasts almost everything else on a house. Seventy-five years is a conservative figure and well-installed slate regularly goes past a century. It is the premium option and it looks like nothing else.
The Structure Has To Carry It
Slate is heavy. Before quoting we check that the framing is rated for the load, because a roof the structure cannot carry is not a roof, it is a problem waiting. That check happens before you are asked to commit to anything.
Repair Is A Specialist Job
Individual slates can be replaced without disturbing the surrounding field, but it takes the right tools and matching stock. Walked on carelessly, slate breaks. Most slate roofs we are called to have been damaged by someone else working on them.
Synthetic Alternatives
Composite slate gives much of the look at a fraction of the weight, which makes it the practical answer where the structure will not take natural stone.
