New roof (concrete tiles vs slate)

JohnSmith99

Current scenario:

1) Two-bed semi-detached house with Cornish slate (delabole) roof

2) Independent building condition survey report done last year (prior to buying the house) mentions that slatework may be working loose with with occasional slates being cracked (there are also a couple of "missing" slates) --> new roof needed in the near future.

Options (excl VAT; but including some savings from selling some of the current slates ~40% of them):

A) Redland Renown Concrete Tiles ~£4k
Brazilian Slate ~£5k
C) Delabole slate (as is) ~6.2k

Caveats:

i) It's an ex-council "street", so unfortunately only ~20% of houses have a slate roof, the rest council has replaced with concrete tiles

ii) It's likely I'll have to sell the place in ~4yrs time due to temp work contract

I guess the question is, considering that now only ~20% of houses on my street (unfortunately the house I'm attached to is concrete tiles now) kept slates, is it worth splashing the extra money and opt for slate and most importantly would I be able to justify putting this cost on the value of the house if I have to sell it in ~4yrs time, or would the house value be unchanged whether I have a new concrete or new slate roof.

Thanks,
John

glasgowdan

I doubt you'd increasethe value of the house if the buyers have anything similar to choose from. If it were me I'd get tiles...cheaper to buy, probably cheaper to maintain and as durable if not more.

JohnSmith99

Thanks Dan! Does anyone else has an opinion on the matter please? Cheers.

Ectophile

Concrete tiles are heavier than slates, so make sure the roof timbers are sound enough before having them installed.

spannerzone

Ectophile wrote: »

Concrete tiles are heavier than slates, so make sure the roof timbers are sound enough before having them installed.

This is a good point, when I had my slates replaced with concrete tiles the building control guy said I needed to add an extra support in the roof (easy to do, at little cost)

Also I think I'm right that some concrete tiles are coated and some have the colour all the way through so don't fade so much over time.

Chanes

Prefer tiles to slate, it seems to make a stronger roof (if the roof support is strong enough to hold the weight) I've seen quite a few pictures of tornados or heavy winds that have lifted slate roofs and stripped the slates and the tiled properties appeared fine.