Slate vs tile: which suits your property
The choice between slate and tile isn't only aesthetic. Weight, minimum pitch and how the roof was originally designed all narrow the options before taste comes into it.
Roofing by material
Realistic service life, honest per-m² cost bands and what each material is actually best at — pitched, flat and detailing.
pitched
Natural Slate
Natural slate is the defining cover on most Victorian and Edwardian stock locally. Done properly, it outlasts every other pitched-roof material we install.
Lifespan: 80–120 years (Welsh) / 60–100 years (Spanish, Brazilian)
View natural slate pitched
Clay Tile
Plain clay tile dominates Edwardian and inter-war housing on our patch — beautifully durable when laid right, ruinous when patched with the wrong profile.
Lifespan: 60–100 years for plain handmade clay; 50–80 for modern machine-made.
View clay tile pitched
Concrete Interlocking Tile
Concrete interlocking tile covers most 1930s-onwards stock locally — fast to lay, economical, but porous and noticeably tired by 40 years old.
Lifespan: 40–60 years before face lamination and colour loss become obvious.
View concrete tile flat
EPDM Rubber Roof
EPDM (rubber) is our default for larger flat roofs — single-sheet installs, no field seams, and a service life that comfortably outlives mineral felt.
Lifespan: 25–50 years from a single-ply EPDM system, fully bonded.
View epdm rubber flat
GRP Fibreglass Roof
GRP (fibreglass) gives a seamless, glass-hard finish that reads cleanly against period brick — our usual call for visible bay roofs and small flat areas.
Lifespan: 25–30 years when laid in the right weather window with proper resin ratios.
View grp fibreglass metal
Lead Flashings & Valleys
Lead does the unglamorous work that decides whether a pitched roof lasts 30 years or 80 — chimneys, valleys, parapet abutments, bay-window aprons.
Lifespan: 60–100 years from properly fixed code-rated lead.
View lead flashings Read before you book
Felt vs EPDM vs GRP: choosing a flat roof system
There is no single best flat roof system — there is a best system for a particular deck, shape and use. Here is how the three common options actually differ.
How long should a roof last?
Natural slate 80 to 100 years, clay tile 60 to 100, concrete tile 40 to 60, EPDM 20 to 25, GRP 20 to 30, felt 10 to 20. In practice the covering usually outlives the underlay, battens, flashings and mortar, and those are what fail first.