FAQ

FAQ on Buckingham® Slate

Whether it is a simple slate repair, restoration or complete re-roofing of your building, you can count on The Roofing Company to perform the work to the high standards established by the National Slate Association and the Slate Roofing Contractor’s Association.

The most common slate in our area is Buckingham® Slate sourced from Buckingham County, Virginia. Buckingham Slate is the finest slate in North America and has proven to last well past 150 years. Just think: at 70 years old, a Buckingham Slate roof is not even close to half of its lifecycle!

And if you need more peace of mind, the Buckingham Slate Company offers a very simple warranty on the slates it manufactures, with no complicated fine print and no strings attached:
“If, at any time during the life of the structure, for which the slate was originally purchased, it should fade or deteriorate, the slate will be replaced by this company.”

Put even more simply, a Buckingham Slate roof is guaranteed for the life of the structure.

More Answers About Slate

Because we are widely regarded as the expert in slate roofing in Hampton Roads, The Roofing Company gets a lot of inquiries about this material. Here are answers to some additional questions we are asked often.

Q: I’d like to install a skylight in my slate roof. Can this be done?

A: Yes, our slate craftsmen can install a new VELUX® skylight in your slate roof. We also recommend installation of the factory-made copper flashing kit from VELUX.

Q: I’ve got a few slates that came off after the ice and snow this past winter. Do I have to replace my roof?

A: No. It’s not uncommon to have a few slates “shed” off your roof over a long period of time. The repair is easy if the slate repairs are performed by trained slate roofing mechanics.

Q: I was told by Norfolk roofers that the nails on my slate roof are going bad, so I have to replace the entire roof. Is this true?

A: In most cases, this is just another way for a roofer to get you to take off a permanent roofing product and put on some imitation product that will have to be replaced every 20 years or less. Slate is one of the very few permanent roofing solutions. Don’t let yourself be talked into taking off a roofing system that has proven to last longer than 150 years and put on something that has an average life cycle of 20 years!

Q: If lifetime asphalt shingles and fake slate products are so good, why can’t I find any jobs over 20 to 40 years old that still look good and are performing well?

A: Roofing manufacturers and roofers have chased the holy grail of roofing, slate, for a very long time. We hear from roofing manufacturer salespeople all the time, “We’ve got a product just like slate only better” – and so far, they have all failed. Just in the Hampton Roads area, there are so many issues. All you have to do is look around. Universities, police departments, banks and numerous residential properties all have “lifetime” asphalt shingles or fake slate products that have failed. Call us and we can give you several addresses so you can look and decide for yourself if you really want that type of product on the roof of your property.

Q: I have a shingle roof now but would like to install slate. Are there any lightweight REAL slate options?

A: Yes, over the past couple of years we have installed many jobs using genuine Buckingham or Vermont slate for high-wind, lightweight real slate applications. Call us at (757) 903-0050 and we can go over the color and slate options. With several of the lightweight applications, you can use multiple sized slates to give your property a unique look that is a true 100-year roofing solution with great aesthetic appeal.